THANK GOD FOR ORTHOTICS

After two stress fractures in HS I got orthodics. The results speak for themselves- no more stress fractures, and this includes my time in college where I was running twice as many miles as in HS. Without them, I would not still be running today. They are the real deal.

that was my understanding of how they work as well. i may experiance some discomfort as those parts of my body adapt to having running stresses placed upon them a little more than in the past, but otherwise i expect to be problem-free as a result of the orthotics.

Hey RunDaddy,

I was wondering if this was the link you wanted to include in your last post (the one you posted didn't seem to work):

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/tibialis-tendinitis.html

If it wasn't, you would definitely have an interest in reading it, as it explains why ITBS would occur at the same time (or therabout) as TP Tendinitis. I am sure that you have already read Owen Anderson's advice on getting rid of it... but I just wanted to give you a link to this just in case you hadn't seen it yet. Good luck... I may need some of that myself.

stoutchemist wrote:

After two stress fractures in HS I got orthodics. The results speak for themselves- no more stress fractures, and this includes my time in college where I was running twice as many miles as in HS. Without them, I would not still be running today. They are the real deal.

Most of the time, the problem is caused by the shoes and then the orthotic compensates for the problem the shoes were causing.

trackhead wrote:

Orthotics are good at fixing a problem that a shoe causes. It's best to find a shoe that doesn't cause any problems.

word. very well said.

orthotics are a short term fix for a problem and create a long term dependency.

i was in the same spot as you. i developed a bad case of posterior tib tendonitis towards the end of my high school years. i was told i over-pronate and needed custom orthotics. i went along with that because pretty much everything i'd read (in rags like runners world) said orthotics would help with over-pronation, which was the cause of a lot of running injuries.

getting the orthotics seemed to help. i ran the first part of the seasons injury free. but once i switched to doing fast workouts and races in racing flats, i was screwed. all of a sudden my feet and legs were going through the natural motion the orthotics were preventing. i may as well have gone from ZERO miles per week to running hard track workouts. i was an injury time bomb, and i got plenty. an even worse case of posterior tib tendonitis, achilles tendonitis, patellar tendonitis, IT band problems. and running in the orthotics gave me neuromas in both feet because by "correcting" the overpronation, it put unnatural stress on the smaller toes where it didn't belong.

as long as i ALWAYS wore orthotics in my runnings, racing, and walking around shoes, i would have reduced some of those problems (neuromas excluded). but they also made my feet WEAK! walking around barefoot was painful. why would you do anything to make your feet and lower legs weak? it makes NO sense. don't get dependent on a crutch. get strong instead.

pronation occurs at the arch not the subtalor as you are describing...