eli5: Why are flat feet generally worse than arched feet, when you have more surface area making contact with the ground?
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As someone who is flat footed, I can say that it sucks. If you go on a walk more than an hour or two without specialised insoles to support your arches, your ankles will hurt like crazy, also I have lower back pains because of it, which sucks major cock.
Yeah, you guys have it good
I have extremely high arches and it causes issues. I have a bad case of plantar fasciitis that’s not helped by this
Can flat feet or fallen arches cause pain in calf muscles as well?
Surface area to the ground… uh we don’t make torque or horsepower, traction is not a problem
While I can’t give you a good answer, I can give you one based on lived experience with a knee that basically fell apart in a skateboarding accident.
If I’m standing in place, I now stand on the blade of my right foot because it relieves weight from the medial side of my knee preventing it from feeling like it’s buckling. If I roll my foot to the other side, suddenly the pressure is immense in that spot.
The arch of the foot alleviates weight on the knee joint by acting like a cushion and directly the leg upwards to the hip correctly. If your foot was flat the cushion wouldn’t exist and there would be more weight placed on your knees.
Need to evaluate your question. Surface area is only needed for traction. Humans not having traction is not really an issue.
You have chosen the wrong reason why flat feet are considered bad. It’s not related to surface area.
I have flat feet and developed accessory navicular bones (looks like a bump on the inner side of my feet.) Oftentimes it doesn’t bother me anymore unless I hit it on something it can be quite painful. I suffered more in my childhood when I had to walk/run more playing sports and whatnot but I never let it stop me from doing the things I enjoyed.
I get sole inserts made for my shoes from specialized podiatrists as any of the dr sholes I try make little to no difference in comfort.
There are surgical procedures for removal of the bone but I figure it would take a long time to recover. I have been advised it’s better to do the younger you are so I am still in consideration of it.
Huh, I have one flat foot and I haven’t noticed a problem (I walk a lot, 10 miles on a weekend isn’t uncommon) on that side. I’m old and have had plantar fasciitis in both feet at separate times, but it eventually resolved with stretching. I guess I’m lucky. 🤷🏼♀️
If you have flat feet the muscles in your feet are essentially non existent therefore you have no support. Making the rest of your structure work extra and improperly leading to more issues.
Flat feet aren’t a guarantee of pain and suffering all your life. Exercise, PT, stretches can keep the feet ankles and knees healthy.
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