I’ve been wearing orthotics now for about 18-24 months because of PF. I’m completely over that now. At my last mary I noticed that they were really beating up my arches. This year I’m thinking about using them for work etc but doing all of my running without them. Obviously, at the first sign of pain they are back on again. Has anybody else tried this? How did it turn out?
disclaimer…obviously I have changed shoes since the PF and will build slowly for the season taking all needed stretching/ice bath precautions…
I got rid of my orthodics after about a year of slowly changing from a heel striker to a mid/forefoot striker. That was five years ago now and I have not had PF since.
Got PF. Got orthodics. Didn’t like running/racing in them. Put orthodics in by snow boots 14 years ago (where they currently reside). Have not used them since except for shoveling snow. Had a few minor PF flare-ups over the years. When it starts to hurt, I walk for a bit. Seems to work.
“Habit” is right. I’ve been wearing orthotics for 25 years for my training and longer races.
I have very high arches and lately I’m thinking that I could get by without them by using any number of over the counter footbeds/orthotics.
However because I’ve become so used to wearing them on my training runs I have a difficult time not wearing them, makes no sense but that’s the way it is.
In shorter races I wear Brooks T-4s, a minimalist racing flat and have no issues.
I think after my next 1/2 marathon (which I’m sure I’ll use orthotics for) I’ll try and work on breaking my orthotic addiction, but not cold turkey.
Why stop using them if they’ve been working for 25 years? Don’t risk it. I haven’t been wearing my orthotics lately in my cycling shoes and suddenly I came down with a slight case of PF. I was also wearing off the shelf inserts in my regular shoes rather than transfering my orthotics from shoe to shoe. The over the counter inserts do nothing for me compared to my custom orthotics which fit like a glove. After this PF I’ve decided to get a new pair of orthotics and wear them more religiously. My other orthotics are 10 years old so they’ve held up quite a long time.
Note: My feet are genetic freaks. Bunions, flat feet, etc…
If you have no structural foot problems then phasing them out might work for you. When you say, “beating up my arches,” are you talking about bruising. Maybe you need the padding over the arch molding replaced. You could also try wearing some cheap regular insoles over the orthotic for some padding, or even the insole that comes with the shoe. On one of my orthotics the soft padding fell off years ago so my foot stands directly on a hard molding. It doesn’t bother me though. I tried wearing the orthotic under my insole, and while comfortable, it didn’t seem to fit just right.
Can you tell me a bit about your experiences with high arches? I also have insanely high arches, but I’ve never worn orthotics and don’t have any pain when running. My pain comes from standing in one spot for a long time. I have recently been dealing with piriformis/sciattica. This is calming down with stretches and core, but I also have hip pain.
Any chance these issues come from my arches? It seems like the right way to go would be to wear orthos in work shoes and walking sneaks and just go with what has been working with training/racing.
The main trouble my high arches have caused is shock related injuries. A foot with a very high arch is not very good at absorbing shock so you’re going to be prone to knee injuries and stress fractures or foot pain.
As far as causing knee trouble because of high arches I don’t know about that. I just know that because of my high arches I don’t run more than 20-25 mpw spread out over a maximum of three days. I never run two days in a row.
One reason I’m thinking of ditching my orthotics is because although they do work for my high arches they are not very cushioned. I’m thinking I may go with an over the counter orthotic device that also works with my arches. There are several on the market that I like but haven’t actually ran in yet.
As some other poster once said, “run with what you brung”. I’m trying
my best to getting structurally sound before bumping up the run mileage
again. I’ve just started on the Egoscue method - does it work well if
you are dedicated?