Hi, I went to the foot doctor recently and he said I have a high arch. I was wondering what type of ruuning shoes are best for high arch? I have always had trouble calf pain and tightness which he said could be do the wrong shoes.
any suggestions?
you most likely need a neutral shoe without any motion control, but that a general assumption. this is a fairly accurate tool:
I have high arches/rigid feet and have found comfort in Mizuno wave riders. YMMV though. I tried other neutral shoes and am back to them. they keep my feet happy.
What prompted the visit? Your calf pain/tightness? That is a very common issue with a high arched foot, but that isn’t directly fixed by shoes. You do likely want to avoid any shoe with a rearfoot post and stick with something neutral/cushioned. The new “rage” is the low heel stack shoe (which I do like), but you might want to avoid that for now until you can focus on some posterior stretching. The low heel stack shoe now for you will simply irritate your tight/sore calf - but you can switch to later if you prefer.
For a starting point, head to your local running store and have them show you some neutral, cushioned shoes (i.e. Saucony mirage, Mizuno Wave Precision, etc.). But most importantly, work on your gastroc/soleus flexibility.
I have high arches/rigid feet and have found comfort in Mizuno wave riders. YMMV though. I tried other neutral shoes and am back to them. they keep my feet happy.
I have very high arches and love the Wave Riders as well.
I would add to rroff suggestion of neutral, cushioned, straight last shoes that you consider custom orthotics. I find they support the arch and work well in neutral shoes. Forget about trying to change your running form to land on your forefoot. That will irritate your already irritated calves.
Great replies! I had an old pair of Nike Vomero 3’s and loved them , then I got a newer version maybe the 5 as a gift and they were completely different in my opinion. Went to the local running shop and tried about 6 shoes and settled on Brooks Glycerine which have been ok but not great. This was before my visit to foot doctor though and the running store did not mention anything about high arches just that a high cushion shoe seemed to be what I prefered because of my previous Vomeros.
My orthodics are actually on order from doctor, he said he was adding a “lift” to take pressure off calves and achilies.
My achillies was the orginal reason for the visit about Sept after a tri sprint the next day i felt it tight and a pulling feeling. It got progressively worse so i went to the dr. He said achillies tendonties, he gave me anti-infalmatory and rehad…started the meds a few days ago and already feeling alot better.
The calf issue is a looong story…so i wont get into it
I know my spelling is awful
I have had better luck adjusting my insert rather then limiting my shoe choices to high arch options. For me, SuperFeet inserts have been great for my high arch and allowed me to still purchase shoes that worked for me.
If you go this route, particularly the SuperFeet route, be sure to follow the break-in directions.