Kinds of Flat-Footed Basketball Sneakers

If you are flat-footed, most of your inner foot arch touches the ground. Because basketball puts a lot of stress on the arches from repeated running, sprinting, jumping and sudden stops, you may be avoiding the game due to your foot problems. If your condition is not serious enough to warrant surgery, put yourself back into the game by choosing the kind of basketball shoes that provide motion control and stability.

Instructions

    • 1

      Evaluate the shoe for flexion stability by placing the shoe with the soles facing the ground. Bend the toe of the shoe upward toward the sky. Note where the shoe bends -- a shoe with good flexion stability bends at the ball of the foot.

    • 2

      Examine the heel counter, or cup over the heel of the shoe, to evaluate heel stability. Try to bend the heel cup by pinching it on both sides. Reject shoes that have a heel cup that yields easily to your finger pressure, because they will not provide your flat feet with the right support for basketball.

    • 3

      Select a basketball sneaker with good torsional stability. Twist the shoe to the left and right -- if the shoe bends easily, it has poor torsional stability and will not provide good support for flat feet when playing basketball.

    • 4

      Check the footbeds or sock liners. Select a type of basketball shoe that has a removable footbed, allowing you to adjust the amount of insole support or add a custom orthotic device prescribed by your doctor.