I have had life long flat feet and I believe it is causing me problems. My feet have arches and I can maintain them when I focus but they collapse when running/squatting/deadlifting/living. When They collapse I can notice the changes in my knee and hips. My feet almost don’t feel like they have a stable point. I also have weak ankles/calves - I kind of look like Gru from despicable me if he had bigger thighs.
I have powerlifted for years and have always been of the philosophy that I did not need to treat my weak feet with any form of special treatment because they should be trained with things like squatting. But over the last couple years I have been battling persistent knee pain. I am now of the opinion this stems from consistently squatting/walking/running with weak arches and putting my knee into a disadvantaged position.
I have trained with coaches and it kind of makes me feel insane because they give me cues for balance but it does not seem to matter. Focus is not keeping these puppies from rolling over.
Good to hear from you again. It’s been a minute. There are a few things going on here:
Knee Pain
I suspect this is a loading issue more than it is a foot-related issue, as focusing on biomechanics to the exclusion of dose usually misses the bigger issue when it comes to overuse-type injuries. I would be curious about your programming, and what you’ve tried (and the results) to address it.
I’m sure you’re familiar with our material regarding finding an entry point, but just in case:
Finding an entry point is of primary importance, then gradually progressing from there to a sustainable training load. We would be happy to assist if you’ve tried a number of things without a satisfactory result. Email us at support@barbellmedicine.com
Balance Issues
I’d be curious to unpack this a bit more and identify what you mean specifically, as well as what issues it’s causing you. For example, do you lose balance when you squat? Is it in all footwear, barefoot only, and so on.
Weak Feet/Ankles
Similarly, I’d want to know what you mean here, as well as what you’ve tried to do in order to address this.
Ultimately, I don’t think working on the feet or ankles specifically would be my first move to deal with the knee pain (or in the top 3). If you are looking to address both the knee pain and this foot issue, I think a consultation with the pain and rehab team would be beneficial, since this type of issue typically requires ongoing follow up, iteration, and so on.