Buying new trainers can be a daunting affair for many of us. With options such as neutral, cushioned, minimalist, racing flats, high-arch, low-arch, wide or narrow we become overwhelmed and often end up picking the ones in our favourite colour! Expert Podiatrist and Professional Triathlete Holly Khan guides us through some important decision making and explains why it’s so important to think about our feet first before we even consider what we’re putting them in.
Feature by Holly Khan | Central Podiatry | Lead Image by Sarah Candlin Photography
As a sports-focused Podiatrist and a Professional Triathlete, I have a passion for the function and optimal health of the lower half of our bodies. Regularly I am faced with “broken” athletes who come into our clinic and to be honest I’m stoked when I can help mend them back into action. But, as we all know, prevention of injury is KING! Take a look at what our feet actually do – How can we improve their function to enable better performance?
Our feet support around 2.5 times our body weight during running!
Our feet are the hard working foundations of our bodies and play a crucial role in our athletic performance. They come with many bells and whistles; an inbuilt shock-absorption and stability system as well as a fancy neuromuscular control system, which enables them to absorb and produce force. Our feet support around 2.5 times our body weight during running! This happens over a very short period of time therefore muscles need to be activated rapidly and in a very controlled manner to keep your whole body stable. High loading can cause stress and be a recipe for foot injuries, however we can reduce the likelihood of these injuries occurring by working on the following:
- Strengthening the muscles in our feet and lower legs
- Improving mobility (if poor mobility exists) at the ankle joint and big toe joint
- Improving proprioception (our body’s ability to sense its position in space)
- Improving our running technique
(c) Sarah Candlin Photography
How footwear influences our running
Shoes are a necessary tool for running in almost all situations. Good footwear can help in the prevention of injury as well as speed up healing due to decreased tissue stress on the impaired structures. But incorrect footwear choices can exacerbate or even cause lower extremity dysfunction. We can all relate to this – when I was 16, I chose a pair of runners with a narrow and shallow toe box. This resulted in painful and permanent nail damage followed by a visit to the local podiatrist, (on the upside she was the reason I became a podiatrist!) – but nevertheless choose your shoes wisely!
Our running technique usually changes with footwear in comparison to running barefoot. Shoes change our cadence, stride length, contact style, kinematics (our motion) and economy. Studies show that barefooted runners have a reduced step length and economy, with an increased cadence and a forefoot strike. This highlights the importance of running in shoes with the least negative impact on gait.
Selecting the right pair of running shoes comes down to selecting a pair that allow our feet to do their job, by working in sync with the features of the shoe and therefore providing a boost in our performance.
Ideal features of performance shoes for healthy runners
Focus on your individual requirements when buying shoes; your specific activity (trail, track or road running), if you need to consider a current or previous injury, if you wear orthoses, and if you have adequate stability and mobility of the forefoot and ankle joints. A reputable sports specific footwear shop is very helpful when it comes to fitting you with the ideal shoe.
Four points of a great performance shoe are:
1. Minimal heel to toe drop
It is ideal to run in shoes that are lower to the ground with a minimal height difference between the heel and the forefoot. However an athlete must also have adequate musculoskeletal conditioning, mobility and flexibility to accommodate this feature. Bear in mind it takes time to adapt to a lower heel drop shoe (possibly 10 weeks to increase the flexibility of the calf muscles via regular stretching, or less time with soft tissue release therapy). If you are transitioning from a shoe with a 12mm heel-to-toe drop, into a shoe with an 8mm heel-to-toe drop you won’t notice much of a difference. But, going from a 12mm heel-to-toe drop to a 0mm heel-to-toe drop would place great strain on the soft tissue due to the significant difference in height and therefore potentially risk injury. A gradual adaptation period is therefore advised.
This shoe shows a 6mm heel to toe drop – Image source - Talkultra
2. Good fit
The shoes should match the shape of your foot to ensure the foot can provide adequate proprioception and stability, rather than squeezing the foot into a narrow shoe.
Two good hints to follow are:
The Insole Test - Remove the innersole from the shoe and place on the ground. Place your foot in position on top and allow the foot to splay naturally. Your foot should be just inside the border of the innersole to indicate a good fit for your foot.
Try shoes on in the afternoon (to allow room for foot swelling) and take them for a quick test run to get a real feel for them. Your feet can usually indicate immediately if they are a perfect fit.
Image source - Ultrarunningcompany
3. Light Weight
This will enable improvements in performance via improving economy. Research shows that running in lightweight shoes actually requires less energy than running barefoot, so running in lightweight shoes is much more efficient.
4. Stiff mid sole
Mid-sole stiffness has a big impact on our proprioception. Too much cushioning will inhibit our body’s feedback mechanism and compromise the stability of the foot and its muscles’ firing patterns.
One key thing to remember…Better proprioception = Better muscle firing = Better balance = Improved performance
Tips to prevent lower leg and foot injuries
Athlete Screening -
As mentioned earlier, an athlete must have the strength, mobility and skill before moving into a more minimal style of shoe – this is absolutely critical! It is highly recommended that a thorough athlete screening be conducted to assess this and other crucial strength and mobility tests, highlighting any areas that need to be improved.
One important test is ankle joint mobility. 30 degrees of ankle joint dorsiflexion is necessary whilst running to prevent compensations, which can then contribute to injuries such as plantar fasciitis, stress fractures and Achilles tendinopathy.
You can do this at home:
Image (c) Holly Khan
Start in a low seated position so that the lower leg is vertical, move to the end of the seat so knee is above big toe and touching foam roller- this will indicate 30 degrees of motion at the ankle. Limitations may exist due to calf muscle tightness, trigger points, injury or a bony restriction. Specific stretching, massaging, foam roller, heat therapy or mobilisation therapy will be needed to address this.
Tip: see a sports specialist for help if pain or limitations exist.
Proprioception – Can you easily balance on one leg with your eyes closed for 30 seconds? If not you need to work on your proprioception, which will provide many benefits including a more powerful propulsion.
Image (c) Holly Khan
Start by standing on one leg with your eyes open and then continue to increase the difficulty of this via closing the eyes, increasing balance time up to 30 seconds, standing on a soft surface like a pillow and twisting the body.
Tip: Push the big toe joint into the ground.
Strengthen Feet – One of many great exercises is “creating arches”. Place feet on ground, sitting or standing, one or two-legged and create a high arch by contracting the muscle on the inner-side of the lower leg, then create a low arch by using the muscles on the outside of the lower leg that connect into the feet. Continue to alternate and repeat – this can be done a few times a week for around 60 seconds.
Images (c) Holly Khan
Replace your shoes - Shoes generally last around 500-800km, or around six-nine months. A midsole loses around 50% of cushioning after 750km. The sole of a shoe does not wear evenly, and this can place higher stress on certain parts of our feet, leading to overuse injuries. Also, try to alternate between two (or more) pairs of runners. Your long run shoes will generally have a bit more cushioning and support than your racing shoes/tempo run shoes.
Train in your racing shoes - You should train in your racing shoes once or twice a week to prevent shock to the body come race day. This will prevent any unwanted surprises. One of the worst mistakes I made in a race was at Ironman 70.3 Sunshine Coast. I heard the commentator announce I was leading in my age group as I was coming into T2. I decided not to put my socks on to save a few seconds. I had multiple (massive!) blisters form on both my feet, pain with every foot strike and I had to stop at an aid station to apply vaseline to the blisters in an attempt to reduce the pain. I changed my race plan and it failed. Make sure you test your racing shoes out multiple times to know if your lacing system works, if you need to wear socks, if they will provide enough cushioning and/or support for your race distance and terrain. All this will ensure they carry you “comfortably” through to your victory.
Central Podiatry are a team of highly qualified Podiatrists who can help you to reach your athletic goals, reduce the risk of injury, and reduce your recovery time.
Central Podiatry offers a number of different treatments from Biomechanics, Shock Wave Therapy, Athlete Screenings as well as general foot care advice. Give our team a call, and see how we can help you to become a better athlete today.