Do I really need sturdy running shoes?

Brooks Beasts will fix you right up.

do you realllllllllllly think so?

I mean, in highschool I got custom fitted orthotics....they didn't do too much. Thats what worries me, I don't want to invest in some super supportive shoe that ends up

A) not fixing anything

B) allowing my form to gradually get worse again (natually i would do my best to not strike down hard on the heel, but with a lot of cushioning i occasionally fall into it)

C) may actually cause more problems

If I had the money, sure screw it...id suit up tomorrow and give it a shot. But I don't, so I am afraid of wasting money yet again on this injury

Look up sciatica and see if it fits your symptoms. It starts in the lower back, hip, and glutes and then pinches the sciatic nerve which causes it to radiate down as low as the feet. Most common in office workers and truck drivers because they sit for long periods, what do you do for work?

Also look up piriformis injuries, same area and similar symptoms. There are some simple treatments for both of these that can help pretty quickly and cheaply.

not if you join crossfit.

A shoe is not going to magically correct your form, no matter what any book tells you. Correct running form comes with practicing good form.

You do need more stability in your shoe. I would go with running in a New Balance 2160, Saucony Guide 5 or Omni 11, Nike Structure Triax 15+, orrrr Adidas Sequence, or the Brooks Adrenaline(one of the most popular). I know cushion and stability arent what's hip and new these days with all this 'minimalist' stuff going around, but in all honesty, the average person wears these cushiony supportive shoes since they started walking. Because of that, several muscles in our legs haven't really been used, so going from a stability shoe straight to a shoe that offers no support and is flimsy (Nike Free) we reactivate some of those unused muscles, and that is where some of your pain is coming from.

Doing one or two runs in your Nike Frees is okay, as long as your listen to your body with it. Obviously with all these issues youre having, your body is saying to stop. Take time off, but keep stretching and icing, just stop running for awhile, but never stop stretching three times a day. Get a stability shoe, and start running again in two-three weeks.

If you can't run 6 miles in a week without your legs feeling like they're going to collapse, then shoes are the least of your problems.

1/10

Get Outa Here wrote:

A shoe is not going to magically correct your form, no matter what any book tells you. Correct running form comes with practicing good form.

Well I have been doing my best to practice form and really make sure I am running efficiently. This is partly the reason I was going for more of the low cushioning shoes. Less heel, less chance I am going to start pounding the pavement. I also have worked in SLOWLY to these shoes. First of all, I have used them for walking etc for over a year. I also wear absolute zero support shoes all day long for the better part of a year, and I am also a reasonably fit individual...so I figured...couldn't hurt if I take it slow right? As I said, I believe the hip dysfunction is something from before, and I will need to have it evaluated before I can really hope to move forward.

I did exercises for sciatica, and stretches for piriformis...but they didn't help much. I have even thrown in yoga and that does seem to help a bit.

As for shoebacca....yeah, I mean the thought of it doesn't exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy about running (or more accurately, my body). Ever since high school, when this was diagnosed as a groin strain...i have had constant problems in that quadrant of my body. I never really recovered from the groin strain, couldn't train the way I wanted, and after high school I just pretty much quit. I have gone through periods of months here in there in the last 5 years where I run, and eventually hit a wall where I tweak something and I need to stop. This time around, I am kind of just pushing through any weak feeling and hoping for the best. But yeah, 6 miles a week and problems? imagine 20,30,40. Doesn't sound like its gonna happen.

Anyway, I am really just focusing on increasing miles slowly. I will invest in a pair of more supportive shoes next week, and see if that at least helps a bit.

If it helps at all, one thing that certainly seems to aggrevate the condition (which nowadays hangs out mostly in the lower back wrapping around the hip.... is something like a side plank/bridge. That always triggers something, and the next day I will feel it a lot.

thanks for all the feedback guys! I appreciate it

Look into trigger point therapy. I've cured some seemingly chronic problems of my own(including hip pain) this way.

lenny wrote:

Look into trigger point therapy. I've cured some seemingly chronic problems of my own(including hip pain) this way.

I sit on tennis balls regularly, own a body back buddy, and can't seem to get this to go away. I came to the conclusion after awhile that even though I get some relief from trigger points at various times, the fact that I literally have to do them constantly would point to some sort of dysfunction that is keeping them going. This is the reason I am going to the doc, to see if at least I can rule out everything else.

Also, I"d like to be systematically testing for imbalances, tightness, etc. I have never been a flexible guy, and I think someone going over my body and really giving me the best places to focus on will help in the long run!

just curious...what trigger points really helped you? I definitely build up trigger points in the quadratus lumborum in the lower back, and some in the glute and hip, but not much

Why did you get orthotics in the first place? How did it not work for you? Since w/o wearing them had you always had the hip issue? or just when you started wearing the Frees? Do you also do any type of hip/glute/core strengthening exercises? Are your calves/hamstrings tight and do you stretch them as well?

Sorry for all the questions but wanted to get a better sense of your situation.

These are no doubt the symptoms of FAI or a labral tear. Google FAI. Loads of runners and athletes deal with it. Did you watch the trials? The two surgeries that Tyson Gay had performed were due to this. Other pros like Antonio Vega, Dan Brown. I am 31 and have had to have surgery on both sides and those were the same symptoms I dealt with for a year before I went to an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in young arthroscopies.

Ace in the troll wrote:

These are no doubt the symptoms of FAI or a labral tear. Google FAI. Loads of runners and athletes deal with it. Did you watch the trials? The two surgeries that Tyson Gay had performed were due to this. Other pros like Antonio Vega, Dan Brown. I am 31 and have had to have surgery on both sides and those were the same symptoms I dealt with for a year before I went to an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in young arthroscopies.

I did search those symptoms... I had heard of a labral tear before but not this FAI. The only thing that I can find as being different is that my ache has really settled in my lower back and even runs up to mid back. It makes me feel nauseous and bent over that way. I haven't really had the intense ache in the hip area. I'm just really really worried of going to a doctor and them not knowing, or guessing without really knowing, and again this is prolonged for a long long time. I only have about 2 weeks in my hometown, and in doctor time, that's not much!

Sigh, fingers crossed

Did you every get this injury sorted out?

lol epic bump