There are a great deal of people out there with flat feet. In fact, up until today I thought I was one of them. If you get pain in your heel, pronate your feet (rotate them inward at the ankle when walking), or standing for a few minutes or more hurts, you just might have flat feet. A great way to know if you have flat feet is to do this foot test where you dip you foot in water then place it on a thick sheet of paper. If there is very little mid-section of your foot showing, you are average. If you have a lot of bare space in between your heel and ball of the foot, that is a high arch. Those with lots of wet between the ball and heel of the foot have flat feet.
People with flat feet have a tendency to pronate their feet, meaning that the ankles lean inward when running. These runners are also at a much higher risk of knee, hip, and foot injuries since their foot is not properly supported by the arch. If you get massive pain in the arch or heel of your foot, chances are you have a common injury associated with flat feet and the reason I found out my feet are flat at all.
Plantar Facialis is a condition often associated with flat feet where the tissue (plantar facia) running from the ball of the foot to the heel gets inflamed. This will cause a stabbing pain in either the heel or the arch of the foot. The best remedy is to ice the area injured and limit activities such as running until the pain is gone. Stretching the foot and massaging the inflamed area will also help decrease pain.
If this form of pain has become associated with running for you, there are ways to help it. Shoes that are low in cushion but high in stability and support are best for those with flat feet. A shoe that have good arch support is also a must since those with flat feet will break arches like Chuck Norris breaks boards.
There is also a fair amount of research saying that barefoot running can help re-form arches in one's feet. Although I am not planning on barefoot running anytime soon, there are shoes that encourage the feeling of barefoot running without the actual barefoot or thin shoe bit. Shoes with a lower offset will replicate the feeling of running barefoot and encourage proper midsole strike.
The offset of a shoe is the difference between the elevation of the heel and the ball of the shoe. The higher the offset, the higher the heel is compared to the ball. Higher offsets encourage a strike closer to the heel while lower offsets encourage a strike closer to the ball of the feet. Personally, I like a low offset since landing on the heel of the foot causes me pain in my arch. Most running experts will also agree that a midsole strike is the best form to have when running.
As for the shoes that are best for flat footed runners, I will have a whole list of the ones others recommend along with my personal favorites tomorrow. Be sure to come back for that fun list along with pricing and reasons why arch support is so dang expensive.