Got flat feet? I have news for you, you weren’t born with them. This is something that develops over time? Why? The short answer is: shoes. Shoes do the work for your feet, like a brace or cervical collar. The muscles that line the arch get to relax and overtime, get weak to the point where you can’t stand while maintaining an arch.

In 1992 (Rao & Joseph), a survey looked at 2300 children between the ages of 4 and 13 and found that flat feet was most common in the group that wore shoes. Furthermore, the group that wore slippers or sandals were less likely to have flat feet, and even more so, a group that didn’t wear shoes.

So why are we told shoes are so important? The shoe companies have done a great job of convincing people that they are vital. Of course they did and I don’t blame them, that’s what companies do. However, it has trickled its way into practitioners' advice.

Shoes have their place, to protect your skin from cigarette butts and glass. However, we need to spend time barefoot. If we don’t do that, then we have to spend time working on the muscles of our feet to at least get them to baseline strength.

There are layers of muscles that line the arch of the foot, and one of their major jobs is to maintain the arch. The arch is meant to be non-load bearing, that’s why it’s called an arch. If you have cold tile floors, great. Use that. Walk around barefoot not letting your arch touch the ground and let the cold tile be a cue. Standing in line somewhere? Great, use that. Take the time to work on standing with a neutral foot. How do you do that? Drag your toes slightly in towards your heel until the arch rises. Don’t force it, you don’t want to be just standing on the sides of your feet.

It may not seem like a big deal, but a flat foot can lead to consequences up the kinetic chain. The majority of knee pain is caused by a foot and ankle problem. If your foot pronates (as a flat foot does), the shin will rotate inward, and set up the knee in a less than advantageous position, and can expose the meniscus in a position such as a squat. A flat foot can also affect the hip and back.

It will take time and consistency, but you can restore your arch typically in about 3 months. You could buy an orthotic, but then you are stuck wearing that orthotic all the time. Plus they usually cost between $300-$600. Why buy something that you have to rely on when you have the ability to strengthen your foot? You literally have a muscular orthotic just laying there, dormant.

Here is a simple way to start working on the arch:

Want to learn more? I have built a 3 month program that is designed specifically to fix your arch. Check it out at www.restoreyourarch.com.

Reference:

Rao UB, Joseph B. The influence of footwear on the prevalence of flat foot. A survey of 2300 children. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1992 Jul;74(4):525-7. doi: 10.1302/0301-620X.74B4.1624509. PMID: 1624509.

Restore Your Arch