How to Choose Walking Shoes for Flat Feet

How do you find out whether you have an arced foot or a flat feet? Well, it is quite simple. Just dip your foot in water and step on a cardboard. Now step back and examine your footstep. See whether it shows arches, medium, deep, or not at all. If the footprint shows no arches, then you have flat feet.

You must have noticed that the feet of babies have no arches, but this is no cause of worry as these arches develop after some years. Sometimes, it is found that only one foot of an individual is flat, while some people have both flat feet.

This is a natural physical condition where a person's feet do not have any curves. Sometimes, it is found that flat feet can be developed due to feet abuse. The arch in the feet is essential for support and for bearing pressure while walking.

People with flat feet need special shoes that help in distributing this pressure to other parts of the feet. The shoes should be such that they should help in avoiding over-pronation, and also relieving the person from joint pain, or leg, ankle, or even hip pain.

As flat feet have low or no arches, muscle stress or joint pain is commonly observed. Therefore, one must buy shoes that are specially designed for this type of feet. Walking shoes for flat feet have straight lasts that help in stabilizing your foot and consequently your walk.

These type of shoes are also very useful in motion control that helps in reducing pressure on a single part of the foot. These shoes should also have a firm heel, because it bears the entire weight while walking. They also have insoles that help in providing support to the arch.

You may find several varieties of walking shoes depending upon the severity of flat feet. If none of these shoes provide proper support to your feet, you can go in for custom orthotics. You can consult a specialist to have custom-made shoes for flat feet. They make use of special appliances that are placed in the shoes to create an artificial curvature.

Do not buy shoes that have soft cushioning. You must put your hand inside the shoe and check whether it has an artificial in-built arch and insole. The height of the in-built arch may be different in different varieties of shoes, and hence, you need to try out the shoes properly before buying them.

Nowadays, with the many choices available, you may not find any difficulty in finding the right shoes. One just needs to be cautious, and buy only the right type of shoes!