Orthotics and me

As I have noted before, I was a sprinter when I was younger. Therefore, I never really put in too much mileage. Even when I first started training to do 10 mile and under races, I wasn't putting in any real high mileage. To top it off, I was also a lot stronger then; more specifically, my leg strength and leg muscles. Training for my first Olympic triathlon last year, I tossed aside all strength training. In addition, I hadn't been doing much leg workouts prior to that. In addition, after my triathlon, I only did running for my following races. During the running leg of my triathlon my knees had been in worlds of pain; I ignored this because after the race I was fine and I assumed it was just from the fact I had just swam almost a mile and biked 24.8 miles. So, when my Philly Half arrived, BOOM! Collapsed three times because it felt like my knees were exploding; yes, both knees. Other than that, I can't really think of any way to describe the pain.

I was at an expo and came across a sports medicine doctor and he did a quick analysis on me; his conclusion, I had a collapsing arch and I needed orthotics. First off, what do you mean I have a collapsing arch...my feet look flat and normal! And what the heck are orthotics? I scheduled an appointment with a very renowned sports medicine doctor in my area (he handles most of the pro sports teams in the area).

The X-Ray was fascinating. It looked like I was wearing super high heals. And watching a video of my foot striking, you could see the high arch, and then my foot collapse and then look like a flat and normal foot. So, the doctor said I needed orthotics, which he made molds of my feet and got custom orthotics made for me.

So, I inserted them into my shoes, and off I went. To my surprise, my knees were still doing awful and I didn't really feel the orthotics were working at all. Back to the doctors I went. Sadly, I was so frustrated that I basically accused him of giving me a bogus (and insanely expensive) shoe insert. I guess he was used to this, so back on the treadmill I went and out came his video recorder (he was using an iPad). Within 10 minutes of me running at various speeds, he said he knew the problem. My running form had become awful due to the overcompensation from the knee injury.

Okay, no worries, I just had to relearn proper running form. Thankfully that task was not too daunting, as my track and running experience was heavily weighted in proper form. About three months later I was back to doing upper-middle distance mileage (6-8 miles) without any knee trouble at all.

So, there are a few takeaways I want to share, as this was a very humbling learning experience.

1. Go to a sports medicine doctor or someone who is trained to analyze your feet (most employees at actual running stores...not necessarily chain places). Have them observe you walking and/or running so they can fit you properly for a running shoe.
2. If you find that you are still having trouble, then definitely see a sports medicine doctor about orthotics or maybe a generic insert will do the trick (generics aren't made that work for my feet unfortunately).
3. If you are running long distances or a multi-sport athlete, I cannot stress enough how much effort you need to devote to leg strength and flexibility. Make sure you don't ever forget about leg strength training...more leg muscle means more impact absorption from your muscles and less impact on your knees.

Good luck and always run smart!