Hey everyone in the iRun world! Thanks to those that responded to my last post – good to see that runners are asking more questions about what they have on their feet. As usual, I love questions so keep em coming!
For this blog, I’d like to talk a bit about the confusion surrounding picking running shoes when you have orthotics. I could probably write a book about this topic alone but I’ll try to keep it short so you can all get out for your runs!
I really feel that everyone needs to have the proper level of support with their running shoes as a starter. For some, this will mean a motion control shoe with the proper level of posting and for others it will mean a minimilist neutral shoe (or no shoes!). We should be able to get most runners and walkers lined up straight with the proper level of support in the running shoes. Once that foundation is established, there are certainly cases where arch supports may be necessary. Congenital issues (thanks Mom and Dad!), soft tissue issues and other biomechanical problems can often require the use of orthotics (either custom or over the counter). Because most orthotics these days are made based on positioning your foot in a neutral position, there is often very little concern of over correction with the shoe.
Where much of the confusion comes in with fitting shoes with orthtotics is that it’s commonly assumed that if you have an orthotic, you go with a neutral shoe. This rarely works unless you are neutral to begin with. When running, we come down on our feet with up to 2-3 times our body weight. If you have a runner who over-pronates (rolls inwards with the feet) excessively, it would be very difficult to control this with an orthotic. The shoe, however, should be able to control this. Once we have that over-pronation controlled with the proper shoe, we have a perfect foundation to place an orthotic on top of if necessary.
So to summarize:
(1) In most cases, select the proper level of support with your running shoes first. This is your foundation and we should be able to get most runners lined up properly in their correct support category.
(2) Orthotics, when necessary, provide arch support and can help with other issues that may not be able to be addressed by the shoes alone. Because in most cases we don’t have to change support categories of running shoes, it often makes the transition to the orthotic much easier.
This certainly won’t apply to everyone but I do find it works well in most situations. Hope this helps and definitely keep the questions coming!
Ryan
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