In this post I will give you my opinion on how having flat feet affected me as a sports person.
At a very young age I was told by my physical education teacher that I would not be able to do many sports due to my flat feet. The sports he placed emphasis on was more on the explosive sports such as track and field, rugby, football and other sports that need instant acceleration.
Me and my flat feet
For those of you who don’t know what flat feet are, it’s a lowering of the arch on the soles of the feet which is generally caused by the weakening of tendons that join the foot and the lower part of the leg. Flat feet normally occurs at birth, or much better stated it is generally hereditary. In saying this I must mention that the lowering of the arches on the feet will also occur due to aging and certain illnesses. At least 20% of people have flat feet, and I assume that most of these people were either told in some time of their lives that they will never be good athletes or just naturally assume that because of the condition of their feet they would get no where in the sports they have interst in.
I’m here to share with you a very interesting statistic.In fact 18% of all tracking and field athletes have some form of “lowering of the arches” on their feet. At least 12% of all NFL players have flat feet. This interesting statistic should clarify the whole myth about having flat feet, which is, “if you have flat feet will never be a good athlete”.
As for me, I can share with you my personal experience that although I have suffered with this condition it has never impeded me in progressing in a sport, what ever it was, whether it was karate, kickboxing, soccer or any other sport that I have participated during my 40 years. I have always been explosive due to my body type, and as most sports scientists will attest to, most of our speed originates from the balls of our feet to the heel.
So the next time you hear someone saying that people with flat feet will never excel in sports you can always share the statistic that I have given here today.
For those of you who feel any form of pain due to this condition, there are many innner soles that one can buy that will help you in adjusting your feet to the correct posture in order for you to feel less tired in your legs. These inner souls are generally for athletes that partake in endurance sports such as triathletes, long-distance runners and so on.
So I hope this post encourages some of you to partake in any sport you desire regardless of how bad your flat feet may be.
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