Flatfeet have been a concern in the sports community for years. From casual runners to professional football players, there are those who are concerned about how they low arches might affect their performance on the field.

In short, flatfeet bring disadvantages to athletes through three main mechanisms: it weakens the foot’s explosive force, it makes the feet fatigued easily, and it reduces stability.

What is a flatfoot?

A flatfoot is a foot that is, well, flat. Normal feet have a natural arch that forms during weight-bearing activities as simple as standing and walking.

This arch is formed due to the fact that the plantar side, or the side of the foot in contact with the ground, has built-in ligaments and soft tissues that keep the bones together.

These ligaments are called the plantar ligaments, and these tissues are called the plantar fascia. They provide support when we move with our feet.

Weakness or deformities in relation to these ligaments will make the arch of the foot less prominent. This is what we call a low arch.

When the arches become so low to the point that the arch is non-existent, then this is what we call a flatfoot.

How to check if you have flatfoot?

There are numerous tests to check whether or not you have flatfeet. One reliable test is called the “wet test”.

To do this test, you will need some water and a piece of paper or cardboard that is roughly a bit larger than the size of your feet.

Firstly, get your feet wet with water and shake off the excess.

Lay down that piece of paper or cardboard on the floor.

Next, while standing upright, step on that piece of paper making sure your whole foot gets on there.

The result is an imprint of the soles of your feet, somewhat like a thumbprint. Here’s an example of mine:

Now let’s compare it to this simple diagram:

As you can see, the diagram showing the flat arch on the left shoes a complete rectangle of a sole. As we approach the high arch on the right, the rectangle separates into two.

From my results of the “wet test”, I have a normal or neutral arch, but it leans a bit towards the flat group. Try this test by yourself at home and leave a comment what your foot arch type is!

Are flatfeet really a disadvantage in sports?

Through a simple Google Search of this question, mixed answers can be found. Some sources say they’re a disadvantage, some say they are a disadvantage. Whether or not these answers are well-researched or not, it’s hard to tell.

Therefore, this article will be going all-out in providing research articles and systemic reviews to explain how flatfeet are disadvantageous in sports and will potentially hinder performance.

An analogy of the foot’s arch

the foot and the bridge

One of the most famous bridges in the world is the Iron Bridge located in Shropshire, England. It’s famous for being the first bridge to made of cast iron. If you look closely, there is a curved structure under the bridge that supports it.

The curve helps to redistribute the weight of the bridge and the people walking on it to both of its arch-ends that end at the ground.

Now, imagine each of the arch-ends are the ball of the foot and the heel. The foot’s arch will deliver the weight of the body to the ball of the foot and the heel. Without the arch, our weight will be concentrated to one point and the heel will receive all the force.

Next, let’s talk about the plantar fascia.

The plantar fascia can be compared to modern day tied arch bridge. An example of such bridge is the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Notice that the arch is above the bridge and the rest of the bridge connects both of the arch-ends.

Let’s have a look at the diagram below, which we give credit to Paul Kassabian. Do watch his YouTube video on arches for a detailed explanation of how they work.

The function of tying the arch of the bridge – or in the case of our feet, the plantar fascia – is to stabilize the weight into a vertical direction towards the ground. If we were to leave the arches disconnected, the forces will move downwards and outwards along the shape of the arch.

How does flatfeet affect running?

1. Weak explosive force

The arch of the foot is made of an arrangement of bones that create a curve. Now, imagine this curve is the body of a bow. Every bow must have a string, right?

the bow-and-string

The string that holds this bow together is called the plantar fascia. This tissue starts from the heel of the foot and reaches to the ball of the foot, especially near the big toe.

This bow-and-string structure has a built-in spring action. Just as how a bow can shoot an arrow, it works for the foot by propelling our body forwards during running and upwards during jumping. It even helps absorb the impact from falling.

the 100m sprint

Research conducted by Index Medical College Indore managed to show how a flatfeet performed in running when being compared to a neutrally arched foot. They had participants do three different types of running: 100m dash, 300m run, and a 12min run/walk

What they found was that flatfeet were less effective in the 100m dash and 12 min run/walk, but proved to be equal to normal feet in the 300m run. They proposed that the reason for these findings is that flatfeet are less effective in explosive and endurance running.

In the case of the 100m sprint, the feet would need to make repetitive explosive movements to propel the body forwards. In reference to the bow-and-string structure we mentioned, flatfeet have a weaker spring action compared to normal feet and thus produce a weaker explosive force.

An article published in the Nature Journal mentions that the feet functions as a spring: it stores elastic energy during the first half of the stance phase and releases this energy during the second half of the stance phase through elastic recoil.

Therefore, a weaker plantar fascia in the case of flatfeet will produce weaker explosive force for activities such as sprinting and jumping.

2. Easily fatigued

When speaking about fatigue in sports activities, we don’t really think about the arch as our main concern. In fact, most of us will probably think about calorie intake, breathing, and getting enough sleep.

the endurance run

As we mentioned in the Index Medical College Indore research previously, they noticed that flatfooted runners were performing worse than their natural footed counterparts in the 12 min walk/run.

The researchers theorized that the reason for this is fatigue. The 12 min walk/run is an endurance-type exercise that requires the body to withstand long consistent power output over a long duration.

Participants with flatfeet were more easily fatigued compared to the normal group because their feet were less efficient in absorbing the impact on every step. As a result, the muscles and bones will feel a greater degree of strain and get easily fatigued.

ENERGY conservation

The shape of the arch and the plantar fascia acts to absorb shock from activities like running through the bow-and-string mechanism. With the help of the spring action provided from this mechanism, the plantar fascia stores and releases elastic energy with each step.

So, a weak or deformed plantar fascia will have a harder time providing this elastic energy that helps us to move forward. Ultimately, people with flatfeet would need to work harder to produce movement and get easily tired.

In a study published in the Foot & Ankle Specialist Journal, researchers calculated the energy consumption between normal foot and flatfoot groups during walking.

They found that the flatfoot group consumed considerably more energy than the normal foot group. Even more so, this research concluded that the use of an arch support such as an orthotic insole would help decrease this energy consumption by aligning the arch.

3. Less stability

Running is a flexible sport. You could run in a track field, by your neighborhood, or even in the city. Chances are, you’ll be needing to traverse various difference surface.

These surfaces could be hard and flat such as asphalt, stone, and tar. They could also be soft and wet such as a grass field after a rainy day.

Travelling across different surfaces with varying hardness and textures would require consistent stability. Otherwise, your body would spend more energy in maintaining stability and the consequence of failing to maintain that stability would be getting yourself injured.

Standing stability

In a study titled Evaluation of Standing Stability in Individuals With Flatfeet, researchers measured the distribution of pressure across the feet with a tool called a Kistler plate.

They compared the sway of center of gravity between people with normal feet and people with flatfeet.

They concluded that flatfeet are undoubtedly more unstable when it comes to balance during standing. If the results are this conclusive about standing, then most surely the stability would be even worse during locomotion like walking and running.

walking stability

Walking is a simple method of transportation, used since the beginning of man.

Stability during walking is a good way of telling whether or not flatfeet would influence one’s performance during running. After all, running is just walking but fast, am I right?

Researchers from Korea published a research article in the Journal of Biomechanics demonstrating how flatfeet twists and turns during walking.

They concluded that people with flatfeet showed abnormal movements and larger range of motion in multiple joints, which resulted in high instability.

Is hope all lost for those with flatfeet?

Having flatfeet is not the end of the world. If you’re an aspiring track runner and feel discouraged by your coaches or colleagues’ comments on your flatfeet, then here’s some motivation.

Flatfeet are just like any other obstacle that an athlete faces to become better. Some athletes are held back by their financial constraints, some have trouble in finding balance between their training and academic studies.

With the help of flatfeet-tailored exercise plans and the right orthotic insoles, you would be just as good as any other participant on the field.

If you push through your obstacles, like having flatfeet, then the results would be worth it. Take inspiration from a famous runner that we all know: Usain Bolt.

Usain Bolt actually has flatfeet, but everyone knows him as the fastest man alive. This goes to show that grit and spirit will eventually prevail in front of the numerous hurdles that life gives us.

On that note, do check our article on flatfeet in sports. It covers a bit on other sports such as basketball and football, which might give you more insight.