Great article about running and footwear...

[Jolt]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/mosl...ste-money.html

[OakLeaf]

I'm so confused.

My massage therapist assures me that the structural variations in my feet cannot be corrected by strengthening muscles - and in fact they cause muscle imbalances all up my legs, hips and back. Whether that's a consequence of the orthopedic shoes they put me in as a child, or whether the shoes really were warranted, is moot now that I'm fully grown.

Then you have the school of thought expressed in your link, also espoused by Chi Running, Jolie Bookspan, and Yoga. Which is very appealing to me.

I just don't know who to believe or how to manage my super-high arches with super-sized pronation.

[Crankin]

I read that article somewhere else; however, I cannot see me ever running without shoes. I can't even walk without shoes! However, I am the person who has read Chi Running and a few of the other books discussed here (trigger points, etc) and they are just too complicated. If something hurts when i run (or ride), I change my position, form, etc, look at anything that might be affecting what I do.
Interesting though.

[salsabike]

Actually, Chi Running trains you to do a midfoot strike by its approach to body alignment and lean. You can do this quite well in running shoes. I started running in October, trained by a Chi Running instructor. No injuries yet. As a former dancer, I find that the basic body alignment principles of Chi Running make good sense. But I still wear the kind of running shoes my sports podiatrist recommends. I don't think the approaches are mutually exclusive. I know I personally could never run barefoot.

[jesvetmed]

Funny... My PT suggested that heel strike first was a more efficient running style and the preferred, but I'd read differently otherwise. I'm with Oak: confused. I guess I'll do what feels best to me.

[salsabike]

I just don't know who to believe or how to manage my super-high arches with super-sized pronation.

OakLeaf, I am very much a beginning runner, and I'm not sure whether what I know from ballet is applicable. But here's what I did know about very high arches in ballet--I had a friend with the most beautiful, high-arched feet, but they needed a lot of support or they would arch right over and sprains would happen. She actually ended up having to special-order point shoes with steel shanks. I would guess the principle is the same--some real support needed to keep that flexibility under control so you don't get hurt--but I definitely don't have the same depth of knowledge about running so can't be positive.

[SadieKate]

I haven't even read the article, but I can tell you that super high arches are very inflexible and can be very painful.

I'm thrilled with super rigid orthotics that blow other people's minds. You run in those?

I'm going to bed now. Hasta.

[spindizzy]

I have this DVD called Evolution Running. Makes total sense to me why heel strike is not efficient. I now run with a mid-foot strike. I have not had any running injuries in 2 years - this from a person with chronically crappy knees! (though it seems to me there are still a lot of fast "heel strikers" still winning races...perhaps it's their foot turnover.) You may be interested in seeing a bit of the video here:

http://www.5min.com/Video/An-Introdu...ing-3-29683888

and here:

http://www.5min.com/Video/An-Introdu...ing-3-29683888

[salsabike]

I'm so confused.

My massage therapist assures me that the structural variations in my feet cannot be corrected by strengthening muscles - and in fact they cause muscle imbalances all up my legs, hips and back. Whether that's a consequence of the orthopedic shoes they put me in as a child, or whether the shoes really were warranted, is moot now that I'm fully grown.

Then you have the school of thought expressed in your link, also espoused by Chi Running, Jolie Bookspan, and Yoga. Which is very appealing to me.

I just don't know who to believe or how to manage my super-high arches with super-sized pronation.

Oak, have you tried a sports podiatrist?

[Andrea]

I am a huge fan of barefoot running! I do all of my runs <10 miles either totally barefoot or wearing a vibram 5-fingers shoe, depending on the terrain (I like the 5-fingers shoe when there are a lot of little rocks or hidden roots/debris on the trail). This is really just because I'm still working my way up to longer barefoot runs- it takes some getting used to!
My left foot used to be flat, and I used to get tendinitis in my right knee. I tried all sorts of motion control shoes and even went to a podiatrist that immediately suggested orthotics. I started doing my own research and decided to give barefooting a try. It makes your feet sore at first... in weird spots, but that went away after a while. Now I have no issues. At all.
I was also incredibly surprised the other day when I was walking around in damp socks on a wood floor- the light caught my footprint just right, and I noticed that my left print was no longer flat! I immediately reached down to feel and, sure enough, I've got an arch now!

When I do wear shoes, I wear Vasque Velocity trail shoes- they don't have much cushion, but they do have a very rugged sole, which I feel that I need to get good traction in some of the places I run.

[Biciclista]

There are several truths quoted in that article. Humans have been running for millions of years. But since we now have shoe feet, we have weakened the muscles in our feet so that we have these problems. Then doctors give us orthotics that shift the balance and eventually we will need more orthotics.
The best shoe is no shoe.
Barefoot people don't get plantar fasciitis. When I shop for shoes, i look for shoes that are as flexible as possible. if i can't easily bend the shoe in half, i put it back down.
Those big fat platforms are real cute, but they're as good for walking as a couple pounds of cement tied to your ankle.

my husband has plantar fasciitis, and wears orthotics now, and we're sure it's because of a summer where he walked a lot in shoes with a 3/4" rigid sole. As a result both of my sons have been eschewing their shoes to a large degree. They both have beautiful muscular feet as a result.

also, there are PT's who can help you work with your weak feet and strengthen the muscles in them.

there's also a program called egoscue.com which has great exercises for all sorts of foot problems.


quote from article: "Your foot's centrepiece is the arch, the greatest weight-bearing design ever created. The beauty of any arch is the way it gets stronger under stress; the harder you push down, the tighter its parts mesh. Push up from underneath and you weaken the whole structure."

this is why big arch supports make my (high) arches hurt like the dickens. That's why I no longer wear Keens.

[SadieKate]

The best shoe is no shoe.

Not according to my sports pedorthist. If you could walk on soft ground or sand, yes, but our lives are spent on flat rigid concrete, wood or tile floors, forcing our feet to conform to the floor.

So you shop for shoes that are as flexible as possible? That is so the shoe provides the pseudo-soft ground.

Your statements are sort of mutually exclusive given the environment in which most of us live.

http://www.footform.com/philosophy.htm

[salsabike]

There are several truths quoted in that article. Humans have been running for millions of years. But since we now have shoe feet, we have weakened the muscles in our feet so that we have these problems. Then doctors give us orthotics that shift the balance and eventually we will need more orthotics.
The best shoe is no shoe.
Barefoot people don't get plantar fasciitis. When I shop for shoes, i look for shoes that are as flexible as possible. if i can't easily bend the shoe in half, i put it back down.
Those big fat platforms are real cute, but they're as good for walking as a couple pounds of cement tied to your ankle.

my husband has plantar fasciitis, and wears orthotics now, and we're sure it's because of a summer where he walked a lot in shoes with a 3/4" rigid sole. As a result both of my sons have been eschewing their shoes to a large degree. They both have beautiful muscular feet as a result.

also, there are PT's who can help you work with your weak feet and strengthen the muscles in them.

there's also a program called egoscue.com which has great exercises for all sorts of foot problems.


quote from article: "Your foot's centrepiece is the arch, the greatest weight-bearing design ever created. The beauty of any arch is the way it gets stronger under stress; the harder you push down, the tighter its parts mesh. Push up from underneath and you weaken the whole structure."

this is why big arch supports make my (high) arches hurt like the dickens. That's why I no longer wear Keens.

Mimi, these may be "truths" for you. They do not work for everyone.

[SadieKate]

Interestingly, that article doesn't even discuss whether there was any evaluation of people buying the right shoe for their foot and stride.

I've worn prescription orthotics since 1976. I was in terrific pain until I had them. I was also wearing the 70's version of tennis shoes: minimal sole, no padding, little arch support. I also have a incredibly high arch and instep, and I'm in pain skiing, running, whatever, without very rigid orthotics that support my arch and help control skeletal alignment.

And hubby tore the plantar fascia in both feet pre-orthotic days. He also had to run on concrete, and being a big boy, his joints started to scream as his shoes broke down.

I think you can find opinions on both sides of the aisle, and that article needs to be just part of the conversation, not the gospel.

[Jolt]

I think you can find opinions on both sides of the aisle, and that article needs to be just part of the conversation, not the gospel.

This is true. I suppose you know by now which school of thought I fall into, but at the same time everyone is different and your point about the hard, flat surfaces on which we spend a lot of time is well taken (besides the fact that we have spent most of our lives wearing shoes and therefore gotten used to walking differently in them than we would if barefoot or in thin, flexible footwear). Certainly going "cold turkey" from big clunky shoes to bare feet is not the best plan; the body needs time to adapt.