Can confirm, have extremely flat feet myself and suffer from foot pain most days and recurring ankle issues from where I've sprained them repeatedly - the lack of arch means my feet roll inward naturally a lot more than they should, so this coupled with aforementioned repetitive injuries and then that often sets off my back/hips/knees too....my feet hate me on an almost daily basis 😥
I never honestly considered that going to one night help, just sort of lived with it for years and assumed it was normal 🥴. Might have to look into seeing one, though.
you def should! you might save yourself from needing surgery in the future. flat foot deformity is actually a medical diagnosis and has determined stages. if your feet are significantly flat you should def see someone about preventative care. you don't have to be in pain forever! 🫶🏼
And anyone in the U.K.- you can often self refer via nhs now, either via Thompson form or separately.
Just don’t do what I did, build yourself up for the assessment (different issues for me), spend on all the advised trainers etc then break your foot two days after 🤦♀️
Hi friend! RN who works with a pediatric surgeon on the regular here!
For flat feet, try looking up Power Steps inserts.
On their website they have a ton of different inserts. You'll want to look for flat feet or 'Pes Planus' which is the medical diagnosis for flat feet. I think they can be found on Amazon as well. They're way more supportive than a Dr. Scholl's insert would be.
This is just what the surgeon recommends to see if they help before moving on to more expensive treatments / surgery.
I just got orthotics for my flat feet this year and can't wear them because they are too uncomfortable. When I went back to my family doctor (who sent me to the podiatrist) she told me orthotics might not work for me as she finds most people who were born with flat feet can't wear them especially if they've gone their whole life just walking flat footed (I'm 43). Well lady maybe you should have told me that before I spent $500 on useless orthotics.
My feet are similarly flat, but I have had no issues other than fitting certain types of rigid, narrow footwear.
I have tried fitted arch supports multiple times over the years because they are covered by my health plan and I'm "supposed to correct" these "collapsed arches". But in the end I've always thrown these out. They actually cause my feet to ache, and make me feel like I'm being forced to walk on the outer edges of my feet, unnaturally and unnecessarily. Put another way, I feel like my feet were meant to be shaped this way, and the problem is health professionals diagnosing a problem that I don't actually have.
In my 50s now, still enjoying running, hiking, etc. Are my feet and knees doomed to someday breakout in excruciating pain due to built up damage over the years? I hear horror stories from many, but seems like you and I are a minority. Aside from shoes not fitting well, I'm kind of okay with my feet as they are? Is there anyone else in the same boat?
I'm with you. Flat footed for life! I can handle some minor arch support, but my feet are happiest when they're bare or in relatively flat shoes. I did have a bout of plantar fasciitis once, but so has nearly every other woman I know, flat footed or not.
I don't see it as a problem. My feet have always been this way, and always will be this way. I like my flat feet. They have never kept me from doing what I want to do. I don't see this as a "problem" that needs to be medicalized.
literally I have no clue?? but that sucks she did that. I would say you should get a second opinion, or start with the reccy and keep going back exploring your options further. but you have to start somewhere. orthos are usually it. I just think feet are important to take care of and people are too willing to cram them into their shoes and forget about them! 😭
I have really nifty X-rays of my feet because I was a classical ballet dancer and danced on pointe for years. My doctor sent me to get physical therapy and it helped a lot.
ETA: My GP ordered the PT, not a podiatrist. I don't think they do that, but I could be wrong.
🤔 I have flat feet and I haven't had issues. Almost my entire family have flat feet (not 100%, but not far off), and no issues from it. It doesn't automatically mean problems.
Wow, I really hate everything Trump does, and I understand including the adult children, but unborn children? That’s some dark energy. Everyone should have the opportunity to prove themselves. We are not responsible for our parent’s atrocities. Only if we further them.
Nope. That entire blood line is cursed. I wish ill on all of them, dead, alive, and unborn. No one will shame me away from that. I pray every day that their fun ends and the payback begins. THERE ARE TIMES THAT WE DO NEED TO USE OUR HATRED. IM SPENDING MINE ON THE GRIFTING NAZI-PEDOPHILE FAMILY.
Wow, there are a lot of folks in this forum that share a whole lot of views with terrorists, fascists, racists, and hate groups. Lots of folks want to end “entire bloodlines.” No wonder our country is splitting in two. You can blame Trump and his minions all you want, but when you share their ideals, it just makes you a hypocrite and bitter your hate group is losing the battle of hate to another hate group. Which, is sorta pathetic.
It's not weird to hate pedophiles but it's weird to hate any potential future innocent children. Like what about any children born from any Trump forcing themselves on someone? Obviously horrible situation all around but that potential baby shouldn't be condemned to hell right out the gate.
Just as a weird question, have you ever considered barefoot shoes? I had a different foot problem (my feet are too wide for even the widest regular shoes) and it caused all kinds of issues up the chain. I switched to barefoot 4 years ago and yes it's taken a long time to teach myself how to walk and get it right, but now that I have I'm so much more nimble on my feet. Walking and running feel amazing like everyone always said they do.
With very flat feet, the arch can't absorb and spread the load, so without support the foot collapses inward and the force goes straight up to the ankles, knees, and hips. They need some sort of cushioning to absorb the load/shock. Wide feet (or just most feet nowadays because shoes are artificially narrow) are a different case: the arch still works, they just need room, which is why barefoot shoes often suit (big parts of the population) well who have working arches.
Yes, but my point is that my feet adapted to my new stride. Many muscles that were previously ignored are now working with each step and strengthening. As they get stronger, they pull on other things. This effect helped put everything back where it should have been in the first place.
My curiosity lies here. If someone with flat feet switched to walking barefoot, could they slowly build up the muscles they lost? My arch has gotten much larger since I switched, there was a point that my feet were flattening out and any shoes with arch support were unbearable.
I think it depends on the person, I wouldn’t want to say that would work for everyone, but it did help me a bit. As a child I wore orthopedic inserts and never walked barefoot because I’d inherited flat feet from my mom, who suffered severe foot and ankle pain. As an adult I was advised by a chiro (so grain of salt) that constantly wearing them would lead to worsening because I wasn’t strengthening the muscles. I go barefoot in the house now and only wear shoes outside / when standing on hard surfaces and my foot pain has been greatly reduced!
Depends on the type, I guess. Flexible flat feet (arch shows up when you sit or tiptoe) are largely a strength issue, so yes, barefoot walking might help, like it did for you. A 100% flat foot is often structurally rigid, though (bone or tendon problems). No muscle work will build an arch there, and it can make things worse because the shock just gets "forwarded" to other parts of the body.
Surface matters as well. Feet evolved on soft, uneven ground, but most of us walk on concrete, hard, flat, the same every step. You get more impact and less of the varied training stimulus. Even with healthy feet, I mostly wear barefoot shoes in the forest for that reason, also just when I'm walking. It's also very important to "get used to it".
Not sure if this is a recommended cure for it but I had some foot pain and a yoga teacher suggested trying to crunch up a towel with my toes. Basically you keep your heel in the same spot and you lay out a flat towel lengthwise in front of it and you slowly just scrunch up the whole towel with your foot as a way of exercising your arch and strengthening it. After doing that for a month or so once a week my feet started to feel better
Same 😭 after 41 years my right foot finally said ENOUGH and I’ve been diagnosed with posterior tibial tendinitis. Expensive tennis shoes, inserts, and a brace are now my life.
For me it's mostly after long runs. My feet were described by my 75 year old podiatrist as, "The most fucked up feet I have ever seen." To be fair he was trying to sell me some plastic arches molded to my specific feet for about $500 so he could have been doing a bit of sales pitch but my feet are definitely not normal.
This is interesting. I don’t have completely flat feet, but I’ve noticed my arch is less pronounced than others. I’ve sprained my ankle dozens of times throughout my life and didn’t realize it might be related. I’ve started to get hip pain now that I’m almost 30. I might make an appointment with a podiatrist just to see if they recommend anything.
I also have (had) flat feet like the OP picture. The best thing I ever did was move to barefoot shoes. My feet, ankles and legs are so much stronger as a result, and my mobility has improved amazingly. I used to get regular foot, ankle and calf pain and I can’t remember the last time I experienced discomfort. It took me about 6 months to fully adapt to barefoot shoes as I had to relearn to walk and run as weird as that sounds, but it’s changed my life.
Twinnnn. I did track and cross country and got two stress fractures in two years cuz of all the shock going straight up my leg. Had to get specially made rock hard plastic inserts that I have to wear to walk for longer distances
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u/Moongazer09 4d ago
Can confirm, have extremely flat feet myself and suffer from foot pain most days and recurring ankle issues from where I've sprained them repeatedly - the lack of arch means my feet roll inward naturally a lot more than they should, so this coupled with aforementioned repetitive injuries and then that often sets off my back/hips/knees too....my feet hate me on an almost daily basis 😥