heavy overpronater runs midfoot and told to heel strike ???????

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slowmarc-belfast Mar 2012 11:09pm, 8 Mar 2012 107 posts	0 slowmarc-belfast Help Help please help I went to see a sports physio today and he told me that I mid foot strike and I should be heel striking.... I have seen 3 podiatrists who all claim I overpronate very bad and even have £300 insoles.... Let me tell you my problem I need your input and don’t know who else to ask. I have never written a letter nor can I as you will see form my bad grammar. I will try to tell you my history without boring you to much but giving yous as much detail as I can. I started running 2 years ago at roughly 14.5 stone. don’t the usually crappy trainers ran to much to hard.(got bored so was training for the army(still am).so I got shin splints bought a 40 quid pair of Asics kept running joined a running club. still getting shin splints. I booked in to see a podiatrist he said I overpronate on the left foot and it’s a bit flat seen his physio for a while she stretched out my muscles. nothing changed still ran in pain. Booked to another podiatrist through the nhs she said my calf’s and Achilles where far to tight but there wasn’t much wrong with my arches she made me up insoles that had a small heel rise on both when I ran in them they hurt like hell ankles felt like they where gonna snap. by this stage i was fed up bought a pair of brooks beast saying they wher the best.the y wher good very heavy not really any pain but heavy and slow. and at the same time my gp also a keen runner went to school with a podiatrist private and he said he may be able to get me through the nhs which he did. she measured my legs and said 1 was shorted than the other and she got me the insoles form peagusus with a heel rise in the left shoe while i was waiting on these. i went to an up and running shop to get my gait done they told me am a nautrel runner lol. they went of the right leg so i bought asics culumus12 on there recomendation. i worse these with the peagusus insoles and after about 3/4months i was running brilliant with no pain apart form the insoles cutting the feet of me i ran great.running a 5k or 10k every other day and lots of hills.during this stage i was doin a 10k in 44mins pb and won a handicap trophy form my club then i fell ill had surgery on my nose and xmas about a month and half not running back up to 13.5 stone. tho still ran a 10k race in 46mins. after xmas i through myself back into training new garmin watch and started to really clock up the miles beating a lot of goals i was setting myself. i got talked into siging up for the marathon. long runs scared me a bit. anyway my 1st long run on the sat was 15 mile in 2hrs15 i was shock ed i could run it tho the 3 days later i ran 3 mile in 30 mins i did hurt. 2 weeks later i ran 17 mile in2hrs30 this is when the pain started . o waith the weekend inbetween the 2 long runs i went to up and running aging to get new trainers by this stage i was convinced i mid foot strike and she argued and said i heel strikeand overpronate even with the insoles i need a support shoe. ater the 17 mile the pain in my shins started i did struggle running full stop and my culumus were done. so i bught a pain or sancony onis 9 i think with a good bit of stailility in them and i had enetered a very fast 5 mile road race stupidlity i wore these on the race in absulote agony with the inosles in my ankles where busting done it in 36mins but i felt like my running was change i was flapping almost. And we come to present i booked to see a sports physio but before i went i had noticed on my culumus as i was bagging them to bring up that the heel is barely worn and the mid sole across the ball of my foot was completely worn. so tonite i went to see this guy and he put me on a running machine in bare feet and said that i do not heel strike but i should be cause thats why we have heels. he also said i dont move my left arm and my left lat is more defined casue its constatly tense. anyway my thing is i always belive midfoot landing is better for you better for tyour bones and just a better running style plus if you run inbarefoot your goin to run in like that any way.so he now wants me to train myself to control my heel striking and hold my arch Currently mypain is as always right along the inside of my shin bone ican actauly pin point it and my ankles are feeling ver y sore aswell i am completely lost as to what to do the army has called me up for a physical and i am fed up and just want to run which i love with a passion am sorry for babbling on i beg for your input and any expertise and advise your mag can give me am sick of throwing money at my legs and being told different plaese help
Andy_B Mar 2012 7:42am, 9 Mar 2012 254 posts	0 Andy_B Slowmarc-belfast - I'm no expert but it strikes me that there is a lot of chopping and changing shoes and insoles as well as lots of conflicting advice. Amidst all of what you say though, you ran pain free in the Brooks Beast so maybe you could go back to these? Just an idea at the risk of further confliction and confusion - If the beast are too heavy and slow, you appeared to like the Cumulus, perhaps a gradual transition from the Brooks to the Cumulus without insoles? Surprised to hear a physio suggest you should be heel striking as it seems to go against the grain of most of the advice published in recent articles. Like I said though, I'm no expert but trying to help and also 'boing' your thread.
Ultracat Mar 2012 7:50am, 9 Mar 2012 9,635 posts	0 Ultracat I am no expert but you seem to have increased mileage rather quickly from the start of this year. I have never had shin splints but a problem ankle and foot and I train accordly and take extra rest days if necessary and have very gradually increased mileage since physio gave all clear to run.
slowmarc-belfast Mar 2012 10:12am, 10 Mar 2012 108 posts	0 slowmarc-belfast basically am thinking the trainers where done up the miles to quick!! but am not sure why he would tell me to start heel striking is that not the worng way to run ???
The_Saint Mar 2012 10:31am, 10 Mar 2012 5,220 posts	0 The_Saint There is no right way to run. Someone who was a high standard track runner told me early on when I started - "Don't let anyone tell you that you need the way you run corrected or changed, because once you believe it then it becomes true and every issue you ever have will be due to this"
cabletow Mar 2012 11:04am, 10 Mar 2012 20,954 posts	0 cabletow Running barefoot - Everyone mid foot strikes - You need to wear big shoes to heel strike Pain is caused by leverage and overuse exceeding the "breaking Strain" of whatever muscle we are talking about - (shin splints = tibialis anterior, posterior shin splints = Tibialis posterior) You exceed the breaking strain and it starts to hurt Remember when you run you are perfornming a repetitive movement 1000 times a mile - If that movemeent has more leverage in it than someone else then it is more likely to result in pain unless you increase the strength of it by training it This is why a) biomechanical errors ar more likely to cause pain earlier in a runners career. b) training sensible can avoid some of that c) seasoned runners often tell how they ran through an injury and look at them now d) coaching can short cut by reducing the risk of pain There is no magic cure and whilst certainly shoes can correct some biomschanical issues - Most of the issues theya re designed to correc are merely the result Alignement is important in reducing sheer stress so some physios will correctly also add your core needs to be strengthened and as oposed to saint (with whom I often have a healthy discussio) you can improve your alignment - Not a magic cure but as helpful if not more so than a magic new shoe.
slowmarc-belfast Mar 2012 12:52pm, 10 Mar 2012 109 posts	0 slowmarc-belfast 1st off thanks guys for reading such a long post.. i worte it in sheer anger basically i overpronate when i walk and mid foot strike when i run. i dont think i need to change the way i run cause am comfortable with it(.whens its good) and my core is pathetic. basically ill buy another pair of culumus do his excirsie without the heel strike and stretch loads
plodding hippo Mar 2012 1:35pm, 10 Mar 2012 40,074 posts	0 plodding hippo I agree with UC maybe you are trying to ramop up the mileage too quickly Im a happy heel striker in support shoes
loki Mar 2012 2:38pm, 10 Mar 2012 617 posts	0 loki I think I'm basically summarising what cabletow said, but essentially if you're getting hurt it's because you are damaging your body faster than it can repair itself. You're doing that either because you are running in an inherently damaging way, or because you are simply running more or faster than your body is strong enough to cope with. If you don't address one or both of these cause you will keep getting hurt. So: 1. improve your technique - you can run "badly" while still landing midfoot so suggest you look into chi/pose or some other approach for improving your technique, consider coaching or at least get yourself videoed and post the footage on here - people are usually very helpful. you probably look nothing like you think you do when you run. 2. get stronger - you can only do this slowly and gradually, so you might need to cut back on your mileage - if you don't at least allow your body to repair the previous run's damage before you go out again you're making it weaker rather than stronger. loads of advice on core excercises, cross-training etc. will all help you reduce injuries and improve your technique.I was a heavy heel striker and wore stability shoes - didn't stop me getting PF and eventually giving up. I started again using chi running approach - I did a month of running on the spot in my garden to work on posture and cadence before I even considered going anywhere. I used to wear Brooks Beasts - I now can't wear supportive shoes - they hurt my feet and feel like ice skates. There are no quick fixes for most people, and the question is do you want to run the marathon or do you want to be able to run for years to come? If you're not lucky, and you have to make that choice, which I think both you and I do, that's what it comes down to. It's unlikely there's something fundamentally wrong with you, but you won't get anywhere running outside of your current capabilities. Be patient. Good luck.
The_Saint Mar 2012 5:59pm, 10 Mar 2012 5,221 posts	0 The_Saint My advisor I referred to above showed a deep understanding of the Placebo effect, its amazing how much simpler life gets when you reject complex, unevidenced theories and just get on with things.