Does anyone have pronated (flat) feet? I have broken the fifth metatarsal on both feet by simply walking. I am planning a trip overseas where there will be a lot of walking involved. Do any of you have any precautions, ideas or advice on how I can prevent another foot injury?
I have been to a podiatrist. I just would like a few pointers.
Thanks.
Be careful with the podiatrists. They tend to be very zealous with orthotics, which can be very dangerous when you don’t really need them.
I can’t think of any reason why a pronated foot would cause you to break a fifth metatarsal. Certainly you’ve been walking on the same feet your whole life so unless you have an adult-acquired flatfoot deformity, which is unlikely, you wouldn’t just start having problems now
[quote]huslinbriks wrote:
Be careful with the podiatrists. They tend to be very zealous with orthotics, which can be very dangerous when you don’t really need them.
I can’t think of any reason why a pronated foot would cause you to break a fifth metatarsal. Certainly you’ve been walking on the same feet your whole life so unless you have an adult-acquired flatfoot deformity, which is unlikely, you wouldn’t just start having problems now
[/quote]
Flat feet get worse as you get bigger and heavier. I have flat feet and have foot pain and cramping all the time. Instead of the foots bone structure supporting your body weight it’s the muscles in the foot. The muscles in your feet get tired which leads to foot and back pain.
Huslinbriks is right about over zealous podiatrists. Make sure you get a couple of opinions.
[quote]MaloVerde wrote:
Flat feet get worse as you get bigger and heavier. I have flat feet and have foot pain and cramping all the time. Instead of the foots bone structure supporting your body weight it’s the muscles in the foot. The muscles in your feet get tired which leads to foot and back pain.
Huslinbriks is right about over zealous podiatrists. Make sure you get a couple of opinions.
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Thank you for mentioning that about getting bigger. I was wondering why my feet were getting so fatigued in my hockey skates in june when I had put on ~15 pounds from februrary-june. I’m not having any problems now though fortunately.
[quote]huslinbriks wrote:
Be careful with the podiatrists. They tend to be very zealous with orthotics, which can be very dangerous when you don’t really need them.
I can’t think of any reason why a pronated foot would cause you to break a fifth metatarsal. Certainly you’ve been walking on the same feet your whole life so unless you have an adult-acquired flatfoot deformity, which is unlikely, you wouldn’t just start having problems now
[/quote]
The breaking of the bone was clearly shown on the x-ray. It swole and was very painful. My podiatrist didn’t even recommend orthotics. He wrapped my feet and gave me a prescription. He modified my soles and didn’t charge me for it.
The first bone broke when I was at 214 (close to my natural weight). The second time was at 230.
Thanks for your input.
[quote]chewie wrote:
huslinbriks wrote:
Be careful with the podiatrists. They tend to be very zealous with orthotics, which can be very dangerous when you don’t really need them.
I can’t think of any reason why a pronated foot would cause you to break a fifth metatarsal. Certainly you’ve been walking on the same feet your whole life so unless you have an adult-acquired flatfoot deformity, which is unlikely, you wouldn’t just start having problems now
The breaking of the bone was clearly shown on the x-ray. It swole and was very painful. My podiatrist didn’t even recommend orthotics. He wrapped my feet and gave me a prescription. He modified my soles and didn’t charge me for it.
The first bone broke when I was at 214 (close to my natural weight). The second time was at 230.
Thanks for your input. [/quote]
Chewie,
I don’t think it’s hard to believe that you broke a bone in your foot that way. I jumped out of a trailered boat onto the concrete and hyper extended the main tendon that runs the bottom of my right foot. Couldn’t walk properly for 3 months.
I also have flat feet. Could a program like Neanderthal No More possibly correct that? I feel like having flat feet interferes with my squats and it clearly can lead to other complications.
[quote]valbert wrote:
I also have flat feet. Could a program like Neanderthal No More possibly correct that? I feel like having flat feet interferes with my squats and it clearly can lead to other complications.[/quote]
I’m no doctor, but I doubt any workout routine can correct bad bone structure. I use inserts when I know I’m going to walk alot or on leg day.
I was under the impression that an anteriorly tilted pelvis (as with lordosis) could lead to internally
rotated femurs, which in turn leads to internally rotated tibiae which somehow leads to pronated feet. Here’s the quote from NNM:
So, for all of us cursed with flat feet, does that mean that by correcting our postures we can have normal feet again, or are there various types of flat feet, some caused by poor posture and others caused by something not so easy to fix?
Honestly, I would caution you to check whether you have Pronating or Supinating feet. Supinating feet are much more rare than pronating feet, but wearing anti-pronating shoes as a supinator can fuck up your gait and your knees.
Just a word of caution. Generally people who put stress on their first or fifth metatarsils are supinators, not pronators. However, each individual is different. Try to find out which of the two you are.
I’m flat footed but haven’t broken any toes from walking.
I did have quite a bit of knee pain over the years until I had my feet checked out by a running specialist over at a health clinic.
She gave me a list of running shoes which had extra arch support. Since I switched to them, my knee pain has completely disappeared. I wear inserts on my regular shoes and noticed a big difference too.
I’m not sure how relevant this is, but walking/running in the sand and other soft surfaces, plus rope skipping drills make my foot muscles/arches burn and they are sore the next day.
I have incredibly flat feet (made apparent when I leave footprints around a pool or on the beach) No arch whatsoever.
To be honest I’ve never experienced any pain or problems walking or running (though I have nothing to compare it to)
The only thing I’ve had done was have artificial arches put in my shoes. And to be honest it didn’t seem to do much so I went back to regular shoes/sneakers without the inserts.
[quote]lesotho72 wrote:
The only thing I’ve had done was have artificial arches put in my shoes.
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These really hurt when I used them as a child.
I need to clarify. I broke the fifth metatarsal where it connects with the cuboid.
[quote]valbert wrote:
So, for all of us cursed with flat feet, does that mean that by correcting our postures we can have normal feet again, or are there various types of flat feet, some caused by poor posture and others caused by something not so easy to fix?[/quote]
check out MBT footwear, which attempt to solve this very problem
[quote]boomerlu wrote:
I’m not sure how relevant this is, but walking/running in the sand and other soft surfaces, plus rope skipping drills make my foot muscles/arches burn and they are sore the next day.[/quote]
again this is the premise under which these shoes work. they do however look like a pair of herman munsters shoes so if you are fashion conscious take note 
but they do the job they say they do
[quote]lesotho72 wrote:
I have incredibly flat feet (made apparent when I leave footprints around a pool or on the beach) No arch whatsoever.
To be honest I’ve never experienced any pain or problems walking or running (though I have nothing to compare it to)
The only thing I’ve had done was have artificial arches put in my shoes. And to be honest it didn’t seem to do much so I went back to regular shoes/sneakers without the inserts.
[/quote]
That was exactly how I was until 6 months ago when I developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot. Holy Smokes! Talk about a debilitating constant pain that really cut into my quality of life.
In my case, custom orthotics from a podiatrist have proven to be a very good thing as they’re the only treatment I’ve tried that does any good. My non-injured foot feels so good that I probably should have gotten orthotics years ago.
i have extremely flat feet so i know the pain your going through. i get horrible shin splints after any running activity. i make sure that i buy new shoes for running on a pretty regular basis. worn out soles can only add to the problem when it comes to flat feet. also, to take away from some of the impact of walking, i would suggest Gellin
[quote]worzel wrote:
valbert wrote:
So, for all of us cursed with flat feet, does that mean that by correcting our postures we can have normal feet again, or are there various types of flat feet, some caused by poor posture and others caused by something not so easy to fix?
check out MBT footwear, which attempt to solve this very problem
boomerlu wrote:
I’m not sure how relevant this is, but walking/running in the sand and other soft surfaces, plus rope skipping drills make my foot muscles/arches burn and they are sore the next day.
again this is the premise under which these shoes work. they do however look like a pair of herman munsters shoes so if you are fashion conscious take note but they do the job they say they do
[/quote]
Re - MBT footwear…looks like my coach was on to something, and that definitely sounds interesting.
[quote]lesotho72 wrote:
I have incredibly flat feet (made apparent when I leave footprints around a pool or on the beach) No arch whatsoever.
To be honest I’ve never experienced any pain or problems walking or running (though I have nothing to compare it to)
The only thing I’ve had done was have artificial arches put in my shoes. And to be honest it didn’t seem to do much so I went back to regular shoes/sneakers without the inserts.
[/quote]
I went without my arch supports for a while also, having lost them. I never got them replaced, because I didn’t experience any immediate pain. About a year and a half later, I added running to my exercise routine and I slowly began to experience lower back pain. It got so severe that it really hurt to even sit down or stand up, and it was effecting my walking stride. I went to a chiropractor several times, but nothing we tried seemed to help. Finally, I decided to get my arch supports replaced and within a week my back pain started to subside. I haven’t had a problem with my back since, whether I run or not.