Hello everybody,
I would like to have your input on the matter of flat feet.
Just to clarify: I don’t have flat feet, but sometimes, after hard runs, my arches are lower than usual.
What do you think about flat feet (= very low or nonexistent arches)?
Are flat feet bad? Do they cause problems for walking and running?
When I was three years sold I had my first pair of orthotics to prevent future flat feet.
When I was an adolescent I wasn’t allowed to wear flat soled shoes (like flip flops, espadrilles, Jesus-sandals etc.) because my mum feared I might get flat feet by wearing them. So it was only shoes with arch support for me until I discovered forefoot strike and barefoot.
If I’m correctly informed, the army does not accept people with flat feet.
Why is it that this condition is regarded as a bad thing by podologists, mums and the army? Is it just a kind of inconscious collective rejection of - what?
The other day, I read a post in the other place about ethnicity and flat feet: It seems that people of African, Asian, or Native American descent (I do hope this is the politically correct way to speak about them; if not, please forgive me!) have quite often flat feet, but this does not seem to be a disadvantage for being great barefoot runners, does it?
A flat foot seems to provide better traction on various grounds.
In terms of reflexology the whole body is represented on the soles of the feet: Walking or running barefoot is stimulating all organs and thus health in general. The region for the kidneys is found under the arch – so unless I’m coming (painfully) down on a stone, my kidneys are never stimulated. Could it be that flat feet are actually an advantage?
After a tiring run, my arches are lower than usual, as seen when I step out of the shower (wet test on the bathroom floor). Could it be, that the abovementioned flat soled shoes which are supposed to cause flat feet are only an indirect factor for this condition? Wearing Flip Flops or Espadrilles is more tiring for the feet than ordinary shoes – do feet become flat simply because they are tired?
Another thing is puzzling me: In shoe-shops they often confound flat feet (low or nonexistent arch) with pronation: the wet test is showing a flat foot, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is pronation as well, but anyway they’ll do everything in their power to sell you a shoe for pronators ….
I would like to have your input on the matter of flat feet.
Just to clarify: I don’t have flat feet, but sometimes, after hard runs, my arches are lower than usual.
What do you think about flat feet (= very low or nonexistent arches)?
Are flat feet bad? Do they cause problems for walking and running?
When I was three years sold I had my first pair of orthotics to prevent future flat feet.
When I was an adolescent I wasn’t allowed to wear flat soled shoes (like flip flops, espadrilles, Jesus-sandals etc.) because my mum feared I might get flat feet by wearing them. So it was only shoes with arch support for me until I discovered forefoot strike and barefoot.
If I’m correctly informed, the army does not accept people with flat feet.
Why is it that this condition is regarded as a bad thing by podologists, mums and the army? Is it just a kind of inconscious collective rejection of - what?
The other day, I read a post in the other place about ethnicity and flat feet: It seems that people of African, Asian, or Native American descent (I do hope this is the politically correct way to speak about them; if not, please forgive me!) have quite often flat feet, but this does not seem to be a disadvantage for being great barefoot runners, does it?
A flat foot seems to provide better traction on various grounds.
In terms of reflexology the whole body is represented on the soles of the feet: Walking or running barefoot is stimulating all organs and thus health in general. The region for the kidneys is found under the arch – so unless I’m coming (painfully) down on a stone, my kidneys are never stimulated. Could it be that flat feet are actually an advantage?
After a tiring run, my arches are lower than usual, as seen when I step out of the shower (wet test on the bathroom floor). Could it be, that the abovementioned flat soled shoes which are supposed to cause flat feet are only an indirect factor for this condition? Wearing Flip Flops or Espadrilles is more tiring for the feet than ordinary shoes – do feet become flat simply because they are tired?
Another thing is puzzling me: In shoe-shops they often confound flat feet (low or nonexistent arch) with pronation: the wet test is showing a flat foot, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that there is pronation as well, but anyway they’ll do everything in their power to sell you a shoe for pronators ….
