good running shoe for flat feet / fallen arches?

easyontheeye

hi,
can anyone recommend a good running shoe for flat feet, i have googled mizuno alchemy and asic Kayano?? Also does anyone know of a specialist footwear shop in or near dublin? most sports shops ive been to have a poor range of running shoes catering for different foot types.

m_s_nixon

There's a place in Bray called Amphibian King, which was metioned in these forums the other day, I was just there today and got a pair of runners and he showed me a pair of runners that are for completely flat feet, so I'd say he can definitely sort you out, theyre on the Dargle Road just off the M11.

http://www.amphibianking.ie

easyontheeye

thanks for the reply, do the runners for flat feet look normal and light? I heard that some specialist runners for flat feet can look and feel heavy?

m_s_nixon

I was holding them and they were a little heavier than your average pair of runners but nothing excessive and they do look heavier than other runners would, but i'm sure they are designed that way because that's what's best for your foot type, you have nothing to lose by giving him a call anyway

run_Forrest_run

I have flat feet also and I have been using Asics Gel Keyano for the past 2 marathons and am very happy with them. Yes they tend to be a tad heavy compared to other shoes but it's nothing too drastic..I used to have a pair of Brooks Beast shoes, they gave good arch support and motion control but as a result they were very heavy. I ran a marathon in them..bad mistake! I am staying with the Keyano as they seem to do the job for me. I hope U find something suitable.

Lockster

I would also recommend Amphibian King in Bray.

I was there today and the service is first class. Probably best to ring in advance and book a time as you get full one on one service.

You basically go in take your shoes and socks off and have your feet measured. You then run on a short bit of track while he video's you, he then plays this back to you giving a full analysis of your running style and then recommends what type of shoes would be best for you. He then brings a choice to try and videos you again in each of the shoes to see do they correct your problems, from there you then make the decision on which shoes to buy. He will even let you go outside for a short run to "road test" them. All this is free of charge. He even showed me the correct way to lace the shoes which I had not known before.

Much better service than you would receive from any other sports shop and the choice of shoes is quite wide too.

thirtysomething

Does anyone know is there anywhere in the South East that offers similar service?

hooplah

I'm a bit overweight and plan to start running. Getting videotaped sounds a bit overkill but I want to make sure I get some decent trainers and i'd like to be able to get trustworthy advice re fallen arches etc from shop staff.

Is there anywhere in Dublin city that people would reccomend? (going out to bray isn't really an option due to unsocial work hours)

Krusty_Clown

Hooplah, they're open weekends.. and I would heartily recommend a visit...
They're only video-taping from your shins-down, rather than looking at your entire running/jogging style, to perform a gait analysis.

So, before you go and spend (potentially waste) money on a pair of shoes that may cause injury, or at the very least make exercising more difficult, I'd call out to them, before I'd go anywhere else.

cavedave

There are some simple things you can do to as basic gait analysis.
If your toes point outwards (the outside of your heals wears down quickly) is usually caused by weak hamstrings. Deadlifts are the easiest way to fix this.

I have high arches and running barefoot made them higher but barefoot running is a luxury for most people in the country. Check out exercises for fallen arches they do seem to help and fixing the problem is probably better then proping them up.

hooplah

Krusty_Clown wrote:

So, before you go and spend (potentially waste) money on a pair of shoes that may cause injury, or at the very least make exercising more difficult, I'd call out to them, before I'd go anywhere else.

ok, cheers for the advice. Reckon I'll pay them a visit.

FootFax

Im sorry, I dont know who you are so please take this as constructive criticism

cavedave wrote:

There are some simple things you can do to as basic gait analysis.
If your toes point outwards (the outside of your heals wears down quickly) is usually caused by weak hamstrings. Deadlifts are the easiest way to fix this.

Rubbish. Hamstring weakness cause dozens of problems. Your 'toes out' theory has NO basis in science.

I have high arches and running barefoot made them higher but barefoot running is a luxury for most people in the country.

This makes no sense

Check out exercises for fallen arches they do seem to help and fixing the problem is probably better then proping them up.

There are no exercises that 'cure' fallen arches. What most people refer to as 'fallen arches' are in fact over-pronators which no exercise is going to fix. Stretching may help pain reduction. All power exercises do is strengthen the muscle group and do not fix the problem. This is the kind of thing that has been dished out by people that have no clue for years. Its an 'old wives tale'.

As for Hooplah Go to Amphibian King. Damian is the man for the job. His services and world class expertise in shoe science is 100 times more important that some brand advertising.

Good luck.

cavedave

Im sorry, I dont know who you are so please take this as constructive criticism

Will do

Rubbish. Hamstring weakness cause dozens of problems. Your 'toes out' theory has NO basis in science.

Agreed deadlifts are a good idea anyway.

Muscle:
Semimembranosus (most medial hamstring)
Function:
...it extends the thigh, flexes the knee and medially rotates the foot inward.

http://www.ifpa-fitness.com/IFPA-FitBits/fit-bits_archives/ifpa_fitbits_Building_Bigger_Stronger_Thigh_Muscles_Hamstrings.htm
Since the role of the medial hamstring is to rotate the foot inwards it is not unreasonable to assume weak tired hamstrings will result int he foot being rotated outwards. I will look for more sources.
"If you see someone who walks with their feet turned outward, they have weak hamstrings. "
http://www.deepsquatter.com/strength/archives/ls32.htm
I tried this it worked for me, but that is hardly scientific.

This makes no sense

Sorry was being slightly glib. The connection between barefoot running and strengthening the stabilizing muscles int he foot is fairly well proven. Particularly in relation to plantar fasciitis.
http://www.sportsci.org/jour/0103/mw.htm
http://www.geocities.com/jetwalkers/quotes.htm

in fact over-pronators which no exercise is going to fix

Have you got evidence for this?
Agreed on going with a shoe salesman who knows their job. Going with what the television tells you is a bad idea.