Flat Feet

Misalignment of your feet can force the arches to constrict and flatten, thereby causing you pain.  Sometimes you may not have any foot pain, but the flatness may cause pressure at other joints, like weak ankles, knee pain, or hip pain. It is not uncommon for someone with shoulder pain or TMJ to find the connection to the feet as he learns The Vance Stance®.

In learning to stand correctly in gravity with The Vance Stance, you will begin to point your feet exactly and directly straight ahead. This will allow your arch to act like the bridge it is. Standing incorrectly, with the feet turned out as most people do, forces the ankles to roll in (pronation), making it impossible for the arch to lift appropriately. After you learn to do The Stance itself in the first half of the book, you will learn specific Movements which actively stretch and contract in the appropriate balance needed to change the arch.  

For FLATFEET clients, see the exercises in the Foot Pain section for beginning moves before continuing with the following Movement in The Vance Stance book:

• Monkey Walk (page 108-109), which stretches the muscles along the top and outside of the foot by curling your feet in, bending your knees, and standing and walking like this in The Stance.  This will make it easier for the arches to lift.

NOTE: Dr. Bonner strongly recommends the use of custom-made orthotics in your shoes, especially with flatfeet. The arch must have a support under it to help it maintain lift. She has them in all her shoes, and all ski boots. Her advice is to avoid those that are mass produced, but rather get a custom-made one that will last for years, and help your feet do what they need to do. 

One recommendation for flatfeet clients: Footform Performance Orthotic