Have you tried insoles?

[RunBrianRun]

I’ve had a tough time with injury this year and now I’m back to almost full fitness I’m trying anything to help prevent a recurrence including several pairs of new running shoes, support socks, yoga, running only on grass and diet to keep the weight off. Yesterday I bought 2 pairs of these insoles:

enertor.com

Hopefully they’ll add some further protection. I’ll report my findings back here after I’ve given them a few runs.

[Womangolfer Graduate10]

Please do as I have been looking at them. Do you need bigger size in shoe?

[RunBrianRun Graduate10 in reply to Womangolfer]

I’m not sure. I got the 9-10 size. My shoes are size 9 so I can always trim them to size I think. I’ll let you know

[Blackberrypie Graduate10]

Have you tried consulting a podiatrist? I was having knee problems and shin splints walking around and at the time would have sworn running was not for me. But the podiatrist gave me some exercises and custom-fitted some orthotics, which not only cured the knee issues but I'm sure were fundamental for getting to the point where I could start running. I run in a light support running shoe with the same orthotic in place of the standard insert and it seems to work for me. She said that lots of insoles for overpronation just provide arch support but what I really needed was a heel cup that corrected the angle of my heel/ankle and thus the alignment up my leg.

[RunBrianRun Graduate10 in reply to Blackberrypie]

Not yet but that’s mainly because my problem is with my back and not my feet or legs. I was mainly looking at reducing impact or by wearing these. I think it’s likely I will see one soon though just to get a professional opinion.

I am very interested in what you say about the angle of your ankle and heel as when I had my gait analysis redone on Saturday the operator noticed that my left foot points outwards when I run and he wondered whether that might be contributing to my painful back and hips. 🤔 Mmm

[Hidden]

I've been running with orthotic running insoles since suffering with shin splints in April. They've made a huge difference and I haven't suffered since. Good luck and I hope it works well for you too.

[RunBrianRun Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

That’s very encouraging to hear Hidden . I hope I get a similar result. 🙏

[Irishprincess Graduate10]

If you get a lot of injuries you might considering seeing a podiatrist. I was plagued with injuries for years and ended up with a podiatrist who made me special insoles. They weren’t that expensive either.

But beware, if you need special insoles/orthotics then you need a neutral shoe only, not a stability shoe. When I wore a stability shoe I was over-supported, the neutral shoe has worked perfectly. It’s the combination that works, at least for me.

Good luck.

[RunBrianRun Graduate10 in reply to Irishprincess]

Thanks IP. So would you say you have noticed a significant improvement and what particular injuries did they help with?

[Irishprincess Graduate10 in reply to RunBrianRun]

I had knee problems and lower back pain on and off since I started running but I just put it down to the usual - too much too soon, tight muscles, weak areas, etc But a full blown knee pain stopped me literally for three months when I was training for a HM. At this point I was referred to a podiatrist who thought it was my ITB. I had a slightly turned out left foot, slightly flat feet and one side of my pelvis dropped. All of this was putting pressure on my knee and it didn’t sit in alignment with my pelvis.

I must admit it took over a year to get the orthotics absolutely right as they had to be adjusted slightly if I had even slight niggles but we got there in the end. I ran pain free and niggle free for a time but then I started to get minor injuries once more once I started to up the mileage again. The turning point for me was when I went to a new running shop to get a gait analysis. The chap there suggested that I was over-supported with the stability shoe and that I only needed a neutral shoe because the orthotics should be doing the work not the shoe. This was a game changer for me and I’ve not had an injury since 🤞

However, I would also say that my Reformer Pilates and lots of work on my obliques and core has worked wonders too. For me I think it’s been a combination of the orthotics, shoes and strength work for the right areas.

I honestly don’t think there’s an easy fix for many of these niggles. Our bodies are typically lopsided and it’s usually when we push the mileage and/or speed that our weak areas flare up to bite us. But the encouraging thing is that most of these niggles are fixable with the right treatment, rest etc. It’s a bit like finding the Holy Grail of Running, a bit of a journey but we get there in the end!

Sorry for the epic reply but I hope it helps a bit and keep us posted on how you get on.

[RunBrianRun Graduate10 in reply to Irishprincess]

Thank you IP for taking the time to reply. Very interesting and has got me thinking. I’ll give these insoles a go for now; may as well as I’ve spent money on them. If there’s no obvious difference or my pain returns I will head to the podiatrist. I also have a foot that points outward and I have very high arches. I don’t have knee problems yet only lower back and hip but I’m intrigued to see how I get on with these insoles.

I only use neutral shoes now. I stopped using support shoes over a year ago and when I had my gait analysis done last week my pronation had gone completely from when I had my first gait analysis done in 2017. Not sure what to make of that other than it proves that it is possible to correct pronation over time.

[Tasha99 Graduate10]

I bought some of these but I’ve never worn them 🤦🏽‍♀️🤣