Flat feet, what is the cause?

[PointOutside]

One thing I can't really find much information on is my foot condition. I have zero arch, and the inside of my feet under my ankle sink inwards towards the center of my body.. in other words 'flat feet' My feet want to point outwards when I walk. Can this be just hypothyroidism during development? Any one have experience with correcting it? I'm starting to get lower back pain now from walking. I do have what's called Morton's toe, which is linked to B6 deficiency if this is relevant.

 

[JamesGatz]

In my experience I think it is caused by not walking barefoot that often - wearing socks and shoes for extended periods of time results in flat feet in my experience

The more time I spend walking barefoot in my home the higher my arch gets and vice-versa

 

[ecstatichamster]

It’s caused by too early introduction of shoes when you are very little. I think it can be helped but not easily reversed.

 

[lucid&alive]

Improper footwear. See the Soldier's Foot 1912

 

[ecstatichamster]

I was probably born with good feet but due to being in shoes early I feel my feet became very flat. I’ve walked barefoot for years, and they haven’t really improved much.

 

[RealNeat]

Look for minimalist shoes. They will help. No arch support, no heel, large toe box and plenty of feel on bottoms of feet.

Most people start with "Xero" brand and it's economical. Higher quality minimalist shoes are "Vivobarefoot" nice sandals are "Earthrunners"

Think of the arch of a bridge or structure, it's the mechanics and physics of the arch that does the supporting, nothing is supporting the arch.

 

[Mauritio]

Look for minimalist shoes. They will help. No arch support, no heel, large toe box and plenty of feel on bottoms of feet.

Most people start with "Xero" brand and it's economical. Higher quality minimalist shoes are "Vivobarefoot" nice sandals are "Earthrunners"

Think of the arch of a bridge or structure, it's the mechanics and physics of the arch that does the supporting, nothing is supporting the arch.

Muscles are supporting the arch.

 

[Sinjin]

The Gary Ward Course ‘wake your feet up’ is an interesting approach to improving foot function. I have it but haven’t been consistent with it so far. Some high levels athletes like Usain Bolt have pretty flat feet so it’s not always bad, but in general it’s better to be able to access foot supination, especially if it’s causing you discomfort in other areas.

There’s also a /r/footfunction subreddit which is quite active. I’m not sure minimal shoes and barefoot walking by themselves will significantly improve the arch, but they can’t hurt.

In the books of Reichian therapist Alexander Lowen, he mentions his patients often had collapsed arches.

 

[RealNeat]

Muscles are supporting the arch.

Muscles are supporting the arch.

Yes there are muscles there but they need stimulation, that stimulation is the maintenance of the arch. Arch support weakens the muscles, just as trying to support the arch in a building that depends on its physics would cause the sides to fall.

Foot Health 101 - The Foot Collective

Awareness video taken from Beam Tribe content (visit beamtribe.com for more information about the community): Restoring and maintaining healthy feet is actually really simple. Ready for the secret? Here it is: Use your feet in alignment with how they were designed to be used. Pretty simple...

www.thefootcollective.com

Another thing to consider is the way people walk. I never resolved my foot issues by walking in the seesaw motion most people do because of their rigid shoes. The shoes should be flexible to let you use the most padded parts of your foot to glide and roll instead of flop around, hence why flip flops with no heel support (not risen heel) are terrible.


View: https://youtu.be/3VtqxEQtEZ4


You will be sore when you first try minimalist shoes, it's a workout.

 

[Dave_Fit]

There are a series of exercises, body positions you can put your body/feet into a couple times daily. There is a system called GOATA (Greatest of All Time Actions) what has been said about shoes is true they deeply contribute to bad movement patterns and collapsed arches. One very restorative thing you can do is get a Seiza chair and sit with your toes pointed towards each other. You can also sit on the floor on your knees (if this is possible for you) with your butt as low over your heals as possible with toes pointing toward each other. Look up GOATA. While it will take time to correct a lifetime of poor posture caused by sitting in chairs, shoes, etc, it is definitely doable.

 

[Mauritio]

Yes there are muscles there but they need stimulation, that stimulation is the maintenance of the arch. Arch support weakens the muscles, just as trying to support the arch in a building that depends on its physics would cause the sides to fall.

Foot Health 101 - The Foot Collective

Awareness video taken from Beam Tribe content (visit beamtribe.com for more information about the community): Restoring and maintaining healthy feet is actually really simple. Ready for the secret? Here it is: Use your feet in alignment with how they were designed to be used. Pretty simple...

www.thefootcollective.com

Another thing to consider is the way people walk. I never resolved my foot issues by walking in the seesaw motion most people do because of their rigid shoes. The shoes should be flexible to let you use the most padded parts of your foot to glide and roll instead of flop around, hence why flip flops with no heel support (not risen heel) are terrible.


View: https://youtu.be/3VtqxEQtEZ4


You will be sore when you first try minimalist shoes, it's a workout.

Thanks, I'll look into that.

 

[TheSir]

hence why flip flops with no heel support (not risen heel) are terrible.

Doesn't heel elevation just further compromise the walking pattern? It's not enough for the weigh to be guided onto the ball of the foot, you have to actually use the right muscles too. Constantly elevated heels will imbalance feet mechanics all the way to the hip and spinal functioning.

 

[jdrop]

Look for minimalist shoes. They will help. No arch support, no heel, large toe box and plenty of feel on bottoms of feet.

Most people start with "Xero" brand and it's economical. Higher quality minimalist shoes are "Vivobarefoot" nice sandals are "Earthrunners"

Think of the arch of a bridge or structure, it's the mechanics and physics of the arch that does the supporting, nothing is supporting the arch.

Can vouch for Xero. Been the best line of shoes that I have tried, even though they wear out fast.

 

[Cloudhands]

i did tai chi for a long time and my sifu taught me a trick to build my arches and correct my feet sticking out to the sides. He'd have me do the wu style walking exercise, if u want to look that up, but would have me put emphasis on imagining the picture of a footprint when i walk. as i distributed my weight across my foot while walking id create the image of a footprint on my sole going from my heel, across the outside rim of my sole, to my toes ending on the tip of my big toe. synchronizing this with a complete rotation of my hips with each step taught me how to properly walk and fixed my flat feet very quickly. i do this whenever i walk and never allow my feet to collapse into my arch even when standing

 

[Peatness]

Vitamin K1
Vitamin C

 

[PointOutside]

Look for minimalist shoes. They will help. No arch support, no heel, large toe box and plenty of feel on bottoms of feet.

Most people start with "Xero" brand and it's economical. Higher quality minimalist shoes are "Vivobarefoot" nice sandals are "Earthrunners"

Think of the arch of a bridge or structure, it's the mechanics and physics of the arch that does the supporting, nothing is supporting the arch.

Interesting, will look at it. So in theory the foot can permanently changed well past puberty?

 

[PointOutside]

Yes there are muscles there but they need stimulation, that stimulation is the maintenance of the arch. Arch support weakens the muscles, just as trying to support the arch in a building that depends on its physics would cause the sides to fall.

Foot Health 101 - The Foot Collective

Awareness video taken from Beam Tribe content (visit beamtribe.com for more information about the community): Restoring and maintaining healthy feet is actually really simple. Ready for the secret? Here it is: Use your feet in alignment with how they were designed to be used. Pretty simple...

www.thefootcollective.com

Another thing to consider is the way people walk. I never resolved my foot issues by walking in the seesaw motion most people do because of their rigid shoes. The shoes should be flexible to let you use the most padded parts of your foot to glide and roll instead of flop around, hence why flip flops with no heel support (not risen heel) are terrible.


View: https://youtu.be/3VtqxEQtEZ4


You will be sore when you first try minimalist shoes, it's a workout.

Interesting. I do realize that it’s a muscle because I am able to “force” an arch and move my ankles above the heel instead of them being collapsed inwards.

Actually, I remember when I was younger I tried to force myself to walk like that and my calf muscles got bigger. Eventually as I got deeper into bodybuilding I got much heavier and it became unbearable.

I actually do believe the arch can grow in strength.

 

[PointOutside]

Vitamin K1
Vitamin C

I do get plenty of K2 and C. What’s the reasoning?

 

[Peatness]

I do get plenty of K2 and C. What’s the reasoning?

I have flat feet and sadly I was given corrective orthotics insoles some years ago before I knew better. Sometime ago I started looking into hypermobility I came across a blog discussing the role of vitamin K in such connective tissue conditions. I've since looked for the blog but it seems to have disappeared. I know Dr Peat has recommended vitamin K and dhea for elhler danlos (a connective tissue condition). If you eat leafy greens then you get plenty of K. If I find that blog I will post it - it had a lot of good references as well. I

Vitamin C is important for general connective tissue health. Some condition warrant extra.

 

[SamYo123]

www.functionalpatterns.com