u/trialanderror93

Hey everyone — looking for advice from fellow flat feet sufferers. Here's my situation:

A few weeks ago I woke up with a swollen, stiff big toe joint out of nowhere — no injury, no trauma. It turned out I'm a stomach sleeper with heavy blankets and my toe was likely being bent backwards overnight for hours while I slept. It kept flaring up repeatedly over several weeks, responding to Naproxen and rest each time but coming back whenever I returned to normal activity. It has since resolved but the pattern concerns me.

I'm now seeing a podiatrist soon to get to the root of it.

My questions:

1. Has anyone with flat feet had recurring pain or stiffness at the big toe joint, specifically when bending the toe upward? Was it diagnosed as anything specific?

2. Did custom orthotics make a real difference for you? How long before you felt improvement?

3. What shoes have worked best for flat feet and overpronation? I'm currently looking at New Balance 1540, Brooks Beast, Skechers Arch Fit, and Hoka Arahi.

4. Best supportive house shoes? After a long day in slides, the ball of my other foot — the one that wasn't originally inflamed — became sore, worn, and achy by the end of the day. Are Vionic slippers or Oofos worth it, and are slides ever okay even in moderation with flat feet?

Thanks in advance!

You guys can relate right? Us. Not sure if it's just a general thing or it's more prominent in South Asian culture. Obviously MJ's story shows It's obviously not unique to South Asians, but for those who have seen the movie it was a little bit relatable right?

Honestly, it's probably an immigrant wide thing

From the outside looking in what I observe is:

The Canadian community South Asian community, is a lot more Punjabi influenced. The USA one seems to be more spread.

There's obviously a lot more money in the states. And given the selective immigration process, South Asians in the United States seem to be very rich and upper class. That pattern is also present in Canada but less pronounced. Also, the spread seems to be a little bit more in Canada, given that salvages make a significant portion of the working and middle class here as well

South Asians are more visible in Canada. This only recently changed in the United States for better or for worse

South Asians seem to be one of many minorities in the United States. They've embraced The melting pot a little bit more. Whereas in Canada in many areas they are the overwhelmingly largest minority.