Footwear and/or Orthotics

pudgeydev

Hey all,
I'm thinking of getting orthotics, the ones especially moulded to my feet, coming from Canada and costing €250sih, foot solutions and some physios are all about them. I recently received some vouchers for Amphibian King too, I've been with them before and got some runners, they spent a lot of time with me and I got good runners, but I put my old (generic) insoles into them as my feet were getting numb while running.
Ok, went a little off topic, what I want to know is has anyone on the forum spent the few quid and got the orthotics, and if so, has it been very beneficial?
Is it the case of do one or the other, if I buy the runners from Amphibian King, then put the insoles in them, am I negating the good of the runners? Or do they compliment each other?
Cheers!

Clearlier

Got to be careful not to get into the realm of medical advice here but hopefully can manage this.

I bought runners from Amphibian King. They did the gait analysis with my orthotics in the runners (why would you do otherwise?) and chose the most appropriate pair.

As an aside it was Damian in Amphibian King who put me in touch with a guy who did orthotics. I had already been through several different people and sets of orthotics without any success but he was the first professional orthotist I went to and the difference showed and continues to show!

RedB

I got them and found them beneficial especially for back pain I used to suffer from. I transfer them between whatever regular shoes, boots or runners I wear. My orthotics 'balanced' out my feet and so I needed a neutral shoe after. Gait analysis tries to provide that balancing effect via the shoe that suits your gait but you'd already have the effect built into the orthotics hence any neutral shoe should suit with them. You should just be able to tell them you need a neutral shoe without having to do gait analysis.

Clearlier

I'd still recommend the gait analysis even with orthotics as there are many different levels of support with 'neutral' shoes. Also I know that if I don't keep my core strength in order I need support shoes until I get myself sorted out.

macinalli

Why do you need orthotics? The only issue that you've mentioned in your post is your feet going numb - is this the reason? If so, have you considered the simple options e.g. your shoe/laces etc are too tight. I would have always considered orthotics as the last resort....

pudgeydev

Hey, thanks for the replies so far.
I get a lot of injuries when running, I’ve had calf/hip/groin/knee injuries at different occasions over the past couple of years. I’m doing my best with the chi running to try and land properly to give myself the best support.
I would LOVE to go injury free for 6months+ to see how much I can improve without getting injuries and having to mind this or that.
Physio I went to recommended orthotics, lifetime guarantee, €250ish and very good to prevent injuries. Sounds great to me, but before I spend the cash I wanted to see if anyone else has had positive/negative feedback on them. Apparently the orthotics are common amongst more serious/high mileage runners, so it’d be great to hear opinions on them.
I guess my Amphibian King question was a bit of a stupid one, of course you’d get the orthotics first, then get the runners to suit, fair nuff!

Clearlier

pudgeydev,

If you do go down the orthotics route I can't recommend highly enough that you get a professional to do them. Physios are absolutely not professional in this area - podiatrists and orthotists are. I made that mistake a couple of times. Didn't even know that there was such a profession as an orthotist when I was looking!

fabregas4cesc

I was told i land on the outside of the out and press in as i walk, and bought expensive orthotics to correct the problem, resulting in shinsplints. So i packed them in needless to say. I then went to elvery's and did the analysis thing and the video showed me landing on the inside of the foot and pushing outwards as the feet hit the ground, generally beginning with the ball of my feet hitting the ground first. There was a complete difference between the way i walk and run so i've found it impossible to get football boots / runners to fit, constantly getting blisters on balls of feet and a new pain in my heel right up inside it from the ground, so be careful what you invest in My dad has spent a lot on orthotics before which caused more problems until some asian lad performing acupuncture told him to bin them as he never needed them at all