Why Flat is a Problem

When the inside of the foot, the first Metatarsal is not on the ground and weight bearing, the foot becomes unstable.

Especially if you have Morton’s Morton’s Toe but even if you don’t, the bones of your feet are such that when you’re standing on a flat surface with your ankles, knees and hips properly aligned, the inside of your feet, the first Metatarsals are not on the ground and properly weight bearing.  Not only can this cause intense pressure points, but it deprives your brain of the signals it uses to balance the rest of your body.  It messes up your posture and body mechanics and causes you pain and reduced athletic ability.

Walking in sand restores proprioception.

Consider how you feel after a long walk on the beach.  You may have noticed your feet and legs tire differently than after walking on pavement.  Walking on the uneven sand stimulates your calf and foot muscles to work the way they are intended to work. The bottom of the feet are very sensitive because that’s how they stimulate muscle control throughout your body.  Particularly the pressures beneath your first and second metatarsals balance your overall posture and body strength. The fourth and fifth metatarsals help laterally stabilizing your feet.

Without your first Metatarsals on the ground, the posture and balance signals are weak and late. The body responds similarly to suffering from peripheral neuropathy—walking and balancing becomes more difficult. Notice how unsteady people hunch over to protect themselves from a potential fall.

Flat is bad because it makes every step the same.  With every step, the joints are placed in exactly the same position and every muscle is exposing the same tension.  This is the common cause of repetitive motion injuries.  Extrapolating that to running on flat pavement helps explain why 70% of runners injure within the first year. Even if you go for a hike on a trail, the inside of your boots are flat.  Your ankles may get a workout, but your posture signals from your feet are still missing.

Since we can’t change our environment, we have to fix the feet, and fortunately, there is a unique fix that restores a proper relationship between your feet and the ground even when wearing shoes.  ProKinetics® Insoles are designed to recruit the muscles that bring your first Metatarsals to the ground earlier in the gait cycle before the ankle and arch collapse and destroy your postural mechanics.  See how ProKinetics “Defeats the Flat”