The arch myth: investigating the impact of flat foot on vertical jump height: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: The necessity to exclude flat foot when selecting athletes is a controversial issue. This study aimed to investigate whether flat foot affects vertical jump.

Methods: The quality of the literature was assessed using the observational study quality assessment tool provided by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care in Australia. Meta-analysis, heterogeneity testing, sensitivity analysis, subgroup analysis, and forest plot were conducted using Review Manager 5.4.

Results: In the end, 9 articles met the meta-analysis criteria. Due to the heterogeneity of the studies, only vertical jump height was used as an indicator for meta-analysis. Meta-analysis results showed low heterogeneity among studies (I² = 6%, P = 0.39), and the combined effect size showed no significant difference in jumping height between flat foot and normal foot (P = 0.73, ES = 0.13, 95%CI [-0.58, 0.83]). Subgroup analyses showed no significant differences in jump heights between flat and normal foot in either the adolescent subgroup (ES = 0.07, 95% CI [-1.04, 1.18]) or the adult subgroup (ES = 0.16, 95% CI [-0.76, 1.08]). Subgroups were divided according to training background, and jump height was unaffected by flat foot in both athletes (ES = -0.08, 95%CI [-1.07, 0.90]) and amateur (ES = 0.34, 95%CI [-0.67, 1.35]).

Conclusion: Overall, flat foot do not affect vertical jump height, although flat foot have different vertical jump biomechanics. This study breaks the bias that flat foot have poorer athletic performance. The meta-analysis has been registered with PROSPERO under registration number CRD42023481326.