Quick Shoe Check…Part 1

Hey RMA crew!

I got down to River Run 100 last Sunday and caught up with everyone there. Great to see so many Running Mums doing cool stuff raising awareness for Run For Hummingbird House with four teams! How cool is that. While I was there I caught up with Sharon who was talking to me about a pain on the outside of her foot. She just got a new pair of shoes so we did a quick shoe check and found the outside heal support area was pretty spongy and when combined with being a bit of a heal striker this was probably causing an issue.

Couple of strategies to tackle this type of problem, firstly check your shoes when you buy them. What is the support like in that back area? Kind of push into it and see what the resistance is like. Funny thing is I don’t mind these shoes, just not great for a heal striker. Secondly, if you could it might be good to look at body positioning. Using a subtle lean from the ankles which will shift your foot strike more to the mid foot and problem solved! Thirdly, if you have trouble doing that you could look at releasing the muscles in between the bones of the foot. We use the footezes but basically you need an edge to get into that area. Sometimes we use a 1kg dumbbell but got to watch skin condition if you do that, it can be a little brutal.

Not a bad idea to also check what you tightness is doing on the outside of your shin because it can refer pain to the outside two toes as well. Those muscles are called peroneals and as runners it’s good to keep an eye on them because they get inhibited when they’re tight and can contribute to instability and can contribute to overuse injuries.

Did a quick video with Sharyn to show you guys some of the subtleties that go into preventing little niggles, particularly with picking shoes. Good to be able to get onto them quickly before they become an issue that stops you running! I will go through more shoe stuff with you guys soon.

Big shout out to your own Rebecca Bell Fuller for putting together such a fun crew last Sunday. It was a blast. Look forward to seeing everyone at Sunshine Coast Marathon on Sunday too!

Enjoy your runs guys!

Paul Trevethan

Running Physio