Orthodics

The difference is our definition of "healthy." A flat foot, high level pronator is not by definition "abnormal or unhealthy."

Orthotics, by definition, interfer with something. 99% of the time they are designed to limit subtalar joint movement -- as if it were a bad thing.

Rand,

No one (with rare exceptions, like a guy I met who fell 100ft from a cliffside and destroyed his foot) overpronates without a shoe. Your pronation is built into you so that everything from your toes to your knee to your hips lines up.

Senior Sales Specialist wrote:

I could fill a page up full of names of people that have chronic injuries and have worn orthotics for years, Would that be enough proof for you!!! .

No! to the above question. What I'm talking about are custom orthotics, prescibed by a doctor, especially one who works with runners regularly. There IS science behind orthotics and injury prevention. That's why VERY reputable running docs prescribe them when called for.

Because they are under the belief that there is no other solution and it helps them sell their time and products -- if you broke your arm, would you stay in a cast forever?

So what's the deal with running shoes then? Stability shoes and such? Is that just a marketing device to get you to buy more types of shoes? Or should we all just be running in the same shoes, except for the rare few?

bump

no one has an answer to my above question?

wait it was answered. Next question...so if I'm a mild overpronator should I be wearing a different type of shoe? Lets say I don't wear the orthodic shoud I keep running in my neutral shoes like I have been? Or should I move to a different shoe?

trackhead wrote:

Because they are under the belief that there is no other solution and it helps them sell their time and products

Really? Do you see monsters behind every tree you pass by?

We can -- if the shoes are low enough. Remember -- overpronation only (again, except in very rare cases) occurs when you're high off the ground.

Most shoe companies market their product as insulation/protective devices, starting with that built up heel of the first Nike Air shoe back in '83. They sell on the idea that running is pounding and that you need cushioning. Both are not absolute. People are conditioned into those shoes.

trackhead, you talk a good game, but i have e-mailed you in the past for help and received no reply. why so open on the formums but unwilling to help individuals?

C'mon. I've seen hundreds of people with orthotics and when asked why, they say, "Because I have flat feet," or "because my arch collapses." Well, so what? Why is that a design flaw?

My podiatrist was a 4:10 miler in college. He's worked with pro athletes. He's known as one of the premier people in his field.Last year he performed surgery to remove severe bunions from both of my feet. Told me that wearing orthotics would reduce the possibilities of the bunions recurring. With all due respect to Trackhead-- do I put more stock into the opinion of a doctor like the one I have, or a person on the internet (albeit with very good intentions) who has far less education and training on the subject. Personally, I'm going with the doctor.The point is a person should gather all the information they can (yes, including the information from the net) to make an informed decision for themselves. But I put a lot of value into what a really good doctor says. A good doctor isn't going to tell you to wear orthotics just to make a few extra bucks off you. And orthotics aren't right for everyone anymore than H-streets are right for everyone. We're all different. Get the information you need to make the decision that is right for YOU.And while I'd prefer to not deal with the hassle of orthotics each day-- last year was the healthiest year I've ever had and it culminated with a sub-2:28 marathon. So, for me, they've worked out.

wearer since 1990-injury free wrote:

No! to the above question. What I'm talking about are custom orthotics, prescibed by a doctor, especially one who works with runners regularly. There IS science behind orthotics and injury prevention. That's why VERY reputable running docs prescribe them when called for.

I'm not saying taht there aren't honest, effective people working in the field of podiatry -- I'm saying that, as with any field, it's not all the same.

One of my friends was a successful podiatrist of more than 3 decades and supports the ideas I share on board.

My point has been that, with rare exceptions, our feet function fine on their own and it takes a shoe to screw them up.

Orthotics helped me wrote:

My podiatrist was a 4:10 miler in college. He's worked with pro athletes. He's known as one of the premier people in his field.

Does your doc have a practice in the Chicago area?

Hi Trackhead,

Podiatrists are as prominent as chiropractors and physical therapists. They exist in great numbers for a purpose. It's why you have to go to university for many years to qualify to become one. Then there is the large amount of science behind it. Get used to the fact that some people have a foot structure that doesn't suit the alignment of the rest of the body. Hence they need orthotics. Even then some with have to correct the muscle imbalances created by their time without orthotics in their shoes as uneven forces would have been created on the feet that would then radiate thoughout the body, especially the knee and hips. Hence, for that reason, some may still experience problems for a while after purchasing orthotics until this is corrected. Others will feel good straight away. On the other hand, if the foot problem is a functional problem then it can be addressed with core, pelvic and ankle stability exercises and footwear. You cannot be rigid of mind in your advice when someone else health is at stake We're in the 2000's now not the 70's. Science has kicked on a bit since then.

This link below is a good one and sums things up reasonably well.

http://www.serpentine.org.uk/advice/physio/podiatry.asp

Have a good day everyone.

10 lapper,

I respectfully disagree. I've checked out the feet of many, many people and haven't found anyone who were incapable of working well on their own (with few exceptions, like the guy who fell from a great heigh and destroyed his foot).

We're not so inefficient. Shoes certainly allow for inefficiency, but we're built to move around on two feet with out a high heel on. Whatever the level of pronation, it is there for a reason.

Good points, 10 lapper, you've made some good points and backed them up with an article actually written by a podiatrist...

from the article:

"Who should use foot orthoses?

Perfect feet are rare, almost everyone can benefit from orthoses.

An analogy can be made between orthoses and prescription spectacles. Both adjust bodily imperfections that can inhibit people from functioning at their maximal physical potential...

Orthoses are functional orthoses incorporating a specialised prescription to correct and control defects in the foot that may cause poor shock absorption or lower limb malalignment, predisposing the runner to various related injuries."