Flat feet and running is it possible

JonnyC

I am/was in the process of doing training for a marathon in about 6 months time. i am in fairly good shape at the moment from swimming cycling rowing....

The problem is that I have being doing a few 5 mile runs at about 7min a mile pace as training every second night. When I am running am grand but after some runs a few hours after I get a sore arch in one foot which puts me out od action for 4-5 days.

Anyone else have that problem with flat feet and running?

Advice appreciated!

Racing Flat

Do you actually have flat feet/reduced arch height? (Can test by seeing what kind of a footprint you make with wet feet, the narrower the bit in the middle, the higher your arch, the wider the bit in the middle, the lower your arch). There was research done on a random sample of marathon runners and 50% had normal arches, 25% had high arches and 25% had low arches. So lots of runners have lower arches than normal and can still run marathons.

It may be plantar fasciitis - there was a thread on here before about that, depend where exactly the pain is - may be best to go to see a Chartered Physiotherapist to actually get a diagnosis and from there the best form of management can be worked out. One word of advice, beware of the one who says orthotics will sort it out - it may do, but they're not always the answer.

Stark

I have low arches and they don't seem to affect me when I'm running. You will probably need support shoes as people with low arches tend to pronate more. I did have the problem you were having at one time but it sorted itself out without intervention from me. It usually happened if I did a fairly tough run but I hadn't been doing much training other than that.

From the sounds of it, your heart and lungs etc. are very strong from the swimming and cycling allowing you to do hard training sessions but the muscles needed to support running haven't fully developed yet. You'll just need to ease back on the running a bit until things catch up (5 miles in 35 mins is extremely fast for a beginner). Shin splints are another common problem in people coming from other disciplines who have the cardiovascular fitness and end up pushing their legs faster than they're ready to cope.

Jay P

I got insoles from a chiropodist a few years ago and i never have any pains in my feet anymore. I used get them all the time. Definately worth the money

T runner

Heel wedges for your runners can remove the pain while running (by creating an arch) to keep you running in the short term. Should be available in sports shop or large pharmacy. If that works then you probably need a support shoe as suggested. Definately see a physio though for a diagnoses).

Also you should massage by rolling a golfball under your sole gently over the affected area. Handy for work etc.

This ailment has been covered extensively on a different forum:

http://www.imra.ie/?subsec=forum&sec1=forumtopic&category=&ID=4714

Peckham

Likewise I also have low arches, and wear orthotics when running and heel wedges the rest of the time. Before the problem was diagnosed I was getting knee and hip pain, but the support and improved stretching got rid of all that.

As the others say - go to a Chartered Physio to have it assessed, any decent one won't recommend orthotics straight-out but it could come down to that in the end.