Flat Feet (Pronation) - Pronation is the natural motion of the foot as it roles inward after the foot makes contact with the ground. It gives the foot the opportunity to act as a shock absorber for the body and adapt to the contour of the ground. Too much pronation will cause the arch of the foot to flatten excessively placing stress and pressure on tissues and ligaments of the foot. Over pronation can lead to numerous foot problems including plantar fasciitis, ankle pain, shin pain, knee pain, bunions, mortons neuroma, chondromalcia patallae and lower back pain.
Flat feet don't automatically mean you have a problem. The problem can be divided into a flexible flat foot or rigid flat foot. The rigid flat foot is one that does not change shape when the foot becomes weight bearing. i.e. it does not go through the excessive motion of pronation. Generally speaking this foot does not provide too many problems. The flexible flat foot is the type that when it becomes weight bearing the foot and ankle tends to roll in (pronates) too far. This type of person will often say I have great arches but when I stand up much of this arch disappears as the foot excessively pronates. When the foot is excessively pronating and causing problems like sore ankles, feet or knees when standing or exercising then arch support is extremely important to restore the foot structure. To check if you are an excessive pronator, take our pronation test. 1. Do your arches lower more than friends or family when you stand? 2. Do your heels and ankles tend to role in when you stand? 3. Do your knees tend to turn in or want to face each other more than straight ahead when you stand or run? 4. Do your shoes wear abnormally more under the big toe or tend to lean in when getting old?
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