[Goose]

refnrev:

Just my 2 cents, but by and large, listen to the folks here.

My brother-in-law happens to be foot doctor and handles almost all the athletes at Brown University in Rhode Island. Mostly he deals with runners of all sorts and he himself has run the Boston Marathon several times including this year. Avid biker too, and handed me his older Cannondale with 25,000 miles, yes, that's 25,000, on it! So he's pretty in tune with athletes.

My point? Orthodics! It's nice to have a Dr. in the family, and he did fit me with permanent ones and what a difference. Both my kids he fit at a very early age and it corrected a lot of problems no one really saw, not to mention making ones for my son (again) who is a distance runner as well as my daugher who runs. Actually video tapes the back of your legs while you walk and then run on a treadmill. It was an interesting process to see in action.

So, there is no substitue for good orthodics. Yea, I know they can cost several hundred dollars, but I had a coach a long time ago tell us to take care of your feet or when you are older, you will pay a hefty price, not to mention that other parts of the body can hurt and one can cope with the pain, but when your feet are in pain, it's a pretty miserable life.

My orthodics are to be used in my running, hoop, and officiating shoes. They are not made for dress shoes, but he is very opinionated about wearing correct dress and casual shoes too.

I guess you could try some of the over the counter stuff, but if you want to really get rid of the pain, you need to see a foot doctor and especially one that handles a lot of runners. These guys can, and do make a real difference.

Since I got mine 2 years ago, my problem is now non-existant, but they do take a while to get used to.

goose