Foot strike whilst running/walking

HankScorpio1985

A few months ago whilst at the physio she noticed that I tended to walk on the outside of my left foot as my big toe was knackered. She fixed the big toe anyway and it is now freely moving. However, I still seem to be running/walking on the outside of my foot, as I have done for a few years when I think about it, and I get shin splints on the same leg and I am sure it's what also causes some of my lower back pain on that side. When I walk now normally without thinking I know I revert back to the outside and when I think about it and try to correct it I know I am over-compensating so in effect I'm not getting a natural balance. Has anyone any tip/exercises to try an cure this and get a "proper" foot strike on the ground? I know I could try specially made insoles but I'm reluctant to pay for them if there's a cheaper cure.

Cheers

menoscemo

HankScorpio1985 wrote: »

A few months ago whilst at the physio she noticed that I tended to walk on the outside of my left foot as my big toe was knackered. She fixed the big toe anyway and it is now freely moving. However, I still seem to be running/walking on the outside of my foot, as I have done for a few years when I think about it, and I get shin splints on the same leg and I am sure it's what also causes some of my lower back pain on that side. When I walk now normally without thinking I know I revert back to the outside and when I think about it and try to correct it I know I am over-compensating so in effect I'm not getting a natural balance. Has anyone any tip/exercises to try an cure this and get a "proper" foot strike on the ground? I know I could try specially made insoles but I'm reluctant to pay for them if there's a cheaper cure.

Cheers

I have been running for a good few years now. Generally cover 100km or more a week and I land on the outside of both feet. It has never caused me any problems.

have a look here at the two of the fastest Marathon runners in the world
Official WR holder patrick makau and The fastest ever marathon runner Geoffrey Mutai. Note they both land on the outside of their foot. Is this what you do or is it more pronounced?

Clearlier

I'd get your physio to do a full body analysis (in fact I would consider looking for another one if she couldn't hazard a reasonable guess as to the source of the problem).

I've had a problem with foot placement but it was nothing to do with my foot. Instead I needed to look to other places in my body. There were other hints as to what was going wrong but they needed to be put together and the full body analysis identified where I was weak/strong and tight/loose. I'm still working away at the exercises but when I can get all of my core muscles to work properly then my foot almost magically puts itself in exactly the position you would normally expect.

N.B. This wasn't about not doing core work - I did that. There's a specific weakness possibly due to an old rugby injury that I didn't properly rehab or even that I'm very right side dominant.

N.B.B. A good physio/physical therapist will set you out in the right direction. You can mess about for years by yourself trying to self-diagnose. I've been purposefully vague about the precise causes of my problem because the chances of you having exactly the same problem are pretty small

HankScorpio1985

menoscemo wrote: »

I have been running for a good few years now. Generally cover 100km or more a week and I land on the outside of both feet. It has never caused me any problems.

have a look here at the two of the fastest Marathon runners in the world
Official WR holder patrick makau and The fastest ever marathon runner Geoffrey Mutai. Note they both land on the outside of their foot. Is this what you do or is it more pronounced?

I can't look at the picture as unfortunately it's blocked in work. She said my problem would lead to landing on the outside with the foot then caving in and then only using the four toes for propulsion/lift off and the big toe not working at all.

Clearlier wrote: »

I'd get your physio to do a full body analysis (in fact I would consider looking for another one if she couldn't hazard a reasonable guess as to the source of the problem).

I've had a problem with foot placement but it was nothing to do with my foot. Instead I needed to look to other places in my body. There were other hints as to what was going wrong but they needed to be put together and the full body analysis identified where I was weak/strong and tight/loose. I'm still working away at the exercises but when I can get all of my core muscles to work properly then my foot almost magically puts itself in exactly the position you would normally expect.

N.B. This wasn't about not doing core work - I did that. There's a specific weakness possibly due to an old rugby injury that I didn't properly rehab or even that I'm very right side dominant.

N.B.B. A good physio/physical therapist will set you out in the right direction. You can mess about for years by yourself trying to self-diagnose. I've been purposefully vague about the precise causes of my problem because the chances of you having exactly the same problem are pretty small

A full body analysis sounds like it would be the right job. Should all physios be qualified to do this and/or is there a universally accepted method? Any physio I have been to in my time have been fairly poor. I'm just trying to track down a good one. I live in the uk though and I'm very reluctant to be spending money again on a poor physio.

Thanks for your replies.

Clearlier

Word of mouth is the best way that I know of and even then perception of what is and isn't a good physio varies wildly. The more physios I go to the better I understand their strengths and weaknesses.

I'm afraid that I have no idea if full body analysis is a widely used technical term, something idiosyncratic to the two physios I see or just plain common sense.... - it does seem quite self-explanatory though and I'd imagine that any physio would understand what is meant by it.

Best suggestion I can think of is to call a few physios up, ask if you can speak to them for a few minutes over the phone and explain that you think you have developed various weaknesses, you run a bit funny and you think you're getting shin splints and lower back pain because of it. See what they say and go with your gut as to which is best.


P.S. If you live in Bournemouth I can help you out...

P.P.S. I'd agree with meno except that it sounds like you're broken so you need to fix it.

HankScorpio1985

Clearlier wrote: »

Word of mouth is the best way that I know of and even then perception of what is and isn't a good physio varies wildly. The more physios I go to the better I understand their strengths and weaknesses.

I'm afraid that I have no idea if full body analysis is a widely used technical term, something idiosyncratic to the two physios I see or just plain common sense.... - it does seem quite self-explanatory though and I'd imagine that any physio would understand what is meant by it.

Best suggestion I can think of is to call a few physios up, ask if you can speak to them for a few minutes over the phone and explain that you think you have developed various weaknesses, you run a bit funny and you think you're getting shin splints and lower back pain because of it. See what they say and go with your gut as to which is best.


P.S. If you live in Bournemouth I can help you out...

P.P.S. I'd agree with meno except that it sounds like you're broken so you need to fix it.

Thanks for your help. Unfortunately I'm in Leeds so it'd be a bit of a trek to get down there. I'll ring a few physios and see what they say.