What kind of foot do you have? Do you have a straight, semi-curved or curved arch foot? The curve of the arch in a foot makes a difference in how you walk, jog, run or stand. It can make your feet feel tired, it can make them hurt or it can make them feel fine after a hard days work.
The way the arch makes such an impact on feet is through the movement it produces when we walk, jog, or run. When one is standing the arch affects how our weight is distributed. The type of arch can shift more weight on the ball or heal of the foot. A normal arch will shift weight equally.
Supination is a word that describes what happens when a foot first hits the ground when you are walking, jogging, or running. A normal arch will touch down on the ground at the perimeter of the heel or rather the outward edge of the heel.
Pronation is a word that means what the foot does when one is walking, jogging or running. It means inward rolling. When you walk you may notice the pronation that your feet are making. You can feel the rolling of the feet as they glide from the heel to the ball of the foot. The movement is very fluid and light when a step is taken with a normal arch.
If you have a straight arch or what has often been referred to as being flat-footed your foot will roll more than a normal foot. The foot will hit the ground rolling because there isn’t much arch to slow it down. This type of arch is a low arch. A curved arch will do the opposite. The foot will hit the ground rolling on the outward edge of the heel because the arch is too pronounced to fluidly roll on the ball of the foot. This type of arch is a high arch. A semi-curved arch is considered to be normal. This type of arch is a medium arch. The balance from the heel to the ball of the foot gives the medium arch stability and provides it with ample flexibility that the straight arch and high arch cannot give.
If you would like to know what type of arch your foot has there is an easy way to find out. Go barefoot outside when its sunny or if there is enough sun in your house to cast a shadow go barefoot indoors and lift one of your feet up off the ground. While your foot is lifted look at the shadow it is casting. If the shadow looks almost straight without much curvature behind the ball of the foot then you have a low arch. If the shadow has curvature behind the ball then you have a medium arch. If the shadow has a clear pronounced curvature behind the ball of the foot then you have a high arch.
