Less Is More: Part II

Time for Part II of the “Less Is More” series. Like the first installment, this is a lengthy post, but not quite as long as the first one I promise.

When you’re injured for an extended period of time, you tend to experiment with lots of things to try to fix it. One of the most obvious things is footwear, probably in part because of all the marketing and media surrounding the shoe industry. As a result, I’ve tried a little bit of everything.

Most of the time you do any research on a running related injury, the first thing you see, regardless of what the injury might be, is that pronation is a leading cause. The answer to pronation, then, is more stable shoes and/or orthotics, so I’ve tried both. I’ve worn shoes with lots of support and all kinds of bells and whistles used for motion control. I’ve also worn custom made orthotics as well as several versions of the over-the-counter variety. Now I’m not saying that some people don’t need these things. All I’m saying is they didn’t work for me. In fact, what I’ve found in my experimentation is that the more I have under my feet, the more problems I tend to have. I can say this with confidence, having switched back and forth between shoes with no support, moderate support, and extra support, and also having switched back and forth between using custom orthotics, over-the-counter orthotics, and no orthotics. And before you say I did too much switching back and forth, this has gone on over a period of over ten years, allowing plenty of time for each experiment to succeed or fail.

That said, all my experimentation led me to the conclusion that neutral training shoes with no posting or other stability devices seemed to be what worked best for me. However, that’s about all I can say. Neutral shoes worked better than more supportive ones and no orthotics worked better than orthotics, but none of it kept me totally healthy. At first thought, it appears I’m out of luck, but recently I’ve realized that even shoes classified as neutral often have a very significant heel and a fairly rigid forefoot, which leads me to where I am now.

My current thought process is to wear a neutral shoe, but also one that is very flexible and fairly lightweight and allows my foot to move naturally. The Brooks Ghost fits this bill nicely and I’m very much looking forward to trying the Brooks Launch, another flexible, lightweight trainer. My early returns on this are positive, and quite honestly I’m loving the Ghost and have already ordered a second pair. I don’t have enough data to say whether or not this transition will help keep me injury free obviously, but I can say that my feet feel much better in this type of shoe and I think my stride will be more natural as well. To assist with the process, I’m working on strengthening up my glutes and hips as well as working on my lower legs (shins, achilles, and ankles). I plan on incorporating some barefoot running too, nothing crazy, just some strides on grass after a couple runs here and there.

Again, I’m not saying this is for everyone, but it seems to be the right direction for me, or at least worth a shot. I have a foot with a high, rigid arch, so I don’t need a lot of support, and maybe fighting my natural footstrike has been part of my problem all along. I do know that when I’ve had “experts” watch me run (from doctors to shoe store reps), they’ve all recommended a neutral shoe to me, advice I’ve obviously ignored at times. Furthermore, I’ve had some friends successfully make this type of transition and have it lead to reduced injuries, and there’s lots and lots of success stories on the internet that are similar, so it’s certainly worth a try (especially when you’ve tried everything else). As one person said, you can say a stability shoe and orthotics provide support or you can say that they reinforce a bad foot plant and form. I also like what was written in a recent shoe review in Running Times Magazine: “from a simple point of view, the path to better running — at least when concerned about efficient mechanics and optimal performance — is gained by wearing shoes that allow your feet and legs to control your running and not the other way around.” I think that’s spot on.

I’m fortunate to have my deal with Brooks, who makes several good, flexible lightweight shoes and I can also change the shoes out more frequently than I might be able to otherwise, making for a perfect situation that I need to take advantage of. Here’s hoping it works and this is another case of less being more!