Unique Shoe Problem

Your situation sounds a little unusual. Can you run (or jog) barefoot on the grass, without problems? Try it, thinking about letting the feet work naturally. With a little practice, you'll likely (and maybe quite quickly) become a forefoot or midfoot striker when jogging/running on grass. Go easy (at least at first). Your feet are probably weak, and can use the strengthening. Once you get the hang of that, you can progress to Crocs. See if you can jog in Crocs with that same natural motion you derive when jogging on a nice grass patch barefoot. You may be surprised, and just start jogging in Crocs, at least for a while, until you get stronger. Or, you may not ever want to give up the Crocs.

Cheers!

I actually wear Crocs all the time. I have a pair of slip on sandals I wear just about everywhere I can. I bought a pair of their "sneakers" and love those, but my problem is that I wear an 11.5 and they don't do half sizes! So they're always too big!

We have an extensive sidewalk system in our neighborhood - and quite a bit of traffic, so I walk/jog on the sidewalk.

There are some versions (All-Terrain) of Crocs with a rear strap that can be adjusted (with a velcro attachment). Consequently, you likely can get away with a half size down in those (by lengthening the strap, as required).

I understand the concrete jungle, but you may do yourself some favors with some correct running form practice on a grass patch.

You just need a neutral shoe with a deep supportive heel cup. Something that gives a strong lockdown. Is your heel incredibly narrow? Or is it something bio mechanical?

Post a picture of your foot with the heel visible if possible.

What size are your feet? How long have you been running? Any injuries?

Agree, have you seen an orthopedist? Maybe this is something custom inserts could help with. If nothing else, and assuming your heel isn't super wide, buy some $10-15 inserts from Amazon and give them a try.

Another option could be choosing something with an extremely soft-structured heel cap and no heel counter. As an underpronator myself, I found the Atreyu Base model to be extremely forgiving when I have a bursitis flare up (hits pretty much in the same place as your rub). Note, this shoe (and others like it) are going to be pretty minimal, so not anything like the Glycerin.

I don't feel like my heel is incredibly narrow - but I do have a pretty high arch, and I've always walked a bit pigeon toed.

I have not seen an orthopedist, no. I did the whole Fleet Feet 3d imagery thing however. Here's what they found:

Arch Height - left foot, medium/high; right foot, high

Heel Width - left foot, wide; right foot, wide

Ball Width - left foot, narrow (C); right foot, medium (D)

Size - left foot, 11.1 D; right foot, 10.9 D

ministerman wrote:

I don't feel like my heel is incredibly narrow - but I do have a pretty high arch, and I've always walked a bit pigeon toed.

Internal tibial torsion and forefoot supinatus maybe?

If so, you might be able to do some exercises to control the movement of your foot in the shoes (pronation)

Sounds like you struggle to get your big toe down properly when your heel is neutral. Work on your flute strength and grounding that big toe.

Check out gait happens or the gait guys

Target the direct problem. If the inside of the shoe's heel makes your feet uncomfortable, why not just get one of the many shoes these day that don't have a hard heel counter?

The shoes with the best heel lockdown that I’ve used are

Brooks Hyperion Tempo

Hoka Mach 4

gusseter wrote:

ministerman wrote:

I don't feel like my heel is incredibly narrow - but I do have a pretty high arch, and I've always walked a bit pigeon toed.

Internal tibial torsion and forefoot supinatus maybe?

If so, you might be able to do some exercises to control the movement of your foot in the shoes (pronation)

Sounds like you struggle to get your big toe down properly when your heel is neutral. Work on your flute strength and grounding that big toe.

Check out gait happens or the gait guys

This. The fleet feet thing is useless. The “3D scanner” thing is nothing more than an overpriced brannock device.

Tugboat1980 wrote:

gusseter wrote:

Internal tibial torsion and forefoot supinatus maybe?

If so, you might be able to do some exercises to control the movement of your foot in the shoes (pronation)

Sounds like you struggle to get your big toe down properly when your heel is neutral. Work on your flute strength and grounding that big toe.

Check out gait happens or the gait guys

This. The fleet feet thing is useless. The “3D scanner” thing is nothing more than an overpriced brannock device.

And Fleet Feet, nor any running shoe store, should EVER be trusted for gait analysis. Also, get a Moboboard. If you have trouble getting your big toe down this will help reach you how.

Accept that you'll never have shoes that feel great. Try a bunch of shoes on and find the models that will work ok. I've got one of the same issues with a narrow heel. Some feet are just so far from the typical shape or maybe just enough off a larger and smaller size that nothing is ever going to feel great. Just find something that is ok to wear day after day by trying on a lot of things and trying out the best fitting models.

Just to be clear, is the pain on the inside of the right heel low on the heel or is it right below the ankle bone?

If it's the lower side of the heel, I've got nothing. If it's just below the ankle bone, then the collar just beside the ankle is too high and it's jamming against the ankle bone when you run. Since it's a bone, the nerves are below that spot so it hurts maybe at and an inch below the lower edge of the ankle bone.

If this is the problem, the fix is easy. Use a box cutter or utility knife to cut off part of the collar just under the ankle bone. I've had to do this on lots of shoes. It doesn't hurt the shoe in any way and it's not noticeable.

It sounds counterintuitive for feet that supinate and have high arches, but maybe arch supports can take some of the pounding force. It could be that the pain in the ball of the foot leads to trying to offload some of the pounding at the inner heerl. Put the arch supports in a neutral shoe that has cushioning.