I was flatfooted from 3rd grade - 6th grade, and the foot doctor told me not to wear any shoes with flat rubber soles that could be bent really easily. Also my shoes had to have a sturdy "heel", meaning when you squeeze it is stronger than flimsy "casual" shoes. I've developed more of an arch in my feet, but I've never really been slowed down by bad feet, it only ached a lot when I was younger. Now, I just have humungous callasses (sp?) on my feet, and everyone says the balls of my feet are WAY abnormal. I think its just a lot of accumulated dead skin.