Ok I am 40 years old. I am 6ft5in and in the last year became very unactive. I have went from 230 to 282 lbs. This guy
tells me to run with his orthotics because of my joints hurting so much. I agree that these might help but I want to know if anyone else has run with them before and if there is any advice they need to offer.
Also I am starting the cleanse. Any advice? I now the master cleanse is good but it seems unhealthy?
Personally, I'd be cautious about trying to run while too overweight as that's a lot of extra stress on your joints.
If I were you I'd do the following:
1) LOTS of fast walking and low-impact gym exercises. (Go nuts on the elliptical, bike, treadmill at incline etc).
2) If you DO run, keep it on grass or an equivalent soft surface at a slow pace.
3) Once your weight drops enough, I would ease back into running.
4) Orthotics are generally not necessary unless you have some crazy pronation/supination problems.
EMPHASIS on losing weight. If I were to wear a 50lb backpack and try running I would be surprised if I didn't kill my knees within a day.
And don't even THINK about "rewarding" yourself for exercise by eating comfort food. You have to tackle this from both the diet and exercise points of view.
Med School Runner wrote:
Personally, I'd be cautious about trying to run while too overweight as that's a lot of extra stress on your joints.
If I were you I'd do the following:
1) LOTS of fast walking and low-impact gym exercises. (Go nuts on the elliptical, bike, treadmill at incline etc).
2) If you DO run, keep it on grass or an equivalent soft surface at a slow pace.
3) Once your weight drops enough, I would ease back into running.
4) Orthotics are generally not necessary unless you have some crazy pronation/supination problems.
EMPHASIS on losing weight. If I were to wear a 50lb backpack and try running I would be surprised if I didn't kill my knees within a day.
And don't even THINK about "rewarding" yourself for exercise by eating comfort food. You have to tackle this from both the diet and exercise points of view.
That's great advice- listen to it. I've worn orthotics since 1984. They help a lot and I couldn't run without them. But I think the weight loss thing is important. I'm 5'8 and weigh 140 (and I have since high school- I'm in my 50's).
I couldn't imagine trying to run with even 15 extra pounds.
runn wrote:
Med School Runner wrote:Personally, I'd be cautious about trying to run while too overweight as that's a lot of extra stress on your joints.
If I were you I'd do the following:
1) LOTS of fast walking and low-impact gym exercises. (Go nuts on the elliptical, bike, treadmill at incline etc).
2) If you DO run, keep it on grass or an equivalent soft surface at a slow pace.
3) Once your weight drops enough, I would ease back into running.
4) Orthotics are generally not necessary unless you have some crazy pronation/supination problems.
EMPHASIS on losing weight. If I were to wear a 50lb backpack and try running I would be surprised if I didn't kill my knees within a day.
And don't even THINK about "rewarding" yourself for exercise by eating comfort food. You have to tackle this from both the diet and exercise points of view.
That's great advice- listen to it. I've worn orthotics since 1984. They help a lot and I couldn't run without them. But I think the weight loss thing is important. I'm 5'8 and weigh 140 (and I have since high school- I'm in my 50's).
I couldn't imagine trying to run with even 15 extra pounds.
The correct word is Orthoses, not Orthotics
Pet Peeve wrote:The correct word is Orthoses, not Orthotics
To the OP, not sure about online custom made "Orthoses or Orthotics". I would get a recommendation from a good foot doctor or an orthoses/tics guy. If you decide to get them (custom made) it will take time to get used to them (few months) and you want to make sure you find the "right" shoe to go with it. A good local running shoe store should be able to help you.
For me, I've been wearing mine in light trainers (my orthoses/tics are soft, flexible w/a good arch support) for couple years now. Again, it also took some time running in light trainers but I finally like it's working for me. I will be going on 3000+ miles (again) by end of the year. I'm in my 40s but female.
As for the weight issue, I'm sure it will go down once you get into the right shoes and are pain free and able to run more, whether it be w/orthoses/tics or not.
Good luck.
I'm "only" mid 30s, but vouch for getting custom inserts from a podiatrist if you need 'em. They fixed my hip bursitis, knee issues (had meniscus procedure several years back), heel bursitis and generally let me run pain free! Not everyone needs them but I tried all the stretching/strengthining/PT tricks and nothing helped 'til the inserts.
I didn't want to spend the $$ on custom, and tried the OTC ones, but now that I have the customs... worth every penny!
Find a really, really good podiatrist. If your pain is not related to over pronation/low or flat arches, you do not need orthotics. And orthotics might actually make things worse if you do not need them. If the pain is the result of a mechanical issue that can be mitigated with orthotics, then go for it.
I have low arches and feet that over pronate badly. When I first got into running competitively, I had bad pain medially on my knees. After orthotics, the pain was gone and never a problem again. But, I was 5'8" and 140s back then. No weight issue.
I've always had lousy form and overpronated and in my senior year of high school, growing and maturing and thus gaining wait, and upping the mileage quite quickly to 90mpw, I started experiencing bad pain first in my foot, then my hip and lower back. I was practically unable to run more than 20-some mpw for months, until finally I was fitted for custom orthotics and within weeks I was able to return to decent mileage pain free. I've since lost the orthotics, which are rather expensive; the last year has been a restless, frustrating time. I'm getting fitted again this Tuesday, and my dreams have turned almost exclusively to running, I'm so excited to get the mileage up. So, orthotics are extremely helpful for those who need them, but in your case, where the pain is probably purely weight-related, it could be a toss-up.