Quote:
anyone going with a more minimal shoe/barefoot technique who pronates????
I have flat arches and extreme pronation. I have had foot (plantar fasciitis) and knee (patella tendinopathy) problems for the past 2 ½ years without cease. Every 3 months or so I would get out my new super duper motion control shoes and test how far I could run without pain. On a good day, 4km, followed by enough pain to tell me it was too premature to run at this stage.
Saw an orthopedic, sports physicans, physios and finally an osteopath who got me some custom orthotics ($300), and told me to never go barefoot, even around the house.
In the meantime I stumbled across the barefoot concept, read Born to Run and a stack of web info on the barefoot philosophy. 4 weeks later I am now running 6 days per week, barefoot, or in Feelmax Neisas when the soles of my feet are too sore. My plantar fasciitis has gone, my knee problem is still there, but running, due to the low impact nature of this style of running, causes it no concern.
What I have found is that walking barefoot puts a bit of pronation stress on my knees, but running does not, because the platform is the forefoot, not the flattened foot. Therefore the foot arch and my resultant pronation is irrelevant when running because the heel only kisses the ground. With strengthening of the muscles and tendons in the foot from running, I am sure that walking will also be symptom free.
For the moment, I run in minimal shoes at most, walk in my running shoes and occasionally barefoot, and the orthotics are accumulating dust under the bed. Start slow, treadmill or grass, ramp it up to trails and mixed surfaces as soon as you can.
It’s a lot cheaper than buying Brooks Beasts!!!