Orthothics

cantwbr1

I have been running for the last 5 years averaging 20-30 Km/week. I've always purchased runners that are cushioning as I have quite a high arch. Over the summer I increased my mileage a bit and noticed that I am now pronating quite a bit.
This is Health Awareness week in my workplace and as part of this I had a Biomechanical assessment of my feet done by a local foot clinic. The guy I met confirmed my suspicions about pronation and he recommended orthothics (which he could of course supply) ranging in price from €50 to €270. He also advised staying away from motion control runners and use cushioning runners with orthothics (better control he claimed).
What are peoples views on this. Are orthothics worth the money or are they a fad. One person who I spoke to (before I relaised that I was pronating) observed that the people recomending orthotics were also those selling them.

Rogue Runner

Is your over pronation causing injuries? If not I wouldn't bother. There's nothing wrong with pronating.

pconn062

Over pronation is not an issue unless it is causing you to get injured, have you any injury problems? You shouldn't need to alter your natural running style if it's not causing you issues. Haile Gebrselassie, considered one of the greatest runners of all time overpronates quite badly and it doesn't seem to have done him much harm!

Edit@ Rogue runner beat me too it! But we're making the same point.

Rantan

a physio recomended I use orthotics last year..I was a bit suspicious at the time as it seemed a little over the top in response to the little niggle I had..I just foam rolled more and increased hip strenght(I did a pilates class for a few months) and havent been to a physio since..
over the years I have dropped from motion control asics to Faas 500( a relatively light neutral cushioned shoe) which I ran cork marathon in earlier this year. trouble free, so cant see why I would have needed orthotics?

sconhome

cantwbr1 wrote: »

I have been running for the last 5 years averaging 20-30 Km/week. I've always purchased runners that are cushioning as I have quite a high arch. Over the summer I increased my mileage a bit and noticed that I am now pronating quite a bit.
This is Health Awareness week in my workplace and as part of this I had a Biomechanical assessment of my feet done by a local foot clinic. The guy I met confirmed my suspicions about pronation and he recommended orthothics (which he could of course supply) ranging in price from €50 to €270. He also advised staying away from motion control runners and use cushioning runners with orthothics (better control he claimed).
What are peoples views on this. Are orthothics worth the money or are they a fad. One person who I spoke to (before I relaised that I was pronating) observed that the people recomending orthotics were also those selling them.

Confused.

You're in neutral cushioned shoes for the past 5 years and no issues (?)
An assessment (by someone who sells orthotics) identifies your suspicions about pronation, what are they? (Pronation is normal, too much or too little can be problematic)

He's right about motion control, most people don't need maximum control and usually a bit of guidance is all that's needed for many overpronators. But they won't tell you that.

5 years running injury free (?) without orthotics, unless something drastic has happened over the course of last week, you just answered your own questions

cantwbr1

Thanks for the feedback lads. Your views tally with my own and I think that I'll stick with what has been working for me.

TommyLAD

Phyiso's sometimes to quick with the orthotics sell ,

Good Running Shop first ( Amphking)

musicfan1ie

You're probably ok for now. But keep an eye on it if you ever increase your distance for a marathon etc

I had never had any knee injuries until I did it training for marathon and then, I did it to my knee. Some bad luck admittedly - increased distance, dodgy underground, new trainers. Now I use orthotics and wouldn't live without them now.