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Shoe insoles

Anyone have any experience with insoles in their shoes??

I have some problems with my left ankle and foot /(it's not flexible due to an old injury, surgery would be the only way to improve it)

A guy a met in gym (runs a few marathons a year) swears by his insoles, he sais that without his he could never run.

Anyone else have experience with this?

You can get the insoles specially made for your foot.

Comments

  • risris Posts: 1,002
    i think you mean orthotics that correct a mechanical running problem, or something like that. not used them myself but considering it.
  • I've had a series of knee/lower leg related pains and seen a physio. I couldn't even walk without being in significant pain as I read about this chap http://www.davidgoggins.com/ and decided to do what he did and run through the pain. Injury was caused by overuse highlighting poor biomechanics.

    Usually these problems are bio-mechanical or muscle in balance (both in my case). To cut a long story short after a few treatments I had orthotics made (they aren't cheap, mine were £165) but after 6 weeks I'm now able to exercise pain free since July 12th. I'm really pleased with them but must admit I wasn't at all convinced at the start.

    First thing to do is to see a physio probably before jumping straight into othotics - you want to be sure that orthotics are the thing that will solve the problem as opposed having them fitted and not working. Physio will also probably give you various exercises and a stretching routine to help - I now stretch twice a day.
  • Physio may also make you aware of other things such as leg discrepency. However, leg discrepency isn't uncommon especially if you've broken a leg before. It only becomes a larger problem if its big discrepency but it is important to remember that everyone is different. Eddy Merckx had 1/2 inch leg discrepency which he only found out about after he'd retired and said, "Well, if I had known earlier perhaps I could have been a good cyclist!"
  • Sorry, another post. In answer to your question:

    A guy a met in gym (runs a few marathons a year) swears by his insoles, he sais that without his he could never run.

    That goes for me to!
  • I've got a few friends that swear by orthotics as well, can't run without them but having to go to using that level of technology just to run just doesn't feel right to me. After being inspired by reading 'Born to Run' , which really pushes the fact that running injuries have actually got slight worse since running shoes were invented, I've switched for the last few months to training in racing flats with minimal supports -there's a few weeks of switching back and forth to your old shoes to get used to them but after that your running technique naturally improves and I have to say I've never enjoyed my running more. I have to qualify this to say that I'm strictly a mid-pack runner but even still I never used to enjoy heading out for a run, and now I'm itching to lace up and get out the door.
  • vetboyvetboy Posts: 21
    I run with orthotics all the time.

    My leg was broken when I was a baby and set crooked before it was discovered it was broken. Without orthotics I have constant knee pain when running.

    I have custom made orthotics from a podiatrist and would thoroughly recommend them. If you've got specific injury needs then custom made really is the way to go. They're not cheap but with them I can run more, and as they help correct some pretty major gait defects I run faster too.

    Because they change your mechanics you have to get used to them gradually, so it's worth getting them in the off season so you're ready to wear them full time when your training crnks up.
  • if you've already got skiing ones, they're exactly the same, so you can use them! def do it through a physio, theres sports feet in maidenhead and they wont necessarily sell you orthotics if you dont need them and give you exercises to do too. but i'm rambling here, see a physio and see what they say!
  • okennyokenny Posts: 231
    just bought a new pair of asics (for extreme over pronators - Foundations 8's)

    like magic, the pain is gone.....fantastic.

    Another video analysis of my new balance shows showed that (despite the first analysis) they were not sufficient for me....wish I had known that before I ran a marathon in them!

    thanks for the advice, I will try the asics for a few weeks before considering orthotics.
  • Just another input but I am a heavy runner and had a lot of trouble with the shins, ended up in a pair of orthotics and a pair of Brooks Adrenalines. Wider toe box and the orthotics really helped but the advice was to keep running in a pair of correcting shoes for over pronation and also keep the orthotics in. No problems since!
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