Advice on Flat Feet from the Flash

[anna in boots]

I've been wondering recently why I hike so much slower than most people. Even folks in horrible shape outpace me and it p!ss!s me off. It doesn't matter if I'm high on caffeine or half-asleep with exhaustion, I always take longer but slower strides. All attempts at change cause cramping from the feet, up. I've tried different boots, shoes, socks, inserts, orthotics, even moleskin and taping up my whole foot like Rocky Balboa about to go ten rounds with a talus slope. I was pondering this during and since my hike with Matt and Paul on Sept. 1rst (see Matt's trip report.)

It dawned on me that having feet as flat as mine is a lot like walking in those rock-hard ski boots where you have to take awkward, slower steps and kick out farther because you can't point your toe. Yeah, well, neither can I. Not since birth, anyway. (Shunned in childhood gymnastics class.) (sigh) My bare foot print looks like a zucchini with toes.

Few days ago, I noticed a tall guy in the weight room walking with such a regal bearing, I said, "I have to tell you, I love the way you walk. You walk like a bank president on the way out to his Porsche." Well, he thought that was a hoot and explained he was a chiropractor. He just wanted to take care of his back.

We discovered that we share the belief that bones are merely held out of whack by muscle tendencies and retraining a muscle--which begins with retraining the stressed-out mind that influenced the muscle--is a simple, effective way to carve out a pain-free future for yourself.

I pined how my birth heralded the flattest feet on the planet. To my utter shock, he said proudly, "Me, too. But I changed all that." He showed me a simple technique to strengthen the muscles that hold the tension in one's arches like the spring in an archery bow.

You stand in bare feet or socks, make sure your ankles are lined up straight, then try to grip the floor with your foot without using your toes. Pretend you're palming a basketball to pick it up--but no toes. Man, talk about hard to do! OUCH!

He laughed and said it would get easier. The pain is just evidence of how out of shape my feet are. Do this every day, he advised, gradually increasing the reps, and eventually, you'll see a difference. You'll throw away your orthotics. I liked the sound of that. WalkFits be damned.

Being one of little patience, I wanted to see something NOW. I went out to Forest Park and walked on the outside of my feet like I was supposed to do all these years but never did. I simply pretended there was a painful cut on the bottom of each foot and I had to step down and roll out without ever letting my arches touch the ground. And get this....

I zooooooooomed across that trail! My God, I was the Flash! I had no idea I could go that fast, it was a miracle. I could feel my whole body lighten up and relax into perfect posture from my ankles to my neck. I felt stupendous! Okay, my feet ached a little after four miles of that, but I had my proof: ski boot walking sucks, big time. This time next year, you can call me The Flash.

anna in boots, sans orthotics

PS: If you look for possibilities and solutions, you'll find them. If you look for evidence that you are screwed, ditto. I'm living proof that you can overcome "the facts of the matter," and in far more ways than feet. You'll always get proof of what you believe, just as hard and as fast as you search.

[yosemite hiker]

OK Flash I'm gonna hold you to this! I, too, experience a lot of pain after about 5 miles that increases with the miles. I'll keep an eye out for flashes on the trail.

[anna in boots]

Hi, Yosemite! How've ya been? Join me! :-)

anna in boots

[raven]

I once bought some insoles designed to automate the process of irritating the bottom of the foot and therefore to cause the arch to increase. I bought them out of curiosity when they were on sale, but I quickly became a believer when my back felt the difference. So I suggest you become a princess with a small pea in each shoe.

Here is a link to the company's website where you can see where they place additional foam in the center of the arch in a basically normal insole.

http://www.barefootscience.com/us/products-active.html

Steve

[anna in boots]

Thanks, Raven. I will accept the princess title immediately and keep the website info on reserve as a back up plan.

anna in boots

[Paul]

anna, you should be a writer (if you already aren't). You have a wit about you....

[anna in boots]

I are a writer, thanks for noticin'!

anna in boots