“Flat feet” have become synonymous with something that people have, and aren’t able to change, and so are doomed to wearing orthotics and only shoes with arch support for the rest of their life.
But what we really mean here is, can you naturally fix your weak feet, and the simple answer is most of the time, yes!
What are flat feet?
In simple terms flat feet refers to a low arch of the foot that is unable to support itself and spring back when needed. It is often coupled with over-pronation where there is an excessive amount of “rolling in” of the foot and ankle.
Naturally your foot moves between pronation and supination when walking, running and jumping, just like your knee bends and straightens. While pronation, and the ability of the arch to flatten is a normal and necessary movement, it becomes a problem when it can’t spring back and roll back out when needed.
Your foot spring accounts for around 8-17% of the energy you use in running, think of all that loss of power if it is weak! (Kelly et al. 2018)
The good news is, like every other part of your body, unless you have a fixed structural issue (referring to how your bones are developed), often excessively flat or overpronated feet are caused by a lack of strength and control in your ankle and foot muscles, which is something you can change with exercise training.
Do you need orthotics or shoes with arch support?
When your feet aren’t functioning well it can sometimes cause issues with the foot, or further upstream, like at the ankle, knee or hip. This is often treated with orthotics or supportive shoes which keep the arch of the foot up and block the foot and ankle from rolling in.
These can be good in the short term to take the load off those areas while they heal or get stronger, but they should always be coupled with an exercise program. Orthotics alone don’t strengthen the muscles or train your foot how to move properly, they can actually do the opposite and cause you to be more reliant on the orthotic as well.
Just like you wouldn’t generally wear a back brace forever for a weak back, you shouldn’t brace your foot forever without also training it to function on its own.
What can you do instead?
If you are wearing orthotics make sure you have an active approach (exercises) that go with them - unless you have a specific reason, in most cases you should be aiming to train yourself out of them. The same goes for the heavily arch supported shoes out there.
This doesn’t mean that you should jump straight out of your orthotics and into a minimalist shoe - like any exercise program it should be a slow graded process over a few months.
If you know you have flat, or weak feet and ankles, you can start a graded exercise program to start strengthening them, and consider opting for a slightly less supportive shoe the next time you buy.
Anything that stimulates the ankle and foot muscles and encourages balance, like single leg work with a focus on alignment and things like pressing the big toe into the ground or gripping the ground are a good place to start.
Or simply just go for barefoot walks outside or along the beach!
If you’d like some more info, or if you need specific guidance with this please get in touch, or book and appointment, we’d love to help you!
Formotion Physio is a boutique Physiotherapy practice based in West Perth & Osborne Park, Western Australia
Written by Lucia Tennant
Physiotherapist and Founder of Formotion Physio
BSc Physiotherapy
1) Luke A. Kelly,1 Andrew G. Cresswell,1 and Dominic J. Farris1,2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6043578/