Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › Issues with squatting and flat feet.

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    • 06/18/2013 at 3:51 pm #70279
      Avatar[email protected]
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      Well, first off id like to start by saying that i have one regular arched foot, and one flexible flat foot, I just got my membership here and ive read a lot and watched a lot of videos, and im working daily of my foot drills to regain my arch strenght, i assume since its flexible it should be even easier. I would like to ask if anybody has any experiences with this…I picked up some barefoot technology shoes from merrell and vibram and they seem to work pretty good, is there any other good shoes?? is jumping rope good for the flat feet or should i stop(i usually jump 5-10 mins daily)??? i just want to regain my arch as soon as possible, (im crazy for being able to do pistol squats). 

      I also wanted to ask if a pain that i sometimes have in my knee could be related to this, i usually get it when i lock myself out at the bottom of a pistol squat position and try to go up, it just happens on the leg with the flat foot though. After working for a few days on my drills i think i have a bit of improvement in this matter, but just want to be sure not to be doing something that can affect me in the long run, maybe i shouldnt do pistols with that leg until my arch is stronger??
      As for squatting, i lack a bit of ankle and hip flexor flexibility i think, and im working on it cause its hard for me to get to the full bottom position and sometimes i fall down, or hold it very shortly befre having to go up (at the beggining i couldnt hold it for even a second). i just wanna ask if the flat foot could also be related to me not being able to hold this position.. when im at the bottom i usually feel a bit of pain in my hips, between the legs and pelvis, is this a lack of hip flexibility perhaps, or is it associated with my lower back??
      As far as i know i dont have any other issue, i do remember once that a doctor told me a really long time ago that my right knees, apparently the right a bit more so are very slightly deviated outwards, for me is ridiculously easy to do a ballet dancer stand, with the toes of both feet pointing to the side.. know what i mean? and i can go even further than that point without turning my body, would this affect my squat aswell?
      I know its a lot of imformation but i would appreciate input, opinions and reccomendations on any of the aforementioned points, thanks in advance :).
    • 06/18/2013 at 4:29 pm #72225
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      well your foot is weaker, this makes it so you cannot screw it into the ground optimally. Now, when you cannot create torque in your foot, your in a bad position and you cannot get your knees in a good position. This could be causing the little pain in the knee. To fix that you will need to work on your motor control. Now for your foot keep doing what your doing. DON’T GO TO FAST WITH BAREFOOT SHOES. They are great but take a progressive approach so you don’t get hurt doing to much to soon. Do these things and it should resolve.

      1.maybe you can really work on regular squats with good setup and form before doing pistols its up to you
    • 06/18/2013 at 5:26 pm #72226
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      Juan–
      Have you watched the rebuilding your feet 3 part series?
      Rebuilding Your Feet With Brian MacKenzie
      Rebuilding The Feet, Part 2
      Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h8uxhXhozY&feature=player_embedded
      Episode 349: What If We Just Used a Joint Stability/Function Approach?
      MWOD Pro Episode #3 The Flat Feet Solution
      Episode 343: Stop Walking Like the Duck You Aren’t

      Go barefoot as much as possible.
      Wearing vibrams asks alot more out of your ankle rom, achilles, hams, heel cords etc. Doing too much too fast can lead to a set back.

      The pain in your knee could be caused by several different thing you would need to give more info on it.
      For your squat go after the hip first. This is where you will see the biggest differences.
      Your knee is downstream of the hip so this could be an impacting element to your knee pain.

      You may be hyper mobile at the knee. This is addressed a bit differently.

    • 06/18/2013 at 10:41 pm #72228
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      Participant

      Thank you very much the two of you for your input, i will look into all of this and do my best, ill also take it easy with the vibrams at the beggining and just wear them from time to time.

      Im working on some of the hip mobility exercises daily, as well as the ankle, so hopefully ill see results soon enough, is there any specific hip exercises you would reccomend?
      About the knee… it used to hurt specially when i was a kid, when i keps the knee in a flexed position for a long time, or when i ran a lot and stuff like this, but as i grew up and became more fit and gained a better posture it dissapeared, usually it doesntbother me, just on some occations when i fully extend my knee or when i lockout on a pistol position and try to go up from the bottom (just the flat footed one). Ill work on my hip, feet and posture, and see if it improves, hypermobility seems like a possibility.. im not sure though, what could i do about it?
      I would also lik to add, that my right knee (the one that ocasionally hurts) constantly cracks, or pops if you know what i mean.. soemtimes im just laying down with my legs extended and when i flex my right knee it goes “crrk” i feel it but its painless.
    • 06/19/2013 at 2:16 pm #72231
      AvatarAnonymous
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      When an athlete is hypermobile the situation is approached differently.
      The attention is focused on different aspects to see improvement.
      A couple episodes that address hypermobility.
      Mobility, Pregnancy, and the Hypermobile
      The Hypermobile Amongst Us: Spine Edition

    • 06/19/2013 at 2:38 pm #72232
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      Participant

      Thanks kaitlin, i will keep this thread updated with my progress, working on it every day.

      i would just like to add, a final question about my flat foot. On the interior of my feet (both of them) right above the arch and a little below the ankle bone i have another bone, it is quite visible, and i usually dont see this in other people.. this bone is more evident on the flat foot aswell… is it just my anatomy, or are both things related?
      Edit: i just happened to find some info about this myself, its an accesory navicular, but it doesnt really hurt or anything, so i guess it wont cause any problem. 🙂
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