Flat feet

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Yep flat footed here! It affects how I run. I have always gone barefoot whenever possible since I was a kid as much as I avoid sleeves.

Mother used to always tell me that I was flat-footed while I was growing up. I would argue with her because when I would look at my feet, there was an arch -- they weren't flat on the floor. Only recently have I realized that flat feet doesn't have to mean lacking an arch. She comments on how weird they are, because they are quite different from anyone else in the family.

I have narrow, bony feet, which are small but still look like flippers. One of them is particularly low-arched which has led to a thick-ankle (muscle building up to support it from injury from the stress). My right ankle doesn't store muscle and looks normal; that foot also flares more (though not by much, still quite tapered compared to the norm) towards the toes than does my left, which is shaped like a narrow rectangle. I assume it is shaped like that because of walking on the inside of my foot which caused the bones to form differently while I was growing. I've spent the last 5 years attempting to consciously overcompensating to correct it by walking with my weight on the outside of my left foot as I step, but it hasn't helped the form of my feet yet.

Can't wear most feminine footwear, i.e. pumps, because of how narrow my feet are, paired with the flat-footedness. It just looks weird. I've grown up wearing converse and vans. Though now I am unable to withstand my feet being enclosed, because I feel claustrophobic, so I've purchased a pair of men's sandals -- absolutely no arch support.

I recently saw an episode of Numb3rs that made me question if perhaps my left leg is slightly shorter than my right. If anyone watches that show, I'm sure they will remember the episode to which I am referring with the mud imprint of a military boot. It was like an epiphany. If I ever seriously decide to go to the doctor's, I would have it checked out in case I need to wear corrective footwear to relieve the strain on my foot. My whole body may be out of alignment because of that, which could be the explanation as to why I've always had so much pain in my bones and joints, arthritis-aside.

Oh, yeah, and I look absolutely ridiculous when I run. I used to be a very good athlete, even though my body was naturally awkward when in motion. I didn't know how weird I looked until going through some clippings of myself in the newspaper, action-shots. And you should've seen me as a dancer; *L* it wasn't bad enough that I was lanky.

I was thinking about doing exercises to straighten out my tibia so that I would distribute weight across my feet more evenly and maybe correct the strain on my inner ankles, as well as my knees, somewhat correcting the flat-footed issue. I keep hearing the horror of "fallen arches" and have been told that because my feet are flat, it will definitely happen to me one day and is excruciatingly painful.

This is the kind of sandal that's good for regaining your foot fitness:


http://barefootted.com/labels/huaraches.html
No support whatsoever. Just thin soles that flex with your foot's natural shape and movement. I've been trying to source some rubber sheet so that I can make my own. If I can't find anything locally that's suitable, I might go ahead and order one of Barefoot Ted's huarache kits. Not that I have flat feet (because I don't). I just want to get away from having to wear shoes of any kind.

flat feet here. and is it just me or its hurts like hell when you don't have this special shoe inserts? <.<;

you can't fix it with surgery or something like that, right? _-_

My kid (with AS) has horribly flat feet along with severe ankle pronation (they point inwards and towards the ground). He has a very hard time running and jumping but never complains of pain. We had inserts for a while, but he managed to flatten them out almost overnight. We'ver taken him to several docs, including 2 orthopedists, and they all have recommended that we do nothing other than avoid sandles. The next step would be leg braces, but insurance won't cover them . We haven't seen a podiatrist yet, so that might be a good idea. I've found that the "do nothing" approach is becoming quite popular in the US, but it's certainly not a condition my kid is simply outgrowing on his own.