Arch height does NOT really matter for injury prevention, but maybe for performance.
Arch height and injury prevention
Even though any injury can occur in any runner regardless of their arch height, the follow generalizations are found in the research:
- High arches tend to be stiffer and can increase the incidence of foot and femoral (upper leg) stress fractures as well as lateral knee/Iliotibial band (ITB) pain or injury compared with runners with flatter feet.
- Low arches tend to be more flexible resulting in excessive stress of the plantar fascia, achilles tendon, calf muscles, tibial (shin) bone and surrounding muscles.
- Recent research suggests that arch height is less relevant than the RATE of pronation during foot strike. The faster the runner’s rate of pronation, the more likely he/she is to get injured.
- The good news is that the rate of pronation can be reduced and controlled by core, hip and foot strength and stability.
Arch height and performance:
- Although high arches and flat feet exist at elite levels of sprinters and endurance runners, higher arches tend to be found in distance runners and flatter feet are more common with sprinters. For the rest of us, the good news is that the body can adapt to any foot type if the training program builds gradually enough for the individual.
In summary, a very gradual training progression in addition to core, hip and foot strength exercises are important for runners to integrate into their training so they can help to control their rate of pronation, regardless of their arch type.
