Running Pain With Flat Feet

First and foremost, let us say that we don’t want to discourage anyone from running if they have flat feet. Research shows that individuals with flat feet are only slightly more likely to deal with certain foot issues, so don’t let your foot shape deter you from getting regular healthy exercise. You may just have to be a little more proactive in how you work to protect your feet when running.

Medical experts have found that flat feet is associated with a slight uptick in risk for issues like shin splints or patellofermoal pain syndrome. This is because people with flat feet have a tendency to have their feet roll inward, resulting in greater pressure being placed on the heels and knees. When you consider greater load bearing in these areas combined with the repetitive stress of running, and it’s easy to see why your knees, ankles and heel may be at a heightened risk for stress-related injuries.

So what can you do to prevent and treat these concerns so that running isn’t any more uncomfortable than it needs to be? Here’s what we recommend if you want to develop a running routine and you have flat feet:

Get Supportive Shoes – Don’t just throw your feet into any old running shoe. You’ll want a well-fitting shoe with soft soles to support and stabilize the heel. You can even connect with a shoe fitter or a foot and ankle specialist to find a shoe specifically designed for some of the challenges faced by people with fallen arches or flat feet.

Consider Orthotics – For additional support and to contribute to ideal stress distribution across the bottom of your foot, consider adding orthotic inserts to your running shoes. You can opt for a generic shoe designed for individuals with flat feet, or you can get better results by adding a custom insole designed with your personal foot specifications in mind.

Stretch – It’s also quite helpful to stretch prior to your run. Stretching can help to relieve tension on soft tissues whose contraction may contribute to foot pronation, which as we talked about above, can increase the stress on certain areas of your feet when you run. Loosening up those soft tissues can help you have a more ideal running form in spite of your arch issues.

Vary Your Exercise – You can avoid overstressing your arch and related areas by varying your exercise routine. Instead of always going for a run, swap in some other exercises that are less impactful on your feet. Do an upper body workout, a yoga routine or head to the community pool to swim laps once a week. Giving your body ample time to recover after exercise can help to prevent overstress injuries.

Keep these tips in mind, and be sure to connect with an orthopaedic specialist if you’re dealing with new or worsening symptoms tied to a concern in your foot. For more information about developing or building upon an existing running program no matter your foot shape, connect with Dr. Silverman. Get in contact with his office by clicking here.

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This inward turning of the ankles is actually classified as ankle pronation, and understanding pronation can be a little confusing. When an ankle turns inward, it is said to be pronated or overpronated, but pronation is also considered a motion that is performed by the foot during the act of walking. The motion of pronation involves an inward rotation of the lower leg and an outward turning of the foot, which can also contribute to foot arch loss. Still following?

Some pronation is necessary when walking, but if you overpronate you can end up with inward turned ankles and other health issues. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at what these inward turned ankles mean for your feet, and how a foot specialist can help you treat them.

Pronated Ankles

Pronated ankles may not seem like all that big of a deal, especially since they aren’t typically painful like other foot conditions. You may feel some discomfort after being on your feet for an extended period of time, but pronated feet aren’t likely to cause significant pain in and of themselves. That being said, overpronated feet can contribute to the onset of other painful conditions, including but not limited to:

• Shin Splints
• Posterior Tibial Tendonitis
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Bunions
• Sciatica
• Lower Back Pain
• Hip Pain
• Knee Pain

So what should you do if you notice that your ankles appear to be bending inwards? Even though they may not be painful at the moment, if you keep doing the same things that led to the condition in the first place, odds are it’s only going to get worse. And when this happens, the likelihood of other conditions developing skyrockets. So instead of ignoring the inward turned ankles, you should have them examined by a foot and ankle specialist.

The easiest way to treat an inward bowing of the ankles, or to at least shift how pressure is dispersed and prevent the condition from getting worse, is by getting set up with an orthotic insert. Your foot specialist can take a look at your feet and use some diagnostic tools in their arsenal to figure out which type of insert would help shift how stress is displaced in your foot so that the pronation doesn’t continue. Custom orthotics help to eliminate the faulty mechanics in your gait that contribute to this overpronation.

Some foot specialists may also order a few sessions of physical therapy. This will help to build up muscles in the foot and ankle that may need to handle more pressure as orthotics shift how stress is displaced in the area. Coupled together, orthotic inserts and simple physical therapy exercises do wonders for helping prevent bigger problems caused by overpronated ankles.

The post Why Are My Ankles Turned Inward? appeared first on Lance Silverman, MD - Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Surgeon.