Running with Flat Feet vs. High Arches

Most people think flat feet are bad and high arches are desirable. However, in reality, whether you have flat feet or high arches doesn’t matter. What matters is how well you can connect to and truly use your feet.

From a young age, many of us get into the habit of putting our shoes on in the morning and leaving them on all day, every day. We train our bodies, but we forget to train our feet. However, our feet, like any other area of the body, can lose strength and condition. In fact, most people actually have deconditioned feet!

As runners, it is crucial to maintain the condition of our feet. They are the first thing to contact the ground and the structure that dictates how the rest of our body will handle the impact of running.

A huge factor in our ability to run injury-free is how well our feet connect to the ground and absorb the impact force of each step. The force of running can be 3 to 4 times that of our body weight, and our feet determine how our entire body absorbs that force by communicating with our ankles, hips, core, and spine. Our feet are truly our foundation, and if they're faulty, we’re guaranteed to have problems throughout the rest of the body.

When analysing how well a foot functions, it is useful to consider the height of the arch. A high arch typically means we are dealing with a rigid, locked foot, which typically needs more mobilisation work. In contrast, a flat foot generally means we are dealing with a more unstable, unlocked foot which usually needs more work on stabilisation. In both cases, however, it is helpful to boost the intrinsic foot strength and the feet and toes' connection to the rest of the body.

The "tripod" is a stable reference position. We will use this position as the starting point for some of the other exercises.

• Create three points of contact with the ground: your heel, the ball of your big toe, and the ball of your pinky toe.
• Aim for even distribution of your weight on those three points.
• Maintain even balance from left to right.
• For overpronated feet: corkscrew your ankles and legs out.

The goal is to move each toe independently of one another while maintaining tripod position. Both high-arched runners and those with flat feet will benefit from this exercise, and it can be practiced anywhere, even in shoes.

• Start with a tripod position.
• Practice lifting the big toe while keeping the other four toes on the ground.
• Practice lifting your other four toes while keeping the big toe on the ground.
• Pick up all five toes.
• Feel contact at the balls of your feet, then lower only the big toe.
• Pick up all five toes.
• Feel contact at the balls of your feet, and lower the four lateral toes.
• Pick up all five toes.
• Feel contact at the balls of your feet, spread the toes wide, then piano down each toe one by one.

Using a ball, you can work to release the connective tissue in the feet. While this may seem similar to foam rolling, you should not actually be rolling. Instead, for accurate release, specific points should be targeted and held for around 20 seconds. If it’s too sensitive when you start, push more gently at first or use a bigger ball.

Points of focus:

Looking for more ways to prevent injury? Check out Dr. Andersson's take on the most underrated joint in a runner's body or some of her favourite stretches for runners.