Hi everyone, last week after a run I noticed I had significant pain in my lower arch near my heel. I thought I would be able to run through it with more stretching but unfortunately it got progressively worse. I ended up at a sports podiatrist who’s background is running. Did a series of tests, x-ray’s and sonogram and determined its plantar fasciitis. He also showed me on the x-ray that I have extremely high arches
He suggested orthotics of course and also checked my gait, My running technique was fine didn’t pronate but he suggested maybe changing running shoes from the Asics stability shoes I use now 2170’s to something more suited to higher arches.
So seeing as higher arches is quite common I though I would ask what other people are using withs similar arches. It seems the google searches for best running shoes with higher arches is nothing but paid adversiing
Like you I have high arches and Am prone to plantar fas.
I have had more success with neutral cushioned shoes.
My favorite are- Saucony kinvaras, Brooks Launch, Brooks Ghost, and NB 890’S
I train long slower runs in the ghost- race 10k and under in kinvaras race half iron distance in 890;s
and full in launch
Like you I have high arches and Am prone to plantar fas.
I have had more success with neutral cushioned shoes.
My favorite are- Saucony kinvaras, Brooks Launch, Brooks Ghost, and NB 890’S
I train long slower runs in the ghost- race 10k and under in kinvaras race half iron distance in 890;s
and full in launch
I hope this helps
I was just looking at the ghost but they didn’t have anywhere near my size to try on. Thanks for the input this injury is really fustrating. Had the shot yesterday and today foot is throbbing, hoping it subsides soon but hell its forcing me to swim more lol
My podiatrist said I have “great high arches” which a lot of people would kill for. Mizuno Wave Riders have been my running savior after trying Nike,Asics,New Balance and Saucony.
My podiatrist said I have “great high arches” which a lot of people would kill for. Mizuno Wave Riders have been my running savior after trying Nike,Asics,New Balance and Saucony.
LOL well I said this really sucks, he responded by telling me many flat footed runners would disagree.
I’m new at the triathlon, but I’ve been running for a dozen years. I have extremely high arches and have run in Brooks Glycerins (8 generations), Saucony Triumphs (2 generations), and now Nike Vomeros. I’m 6’4" - 220, so I like and need the cushioning that these three shoes offer. Good luck with finding the shoes that work for you!
I have extremely high arches and a wide foot EE neutral to slight under pronation. I’ve had luck with Asics Cumulus and Nimbus as well as Nike Pegasus. Orthotics definitely helped me and if you decide to get them you may want to get them first then try them in the shoe after taking the insole out so you can see how they feel.
Good advice on the orthotics makes sense because I can probably wear them in my existing shoes. Im praying my health insurance pays for the orthotics … not holding my breathe though.
I really like the Vomeros (Vomeroes?) but they are not the lightest shoes out there. The arch support is very good and the heel is firm, which is what I like in a running shoe. Also it has a wide toe box for my fat piggies:)
High arches are not good or bad, they just are. When I used to run a lot of miles in my early 30s, I needed the cushioned variety of shoes because, with a high arch, your feet only land on a very narrow strip. The shoes would also wear out pretty fast because, again, your foot is landing on a small strip of skin and bone and the soft cushioning compressed quickly. I was running about 250 miles per month and going through about a pair of shoes per month because that is the point where I could feel the cushioning start to compress and no longer cushion. I had stacks of shoes around and all the shoes looked new but were useless for running. When I became sick of buying shoes I decided to try the minimalist approach and run in my old racing flats with no cushion. I took about six months to go from low miles (maybe 3hours/25 miles of running) back up to my previous 8-10 hours a week (during which time I also had my only case of plantar fasciitis). Since 2005 when I did this, I have bought perhaps one pair of shoes per year and maintained closed to 300 hours of running each year.
I give this illustration, not to try and convert you to “barefoot” or minimalist running shoes, but to show that there are a couple of ways to deal with it.
I got rid of my PF by sleeping in a Strassburg Sock for six to nine months. It has never come back and I never had to stop during that period.
I also have access to a lot of off road running, so if you have to run on roads exclusively, then you will need a shoe with a bit of cushioning, at least. My current favorite is the Altra Instinct for road and for off-road and general walking around I wear the Altra Adam.
If your gait is fine then you don’t need orthotics just for high arches.
Chad
If your gait is fine then you don’t need orthotics just for high arches. Chad
What I was told is that my gait or running technique had nothing to do with this. That regardless of your gait, your foot moves inside your shoe, if you have a considerably high arch and you have nothing supporting it you end up with PF because the arch flex’s downwards on contact. Now that could be a DR trying to sell orthotics but it does make sense
Do not run in the Asics 2170 if you have high arches. Those shoes are meant for flat footed runners who pronate. The stability post, the firm grey area in the heel/arch meant to stabilize an inward rolling arch, transfers more shock into the heel of people with high arches than people with lower arches.
People with high arches rarely need orthotics, your podiatrist is wrong in thinking that putting something beneath a high arch will support it better. This pushes your foot further to the outside and creates more problems than it solves.
What you want is to pad your two main contact points which are your heel and your metatarsals. You want a neutral shoe that will absorb shock in these two points, not create more in your heel as your 2170’s are doing right now.
In Brooks try the Defyance, Ghost, or Glycerin.
Mizuno - WaveRiders
Asics - Cumulus or Nimbus
Nike - Pegasus or Vomero
Do not run in the Asics 2170 if you have high arches. Those shoes are meant for flat footed runners who pronate. The stability post, the firm grey area in the heel/arch meant to stabilize an inward rolling arch, transfers more shock into the heel of people with high arches than people with lower arches.
People with high arches rarely need orthotics, your podiatrist is wrong in thinking that putting something beneath a high arch will support it better. This pushes your foot further to the outside and creates more problems than it solves.
What you want is to pad your two main contact points which are your heel and your metatarsals. You want a neutral shoe that will absorb shock in these two points, not create more in your heel as your 2170’s are doing right now.
In Brooks try the Defyance, Ghost, or Glycerin.
Mizuno - WaveRiders
Asics - Cumulus or Nimbus
Nike - Pegasus or Vomero
That is awesome advise, thank you. I also just read about the other Mizunos are supposed to be good for high arches the prophacy? Very weird configuration and support though
My feet, when wet leave two impressions (front and back), so that’s about as high as it gets.
Have tried everything over the years Last year I tried barefoot, which went well, but the mileage was so low I never really got in condition for any real distance. The year before it was a recommended support/stability shoe and shin splints. Over the years along with Pf and shin splints there’s also been every imaginable other problem, calves, hamstrings, you name it (except knees :).
So this year’s try is Hoka, very strange shoe, huge, I mean huge, amount of cushioning. It’s like running on platform shoes (or maybe crocs). The mileage is slowly creeping up. Have never gone beyond 25 miles a week for more than one week, into my third week, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Have switched out to different (lighter , faster) shoes occasionally and there does not seem to be an appreciable loss of speed, although I don’t know that I would race in them. Mind you no one has ever said to me, hang on you’re running too fast!
Ultra distance guys supposedly swear by them. But I know it goes against the grain of current thinking.
PF is not an inevitable result of high arches. I run a lot of miles in a “shoe” that is basically a 3mm rubber sole and an insole. I have not had PF in six years of minimal shoe running. So don’t buy that line about one will eventually lead to the other. As a general rule, if you are slowly working your way into running again, try some shoes with minimal to no drop from heel to two. The Hoka shoe is actually a very thick shoe with minimal drop, but there are some with small amount of cushioning and some with nothing but a rubber sole to protect your feet. Just do a search for Altra (I have no affiliation with them, but they make the kinds of shoes I’ve been wanting for five years.) There are other more well know branks like New Balance offering these types of shoes as well.
Remember to be patient and consistent in treating the PF. It took me 6-8 months of wearing the sock at night for mine to go away completely, but I never stopped running and peaked at 80 mpw during that period.
Good luck.
Chad