I was told by a trustworthy professional that my arches had collapsed (in looking in the mirror, I agree). Now what? $300 orthotics? Different shoes? Dr. Scholls orthotics? Do nothing? run barefoot? give it all up?
ive never had arches
don’t use anything special.
I guess it depends on whether or not you are having any issues. You can certainly look at orthotics or stability shoes as options.
FWIW, flat arches can lead to pronation issues…I believe that may be one of the root causes of my ITBS. But that is just my theory at this point.
If you aren’t having any problems, and you have been running for a long time, I wouldn;t worry too much about it.
I have weak arches that collapse when i run causing me to overpronate. Years of rock climbing however has given me really strong ankles so support shoes gave me knee problems that took physical therapy to diagnose and fix. Now i just run in neutral shoes and have no problems.
Just do whatever works for you. as long as youre not getting injured There is no reason to change anyhing. But im more dummy than expert.
Me either, flat as a duck’s foot.
To the OP, are you having issues?
jaretj
that’s kind of my issue, except with floppy swimmer ankles- seriously, I have no soleuous or tendons or anything holding my ankles to leg my leg, just flop flop flop.
what seems to be working is running in neutral trainers on my forefeet, though I’m having a little arch pain in the adjustment process as I’m not used to running on my forefeet as much.
no professional, but i would think your pronation pattern matters more than your arches. has your pronation changed in any way?
There is no such thing as your “arches have collapsed” unless you ruptured your spring ligament or posterior tibial tendon or some such.
You may have a structurally (and naturally) flat/low arched foot which may or may not be an issue at all. Are you saying your foot has actually changed shape for some reason? That is a different animal entirely.
Fair enough point (presumably). I have a long hisory of rolled/sprained ankles from a prior sporting life. I’m having a number of issues (, but not sure if this is a contributing or not - just trying to rule out any possibilities). Thanks for responding
There is no such thing as your “arches have collapsed” unless you ruptured your spring ligament or posterior tibial tendon or some such.
You may have a structurally (and naturally) flat/low arched foot which may or may not be an issue at all. Are you saying your foot has actually changed shape for some reason? That is a different animal entirely.
Excellent point…the ART / chiro guy I am seeing said to me the other day that I had “collapsed arches.” I responded “Not at all. They have always been like that.”
That said, I went to the local tri store after that to (re)investigate stability shoes…and they said my arches were “medium” height and I was not pronating. So who knows…
Flat feet to not necessarily mean you need mechanical correction, there is actually a lot of debate as to whether orthotics are necessary at all. I have flat flat feet and have not experienced an problems racing in flats and using neutral shoes. I eased my mileage into them to adapt to the ramp change but otherwise they feel great. Seek out several opinions from professionals. I am sure there are many pro triathletes who are flat footed and race in flats.
Here is an article from Dr. Nicholas Romanov, a two time Olympic Coach and dude who seems pretty knowledgeable.
http://www.posetech.com/training/archives/000270.html
I don’t disagree…I believe stability shoes had a role in my Achilles issue 2 years ago. After that, I was in the camp of “If it is your natural stride, then go with it and don’t try to correct it”
But now that I am struggling with ITBS and can’t seem to find a cause or resolution, I am wondering if it was pronation that caused it.
If some form of mechanical correction can get me back training short term while I work on long term fixes (strenghtening hips / glutes, etc), I am completely open to it.
As for Dr. Romanov, it seems he has a specific product he is trying to sell, hence his stance on orthotics. Not that he is wrong necessarily, just that he may not be the most unbiased in his positions. Interesting stuff, nonetheless.
I have real flat arches and have had minimal injuries this year since switching to Brooks Dyad 6s which are clunky and ugly as hell but designed for my flat arches so f it.
i also have almost completely flat feet, and eased in minimalist shoes, huaraches and a bit of barefoot. my feet have never felt better, nor my legs. i run most of my miles these days in NB minimus trails, which are almost but not quite as minimal as five fingers. i took 3-4 months to make the transition. i used to run in brooks beasts and other shoes designed to “help” my feet.