Saturday, May 31, 2014

New to running, need help buying the right pair of shoes?




Caroline J


I started running in the beginning of the summer and thus far have no problems or injuries. I have knee problems in my families history so I'd like to do what I can while I'm young to keep my joints healthy. I'm having a hard time deciding what type of feet I have and what kind of shoe I need. I'm planning on heading to a running store but for now any advice would be appreciated. I wear women's size 8 usually, I have moderately wide feet, I have low arches but they definitely are not flat, when I look at my foot print there is a significant space where the arch is. Right now I'm running in a pair of old broken in New Balance Classics W595. They seem okay but I think I need some more support. I purchased a pair of motion control shoes online, Asics Gel-Evolution 9 since all the advice columns I've read seem to indicate that low arches mean overpronation. The shoes felt comfortable walking around, but when I took them on a run there seemed to be a lot of pressure that created some soreness in the inside of my foot by my arches. I'm wondering if this is supposed to happen since I do overpronate and have not ever worn motion control shoes OR is there discomfort because I do not overpronate and these shoes are not right for me. The discomfort did not last, just during the run.


Answer
Asics are really comfortable you will love them

What causes shin splints and what is the best way to treat them? How can I avoid them in the future?




T


I have started running again recently and now have shin splints so bad I can hardly walk. I am a 39 year old woman in fairly good physical shape, I work out regularly, not over weight and I have no physical problems short of the shin splints.. I walk on the tread mill and eliptical regularly with out much problem. The problem didn't start until I started running out side. I run on a concrete bridge with a slight grade (incase that makes a difference).
Thank you all for the fantastic answers! With that information I am able to determine that the fact that I am flat footed has a big impact. The shoes were fitted but my arch was not taken into account. I guess I need to go shopping again. :-)



Answer
Shin splints are most commonly caused by overpronation (foot roles in too much at the toe off phase of your gait/running motion). A neutral foot lands on the outside corner of your heel, roles inwards so that it is flat and then roles out on the angle of your toes at toe off. An overpronated foot lands on the outside of the heel, roles in flat but continues to roll in and comes off even with or inside the big toe side of the shoe. The reason this is a problem is that the muscle that is supposed to role you out at toe off (tibialis anterior muscle) is not strong enough to counter the weight of your body that has rolled your foot inwards too far. It continues to pull until it actually pulls itself off the bone where it attaches (this is what shinsplints are - shin splints are not a muscle fibre strain you are actually tearing muscle from the bone which is why it hurts so much and takes so long to heal). The reason why you didn't feel it before is because under less load (walking = less downward force and elliptical = no downward force) your body wasn't thrown into am overpronated position. Now that your are running the repetition of the overpronated state is resulting in shin splints.
To get rid of the shin splints you must first rest the muscle, ice wil help with the inflamation and pain. Next you need to get a really good pair of shoes designed to work with YOUR body. Just going and spending a lot of money will not gaurantee a good pair for you. It would be like buying a Ferarri for off roading - it's a great car but not for what you need. Look for a shoe that is designed for motion control. These styles have a very wide sole through the arch, are stiff if you try to "wring it out", have a very hard "heel counter" and have some type of a "medial post" (usually a dark grey foam of higher density running along the arch sie of the foot). If you aren't comfortable with these terms then go to your local running store and ask them. If they don't know these terms then walk away - they are not trained enough to assist you. A couple of models/brands that do produce some very good shoes for overpronators (motion control shoes) are Asics (gel 2100 series), Saucony (grid stable as one example) and New Balance. Do some research on their websites and they will have pictures to describe what I've talked about.




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Title Post: New to running, need help buying the right pair of shoes?
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