Superfeet Inserts?

I didn't really have injuries before I started using the blue superfeet, but I feel that my stride efficiency is much better now running in neutral shoes (cumulus) with the superfeet than in slight stability shoes (ds trainer). They are expensive though, which is unfortunate.

edit: I ran in the ds trainers without superfeet.

I've used them for years (green) and never had a problem. I tried running without them a few times last year and immediately felt the begining of PF and shin pain. They are expensive but they are durable and last a long time. I change them when the SuperFeet logo fades and completely disappears which is about once a year. I put the old ones in my work shoes. I basically where them all the time in almost every shoe.

Correction - "wear" not where.

i love the ones (green) that i have & i've been using them for nearly four years. i got them after getting very bad PF, and i haven't had any PF problems since. the structural integrity of the superfeet actually holds up very well over the years. i thought the sales rep at the running store were trying to con me when they were pushing the $35/pair inserts, but i must say im very happy with them. the only thing is that i don't like their sizing that much (realize this was four years ago), and i had to go up to the size 10.5 inserts instead of size 9 that i'd have worn otherwise.

good luck with yours!

Their website's little animated lower leg demo certainly flies in the face of the science that I have gotten to know. When they add the insert, the arch appears less efficient in producing energy. If we pack ouselves in bubble wrap, I'm sure we wouldn't get injured, but it certainly may impede our athletic efficiency:

February 10, 1987

SCIENCE WATCH; FOOT'S ARCH PERFORMS BETTER THAN RUNNING SHOE

LEAD: BRITISH experimenters have discoverered that the arch of the human foot compresses and recoils like a spring, providing a significant amount of the energy used in running.

BRITISH experimenters have discoverered that the arch of the human foot compresses and recoils like a spring, providing a significant amount of the energy used in running.

On impact with the ground, the foot stores some energy in the flattening arch, releasing it again in a surprisingly efficient elastic recoil. As a result, the researchers report in the journal Nature, a person running is somewhat like ''a rubber ball bouncing along.''

Over the last few decades, researchers have discovered that the physics of walking and running is a complicated business. The new findings, by scientists at the University of Leeds and St. James University Hospital in Leeds, are part of a growing understanding of the mechanics of particular muscles and tendons, as well as the overall dynamics of the moving body.

The researchers conducted their experiments by applying stress to amputated feet, and they compared their results to measurements of films made of a man running barefoot across stone. They find that all of the ligaments that make up the arch of the foot contribute to the springlike function.

As calculated by the Leeds group, the efficiency of the arch in storing and returning energy falls short of an ideal running track. But it turns out to be considerably superior to even expensive running shoes.

I understood superfeet to be used when someone's arch has collapsed, or needs strengthening. Green is the most supportive, and then blue. Theoretically one could move through them, strengthening the foot as you go, and eventually be fine without them.