Questions & Answers

one injury after another

I am 49yrs old, 200lbs, 6'00". I have running for the past 12yrs. I do 90% on treadmill the other 10% road and trail. This past mid June I started on the quest of becoming a more minimalist runner. I started slowly to run in vibram komodo sport. As of this date I have about 400 miles of VFF running. 300 in komodo sport and about 100 in KSO trek. During this training I have read numerous books on the subject and read many a web posting. I thought I went about this transition as knowledgeable as I could. The problem is it seems like one injury after another. Sure I experienced the sore calves. I think that is a given. I also had to suffer though top of foot pain right foot (got injected with cortisone) and now right foot peroneal tendonitis. The question I have is should I change my minimalist approach and go with a shoe that has a little heel to toe drop? This way I take some pressure off the lower legs. The therapist at the orthopedics wants me to wear a heel lift. I have worked so hard to get out of my NB 883 and get away from othodics and heel striking. I dont want to go back. Any and all advice is appreciated.... NOTE: never really injured in 883's, once in awhile a sore hammy or tight calf...

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Answers and Replies

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If you've developed one injury after another since changing your footwear, then whatever you're doing is not right for you. It's possible that the VFFs are not right for you; I can run barefoot for 2 hours no problem but after 1/2 hour in the VFF my right foot kills. So they don't work for me. I've seen people with certain brands/types of minimalist shoes have injuries and gait imbalances due to the shoes - once they switch to another more suitable for them they're fine.

Peroneal tendonitis is a sure sign of a pronation-supination problem. So maybe your feet have never developed the strength needed in order to run barefoot or in the VFFs. BUT...there's a lot more to the function of your foot than just the footwear. It has to do with your entire health, fitness, and body - I discuss more here in this article http://sock-doc.com/2011/06/running-shoes-prescription/

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Thanks for the reply. I went ahead and read your link. It was quite informative. I have a pair of New Balance minimus MT20 ready to go. Do you think that would be a good move? They have a 4mm drop. That should help take a little strain off the lower legs. Maybe you think there is something better for me? I am a size 13 1/2 and I do supinate.... Also I thought I can wear a shoe outside and wear vibram just on treadmill....

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Those are good shoes; I wear the trail minimus and like them a lot. You really have to see how you feel in them. Right now you're injured, so you have to take care of that problem first, which may be in part due to the footwear, but you have to deal with this injury...

We all pronate, and we all supinate. That is normal foot motion. Now you may over-supinate because you have a peroneal injury. The peroneus longus, specifically, is responsible for proper supination. I suggest you check this muscle out and work some of the trigger points out in this muscle to help heal it up. It spans from the fibula head, down the outside of the leg, and under the foot over to behind the big toe close to the arch of your foot. Most likely you have strained the tendon where is goes under the foot and inserts into the first metatarsal - that's the most common. Check out an anatomy picture and follow its path, rubbing out any trigger points with your fingers/thumb.

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