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Sunday, March 18, 2012

Flat Feet Got U Down: Read This Story on Running Legend Darryl Beardall

At 75, local running legend hardly slowing down
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
To run 300000 miles on flat feet? I'd have an easier time of it if you tried explaining a Bassett hound playing Angry Birds on my computer. Bewildered, I looked for some perspective. I went to Dr. Peter Redko of the North Bay Foot and Ankle Center.
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Dr Blake's son's wedding in Kona Hawaii: See Steve and Clare Blake in the center

Can you pick out the flatfoot?
So many generalizations surround feet that just are not true from a medical prespective. The general rule that all patients with flatfeet have very weak feet is totally insane. Flat Feet can be strong, weak, or somewhere in between. Flatfeet can be very stable, and very unstable. Flatfeet can run marathons and not walk across the street comfortably. One of the fastest woman runners I ever treated had the flattest foot I had ever seen. The foot is too complex to use these general rules, but it did get a lot of people out of the military in World War II. The shape of the foot should not be used to generalize treatment programs or success in athletics since there are just as many exceptions to the rule as people who fit the rule. And some generalizations actually only apply to less than 30% of the population. Sorry. Treatments are started with general rules and it is up to the practitioner to see if the general rule actually applies in followup visits. 

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Thank you very much for leaving a comment. Due to my time restraints, some comments may not be answered.I will answer questions that I feel will help the community as a whole.. I can only answer medical questions in a general form. No specific answers can be given. Please consult a podiatrist, therapist, orthopedist, or sports medicine physician in your area for specific questions.