orthotics or not? or even barefoot running?

cormacmcg

Hey, been running a few years and due to a recent foot injury I got custom orthotics made at a high price. Ran Dublin marathon last year at a personal best with the new devices in but at the cost of having my quads screaming at me for days. After long runs my quads ache more than before I got the devices fitted. Stopped using them a few days ago to give the sore points a break. The original injury is long gone and the legs are better without the devices for the moment but not drastically better. Should I go back to the orthotics or go without or what the hell I hear mother nature is best for strengthening the feet a couple of days a week, anybody tried barefoot? or using Vibram FiveFingers? Overall are Biomechanical assesments and custom fitted shoe devices a load of money making business or are they worth it? I'm not so sure????

plodder

Million dollar question, I'd say. Take this with a pinch of salt, but I had plantar fasciitis last year, and ended up buying off the shelf foam orthotics in Boots. Initially, while the injury was acute, I wore them all the time, but with some physio and other exercises, I'm only using them when running now. So far, so good, but only running 25 miles/per week.

Sosa

About 7 years ago i had severe tendonitis in both knees,i had to give up all sporting activities for 6 months,problem solved thank god.
Fast forward 5 years and i take up running,after 6 months i started feeling the old problem possibly coming back.
Panic set in and i got custom made orthotics made up for me at the cost of €300 (thankfully,the job paid for them),but what happened then was baffling.

The knees were laright,it was just they were sore from pushing a bit hard in one of my forst races,that passed...but the soles of my feet and under both arches ached....i had to take them off.

Now,i know that you have to break them in...i did...i endured a month of torture with those fcukin things.
I never wore them running because of the pain,but i wore them for the rest of the day no matter what i did.

They are now up in the locker in the spare room...what a waste of €300

Blueskye

I think it's hard to generalise. People have orthotics for so many reasons. I've been wearing a pair for a good few years now and have no problems, I have fairly flat feet and used to get awful pain in my back and legs when I ran years ago, the orthotics have sorted all that out. But I'm sure the pounding on them isn't ideal. They're not exactly cushioned. But I will have flat feet forever. If your injury is gone, then perhaps you no longer need the orthotics? I think there's an awful lot physios etc. still don't know and orthotics aren't a catch all. Plus it's a great money spinner. Who knows. I have to say I'm not won over by the barefoot argument as yet but maybe there's something to it.

BJohnson

cormacmcg wrote: »

Hey, been running a few years and due to a recent foot injury I got custom orthotics made at a high price. Ran Dublin marathon last year at a personal best with the new devices in but at the cost of having my quads screaming at me for days. After long runs my quads ache more than before I got the devices fitted. Stopped using them a few days ago to give the sore points a break. The original injury is long gone and the legs are better without the devices for the moment but not drastically better. Should I go back to the orthotics or go without or what the hell I hear mother nature is best for strengthening the feet a couple of days a week, anybody tried barefoot? or using Vibram FiveFingers? Overall are Biomechanical assesments and custom fitted shoe devices a load of money making business or are they worth it? I'm not so sure????

I've been running in my Vibrams pretty much full-time for the past 5 weeks and love them. I posted a pretty lengthy review of my experiences with them in another thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055815994

A really interesting research article about barefoot running was released by a Harvard researcher within the last couple of weeks. Check out this video interview with the lead guy - he does a great job explaining the biomechanics of running barefoot vs. running with shoes. Really worth a view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrnj-7YKZE&feature=player_embedded

cormacmcg

Thanks to everyone for replying to my thread and the useful links provided. Think I'm goin to keep running orthotic-less unless any sign of original injury shows up.Not sure if I could handle barefoot though or even Vibrams just yet, summertime might be better for those experiments. cheers