Can FLAT FEET be functional, or are they always injurious???

I have flat AF feet too. Despite the myths, flat feet isn't bad for running. Some research shows flat feet is better for sprinting. Just look up pics of Usain Bolt feet, their flat AF. The best things that I have helped my biomechanics:

1. Hill bounding

2. Get zero drop shoes

3. Get rid of orthopedic and shoes that "fix" your bad form. Shoes that are marketed to fix your form are some of the worse shoes you can get.

As an extremely flat-footed person with a fairly competitive career in high school, college, who has learned to limit foot injuries over time, here is what I have learned:

Even if your arches are flat, you still have the same joints in your feet as everyone else. You need to have flexible shoes, that flex both ways. I have also found that high heel-toe-drop shoes will injure me almost instantly. With low-drop, I can run 80 miles per week, with workouts, no problem.

Also:

Lots of traditional shoes have "arch support," even inserts with an arch bump. If you are flat-footed, this bump sticks into your foot and starts giving you aches. The problem isn't your feet, it's the shoes. After discovering this issue, I've been running exclusively in shoes which are flexible, neutral, wider, and have no "arch support." For the past couple years, I've found Skechers Performance shoes to be the best, after having gone through Brooks, Nike, Asics, and Saucony.

Hey, yuse flatfoot! wrote:

I have also found that high heel-toe-drop shoes will injure me almost instantly. With low-drop, I can run 80 miles per week, with workouts, no problem.

Also:

Lots of traditional shoes have "arch support," even inserts with an arch bump. If you are flat-footed, this bump sticks into your foot and starts giving you aches. The problem isn't your feet, it's the shoes. After discovering this issue, I've been running exclusively in shoes which are flexible, neutral, wider, and have no "arch support." For the past couple years, I've found Skechers Performance shoes to be the best, after having gone through Brooks, Nike, Asics, and Saucony.

Interesting that both you fellows found the zero drop midsole to be so helpful.

I also give you an "Amen" on the arch supports digging into my low arches and making things worse, not better. Do arch supports ever really help and flat foot, or does it just get in the way??

What are the particular Skechers you have had success with? A quick glance at runningwarehouse shows me the two most neutral models with the lowest drops are the GoRun and the GoRun Razor, both of which have a 4mm drop from heel to toe.

Do you feel the 4mm drop is close enough to ZERO to avoid injury?

The GoRunRazor in particular gets rave reviews, though it's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that Skechers now makes high quality performance running shoes--I remember them as low quality wannabe skater shoes for poor people. But they did sponsor Meb, so that's a plus in my book.

Try these shoes out:

Another thing, it will take a bit of time for your body to adjust to the change. It took me about a month or two. Just reduce your volume a bit and slowly rebuild. As far as 4mm vs 0mm, I don't think it matters as much as having no "support". For example, a lot of the Japanese kind of racing flats have a bit more drop to them, but have no support. I think that is what matters is having our feet move the way they are naturally meant to. And having nothing from preventing them from moving in their natural pattern. Hope this helps, best of luck.

Interesting. I believe feet are a fairly high biological priority for humans; mobility is our thing. I’m glad others don’t buy into arbitrary “diagnoses” of “problems.”

I always had flat feet with Bunions (Hallux valgus).

After a couple of years I got orthotics and the right running shoes for my feet. All the injuries went away. That was almost 30 years ago.

Get the right shoes for YOUR feet and you will solve most of your running injuries.

I have zero arch, my wife calls them duck feet, and I agree that low/zero drop seems to help. Anything higher than 4mm drop seems to give me trouble.

I do use low-arch insoles in my shoes and I use the stability-wedge from Altra when I wear them since normal insoles don't fit right in there. Seems to help.

Jay dicharry, a PT and running gait expert, says he’s seen plenty of flat footed runners who don’t have problems. I highly recommend his two books.

I have extremely flat feet and suffered from lots of foot and lower leg problems until I paid better attention to my foot mechanics. Jay says to think of using your foot’s “tripod”, which is either end of the ball of your foot and the big toe, for stability. Plus, you need good big toe flexibility so you can roll through it. This might be good advice for any foot type, but it really helps me to use the arch of my foot more and activating the big toe seems to slow the rate of probation. Until I learned to focus on this, I repeatedly got PF, Achilles tendinitis, ankle problems, etc.

I do best in 0-4mm drop shoes and ones that don’t try to alter my biomechanics. Plus, I walk around barefoot a lot and use flat, simple street shoes for everyday wear.

Just an experiment of one, but I’m convinced you can run and train okay with flat feet. Just requires that you pay more attention to good form, foot strength, etc. and be willing to experiment a bit with shoes.

I too have "duck feet". They're so flat that my coach once told me that they altered my gait when I walk. Still, I have had zero injuries as a result of them. I think it also depends on your build as well as to what shoes you can wear that best fit you. I have never had any luck with zero drop shoes, and I have never had any arch support. Stay away from those. But I'm also only five foot ten 145 pounds. You have to really focus on landing on the ball on your foot.

duckbilled flattypus wrote:

I have pretty flat feet, ran pretty well in HS, struggled with injury in my 20s, and am now a 45 yr old hobby jogger.

I never used any inserts or orthotics, etc. Never visited a podiatrist.

I remember some of my teammates always wore orthotics in their running shoes.

My son has pretty flat feet and is now approaching middle school track. It got me to thinking:

ARE FLAT FEET INHERENTLY INJURIOUS?

Are there any runners out there who had successful, relatively injury-free careers with very low arches?

Is it something that needs to be corrected, or only if problems develop?

I only want what's best for my son. thanks

For what it’s worth, many world class African runners have flat fleet.

I am 36 years old and have been running ever since I remember with my flat feet. Yes, during my teenage, I did experience pain but after learning the reason to be my shoes never faced a problem ever. I bought the last pair of shoes from Aaom after reading flat foot shoes reviews. They are comfortable, flexible and wider, something that suits my feet completely.

For those who feel otherwise need to take inspiration from Usain Bolt. Need I say more?

I have duck flat feet + Bow Legs. Started running with super flexible 4mm drop shoes. Righ ankle insertional achillles issues.

Moved to 8mm drop and siffer shoes few years later. Achilles issue manegable now but never solved.

Dealing currently with IT band issues on left leg for last 5 months.

If I want to see an arch I have to go to McDoanlds and injures were never a problem for me until I got old and got arthritis in my knees. And that, I was told,is likely due to problems in my back from some nasty falls I took when I was a kid. So I would say that flat feet are not necessarily injurious.

A low arch in and of itself does not necessarily mean you will have excessive injuries. What I have found in 20+ years of running on a low arch is that you will be more prone to muscle imbalance issues because a low arch can be inefficient at getting all your muscles to fire properly. Being diligent about strength training (just enough to make sure that all the major muscles are firing evenly and are strong) can make a big difference for a low arch runner. Other than that, it is a very individualized issue as to what kind of shoe to wear and whether orthotics will help or hurt. I fell about in the middle. Rigid orthotics were a disaster (shin splints from hell). But low drop/light weight shoes were even worse (achilles problems, stress fractures and bone sprurs in my feet). What worked best was light weight foam orthotics and a fairly middle of the road trainer. Not too rigid and not too soft/flexible. It just takes some trial and error to figure out what works. Most important thing is to be extra vigilant about injuries. Once you get an ache that feels like it is something out of the ordinary, take decisive action immediately to address what is going on. Too many times I have tried to run through aches and pains and ended up with injuries that lasted months due to foot issues.

Another great trainer with zero arch support is the Reebok Forever Energy, although it does have a 10mm(?) drop.

And yes, the Razor 3 is also great... also w 4mm drop and zero arch support, on top of one of the best cushion-to-weight ratios on the market today topped off with a very durable and springy midsole.

I personally have flat feet and pronation issues. When I started running in high school this initially cause me to get injured and so I started getting orthotics. I wore them pretty regularly throughout high school and college, but backed off a bit post-college. I think once you are adapted to the mileage you’re doing you can play around with if you need them all the time. I just went for a couple months without using them, but now that I’m hitting higher mileage weeks for Boston I put them back in my shoes today and a lot of the aches in my feet went away. So for a beginner with flat feet I would recommend it, but over time once that person gets stronger/better trained they might be able to back off of them.

50 years a runner here.

I have ran in possibly every type of shoe. At times low drop worked. Other times it did not. Rigid arch shoes from grandpa shoe and ankle clinic have always proved to be disastrous. Yet now after all these years they work well with my winter boots for walking! I basically have found success by taking multiple days off until I feel like running again. The shoes I wear now are high heeled but I use a nice general insert which has made me run injury free. They are called Voxx. I can see myself running almost daily when warm weather comes. But I will need to find a shoe. Who knows what that will turn out to be????

Is the Skechers go run razor 3 durable? It is $129 on RW. I have trained in flats plenty, but I always bought them for $40-70 so didn't worry much about durability.

Now that I think about it, I've never exceeded $100 for running shoes ever.

Are you guys paying $129 for these Skechers?

Do they last?

Thanks