How to Trek with Flat Feet

Trekking is fun and exhilarating. But for people with flat feet, it’s a miles-long ordeal. Walking for hours on uneven surfaces makes their feet feel like they are on fire. The feeling soon turns into agonizing pain and later snowballs into knee and back pain. Even if they use hiking poles to reduce the stress, it isn’t of much help.

That said, trekking with flat feet doesn’t have to be a painful experience. If you understand its basics and follow some measures, you can have a rewarding, albeit exhausting, experience.

But before we proceed, let’s learn something about the part that holds the foot: the arch.

The foot’s arch is the area along the bottom of the foot that runs from the ball to the heel. It helps us walk, run, jump, and hike. Besides, it plays a vital role in balancing body weight and maintaining the correct posture.

What else does the Arch do?

The arch helps distribute the body weight to the weight-bearing parts of the sole and acts as a spring when we run, jump, or climb. It also helps absorb shock upon impact. When you are trekking, it prevents the feet from going numb as a result of improper blood flow to the region caused by bumpy grounds riddled with rocks and roots.

What Happens When You Trek with Flat Feet

When you trek with flat feet, the arch doesn't distribute your weight to the weight-bearing parts of the sole effectively. This causes imbalance and excruciating pain and puts a lot of strain on the knee. This is why many people with flat feet struggle a lot while trekking and don’t enjoy the hike as much as they should.

How to Trek with Flat Feet

For trekking enthusiasts with flat feet, preparation is key. This means choosing the right type of trekking boots, wearing customizable fallen arch support insoles such as SelectFlex, and walking long distances every day a few weeks before the trek.

The right boots can significantly reduce stress on the sole and knee and provide you with much-needed comfort while protecting your sole from roots and rocks that come your way while trekking. Make sure you choose boots with ankle support to prevent your ankle from rolling to the outside.

Combine your trekking boots with customizable fallen arch support insoles, preferably SelectFlex, for additional arch support. SelectFlex is a unique type of dynamic energy-returning insole that won ISHN’s award for Best Protective Footwear. It uses patented energy-returning, arch lifting technology called the PowerLift Arch, providing the wearer with 3 energy return levels to support the arch with dynamic alignment with every move.

Besides the type of boots and insoles, you should get into a walking or running routine a few weeks before the trek. This will not only help enhance your cardiovascular health but also strengthen your feet muscles. This will help you walk for longer durations without breaks on the trek.

Many trekkers with flat feet take frequent breaks to give their feet much-needed rest. This helps them prevent muscle soreness and strain. You should also regularly stretch your arch and lower calves during the trek.

Bottom line

While trekking with flat feet is challenging, you can have a comfortable experience reaching the summit should you follow these measures.

If you want to buy arch support insoles online for your next trek, contact us today.