The right pair can help you counteract your natural overpronation and achieve greater stability.Īthletes with flat feet also often benefit from arch supports or, when necessary, custom orthotic inserts designed to fit their precise foot shape. Look for those with extra stability, motion control, and arch support. The great news is that, quite often, your situation can be greatly improved through completely non-surgical measures. If you have flat feet and play sports, or you’ve started to feel like you’re being held back by chronic pain, instability, or other foot or ankle concerns, give us a call for an evaluation. While these skills aren’t necessarily impossible to perform at a high level with flat feet, their potential may be somewhat limited due to the extra work your body must perform to overcome the biomechanical inefficiency. Many sports require exceptional balance, speed, agility, and the ability to change directions quickly. There’s also the potential that flat feet can have an impact on overall athletic performance. Fatigue throughout the foot, arches, and legs.But for others, the biomechanical inefficiencies introduced by overpronation can lead to a greater risk of problems such as: This increases the amount of stress, pressure, and strain on the inside of the foot and ankle.Īs we said above, for some people there are no discernable symptoms from flat feet, and it doesn’t hold them back in any way that’s noticeable or impairs their personal enjoyment of activities. This allows the impact forces to be distributed over a wider region of the foot and over a longer period of time, reducing the strain on muscles, bones, and joints throughout the feet and legs.įlat feet, on the other hand, tend to be hyper-flexible and prone to overpronation, or rolling farther inward than normal.

When bearing weight during the loading phase, the arch flexes slightly and rolls slightly inward (which is called pronation). The arch acts sort of like a shock absorber for your feet. It helps to start out by understanding what a healthy arch does.

Flat footed