Flat Feet

Having flat feet has been a perceived problem for decades, maybe longer. The idea being that if you do not have an arch in your foot, you must have some sort of deficiency that reduces your ability to perform in physical competition. The more realistic way to look at flat feet is to examine the overall shape up the foot and how it supports a given activity. The closer the arch is to the ground, the closer it is to take off.

Moving across the ground while standing on two feet has general principles and the mechanics at the foot have been studied for a long time. What seems to be consistent is that the foot begins with an arch that is high as it first strikes the ground, the height diminishes the longer the foot stays on the ground, and it then gets restored as the foot begins to leave the ground. Like a slinky compressing upon impact and expanding as it advances.  If we look at flat feet from this mechanical perspective, it might then suggest that a flat foot is very close to breaking with the ground. Practically this could look like someone about to jump for a rebound in basketball or a sprinter on the verge of advancing that limb through space. All in all, it could be advantageous in the right circumstances.

Another aspect of flat feet is that they are not all created equal. In the world of footwear flat feet are also considered a problem and typically corrected for via an insert or support built into the shoe along the arch. Unfortunately, that may be overly reductive. A foot may be flatter toward the heel or the forefoot or somewhere in between. Drilling down on the exact location of flatness may be more helpful in managing someone’s movement capabilities than an umbrella type approach.

The mechanics associated with movement at the foot are important. Unifying our current understanding of foot motion with a person’s presentation may be a more coherent way of intervening. Subtleties exist and nuance is experienced by the body. We may be more effective in helping people if we take the time to examine how they move with respect to our understanding of motion.

Austin Ulrich, Physical Therapist