Does anyone else have flat feet?

My poor daughter does and it gives her bad foot pain often. The dr said just to stay away from flat shoes and she loves her chucks. I remember the dr suggesting insoles too and a wooden object that just sounded too painful.

make an appointment with a PROPER foot specialist, orthotics may be an option, esp during workouts!

Get orthotics!!!

Even just ones from a pharmacy are better then nothing! Ive had plantar fascia in one, and constant pain in the other when I started working out.......got orthotics, no more issues. Just change them over from one pair of shoes to another.

If you get your daughter to a podiatrist they will ensure she gets the right orthotics, her feet will get better arches and she will grow up without pain all the time. My daughter has the same issue. My son is going to need orthotics too, you can tell by the way shoes are worn at a severe angle inwards.

I damaged the arch in both my feet by running; a combination of over-training and worn foot-wear.

I saw a foot specialist and was given tailor made orthotics, which can slip into any shoe of the same size. I have hard, rigid ones for general wear and softer ones for running and general exercise.

Essentially, they create an arch and prevent over-pronation of the foot.

You can buy pre-made in-soles from various places but you can't beat having them tailor made for you. Both my feet have differing arches, so off-the-shelf merchandise may fix one of my feet, but not both.

I have very flat feet (my wet foot prints are like triangles), and for years I was told to wear really expensive custom made orthotic inserts all the time, blah blah blah. Kept having shin splints and knee injuries all the time anyway.

Few years ago, when I moved from a city where I never walked to one where I walk all the time, I got sick of the tedious switching of inserts and stopped wearing them. Because my legs got a lot stronger from walking everywhere all the time, I have actually found that my joint stability has improved immensely, to the point where I never have ankle/knee/shin pains anymore despite only wearing flat/neutral shoes nowadays.

Since I have started having to climb a crapload of stairs (living in a 7th floor walkup) and have done serious strength training, my legs and core are much stronger now and my constant worries about flat foot-related leg/lower back pains have essentially dissipated. I realized after running 5 kms a few times with no specific training beforehand and not having any pain afterwards that, while flat feet may have made me prone to have poor posture and inability to cope with shock absorption, weak overall leg/core musculature made a much bigger difference to my constant pain and injuries. I had previously attempted C25K several times, and never made it past 3km because my basic muscle development was just insufficient off the couch. Excruciating shin splints and arch cramps despite rest and gradual distance increase, and the other attempt I got bursitis in my knee from my joint slipping around too much and becoming inflamed inside.

I wouldn't say that my flat feet are "cured" (I still can't point my toes for *kitten*), but as cheesy as it sounds, I feel like a new person now that I have stronger muscles and thus natural support and protection built in everywhere.

There are definitely two schools of thought, one to wear hardcore motion control arch support at all times, the other to do specific training to neutralize the danger. I tried the former already, but it never fixed the source of the problem of being prone to stabbing pain and injury, and the latter worked out great for me.

Some articles that introduce the possibility of not being orthotic-dependent for life:
http://thesquigglyline.com/2011/06/25/flat-feet-bare-foot-no-arch-support/
http://naturalrunningcenter.com/2012/05/27/run-marathon-flat-feet-orthotics-minimalist-shoes-without-injury/

P.S. I am wearing me Chucks as I type this.
P.P.S. There is one specific stretch move that does help me do some preventative loosening up when the top of my foot feels a bit tight. I sit down on my heels with the tops of my feet flat on the floor (think child's pose from yoga, but sitting upright). A minute or so and it makes my feet nice and flexible again. The first few times you try this, if you never do such a thing, will kill and feel unbearable. So go for a few seconds at first or as long as you can, and the time you can do this will improve as your flexibility improves.
P.P.P.S. I have now done 9 weeks of P90X barefoot at home on an average yoga mat on hardwood floors, including the jumping around of plyo, with no shin splints or foot pain at all. I could never have imagined doing that when my legs were weaker. I am also in no way pushing barefoot training, btw, I only do it because my neighbours knocked on their ceiling the first time I tried a workout in my sneakers.

Runner's World - they'll have you step on the special "scale" and show you exactly where/if you over-pronate and where you carry your most weight when working out. And then tell you the best shoes and inserts. Pricey, but worth it.

Dont mess around with this. Get a medical exam. Dont try to run or walk it off as it will probably get worse.


"Pain in this location is not normal, and usually indicates a more serious problem. Catching conditions and injuries such as stress fractures in their early stages is vital to successful treatment. Diagnosing problems within the complex structure of the foot is difficult enough, but if a condition or injury is left untreated, it can develop into a more serious problem and could require more extensive treatment."

http://www.footvitals.com/problems/top-foot-pain.html

make an appointment with a PROPER foot specialist, orthotics may be an option, esp during workouts!

Our son had a lot of pain as well that even caused knee pain. Orthotics did not help him one bit. He ended up having both feet operated on. His were both extremely bad and needed to be completely reconstructed. His were flat since birth. Now he makes sure to wear proper shoes for whatever activity he does and is completely pain free. No more fatigue and no more foot, ankle or back pain.

Thank you all for you for the information you have posted. Unfortunately, at this time I am unable to seek out medical attention because I have just moved to British Columbia, Canada and I do not yet have health care(immigrations is on strike). I did try the inserts that were suggested to me yesterday in the store and there was no way I would pay for something that felt like I was stepping on a rock in my shoe. I'm wondering at this point if I should be looking for motion control shoes or minimalist shoes. I have to work out now with my shoes off because I am otherwise in too much pain. It seems to make sense to get something that feels like I have nothing on but obviously that isn't going to fix anything.

Which kind of over the counter orthotics do you suggest? I am lifting heavy now and I have in the past, I do have quite a bit of muscle mass in my legs, but recently my knees have been hurting as well.....I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS ALL RELATED!!! My knees pop and krackle with every movement and I tend to roll my ankles a lot.

It is looking like it will be well over a year before I can see a doctor here so I have to get help in other ways at this point.

Stop working out until the pain stops or you know what the problem is. You have a probable serious or soon to be serious injury. Stay off the foot. Inserts or shoes aint gonna fix what ails ya.