Walking Shoes: If you search the web for “Shoes for Flat Feet” it is pretty hard to come by them. Most reccomendations are for orthotics for flat feet that you can wear in your shoes. And it makes sense.  With flexible flat feet, the amount foot flatness varies quite a bit from person to person. The shoes produced in commercially, even though they mignt be advertised as “shoes for flat feet”,  will not fit everybody the same. I expect that for most people it is a matter of trial and error.  The other much more expensive choice is to have the shoes specially  designed  for your feet by a podiatrist.

Sports Shoes: This is a reccomendation of somebody who might know what they are talking about: Try cross-training or court (tennis) shoes, which are made to accommodate side-to-side movements, rather than running shoes, which are meant for forward motion, says Stephen Pribut, DPM, president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine. Make sure you find a shoe with plenty of support: When shopping, place the toe of the shoe on the floor with the heel pointing toward the ceiling. Press straight down on the heel. If the shoe bends in the center, it won’t provide enough support, he says.

Hiking Shoes: Since most people with flexible flat feet have less stable ankles, It is common sense to look for hiking boots with good ankle coverage, boots that wrap the ankle snuggly but without hurting. This helps the ankles stay aligned and not roll inwards. Combined with a good orthotic or insole, this should make for a good hiking. Keep in mind though that a stiff arch support can actually cause pain to the arch are of your foot, especially when carrying a heavy backpack.

I wear proprioceptive Posture Control Insoles in all my shoes. This way I can wear my favorite pairs of shoes all the the time. I bought the ones that don’t have arch support because they take very little space in the shoe and I don’t need arch support. You can find more info about how these insoles work here on this blog or on the Morton’s Foot website. It is my choice to promote them here because I’m very satisfied with them.

Feel free to share your experience with different types or brands of shoes for flat feet in the comments for this post.

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