Facebook Live 27th June 2019
Are flat feet bad?
This is a question we get asked a lot.
Flat feet don’t have to be a bad thing, they have pros and cons to them.
Flat feet are referred to as a pronated foot type, which means a foot that rolls in. This pronation movement is the body’s natural mechanism of shock absorption, which is needed to protect our feet and ankles. However It’s when you see what can be referred to as “over pronation” or pain becomes present that this pronation can may be a problem. This is typically when we see more overuse type injuries such as ankle pain, heel pain, Achilles injuries and plantar fasciitis.
For activities such as hiking, trail running, netball, basketball and other sports with fast side to side movements we want your foot to be able to pronate and absorb shock to reduce the likelihood of rolling an ankle. If your foot does not absorb shock then you become prone to other impact injuries , such as stress fractures
Flat feet does not have to be a sentence to not being able to run or be active. The speed that pronation occurs can be slowed to reduce pressure and force can be altered. Plenty of high level runner have feet that roll in!