running shoes and orthotics? the new Nike Free..does it really help

January 26, 2006 5:04 AM

My son is a runner for his high school. He has bad feet but has no problem with custom designed orthotics. He just bought some new Nike Frees, which are designed to resemble running nearly barefoot and which are supposed to strenghten legs and feet and make them "sounder." But if he uses these new shoes without orthotics, and then switches back to orthotics for racing etc, don't the two different methods defeat what is trying to be done?
posted by Postroad to health (6 comments total)

Fundamental Rule:

No new gear in a race.

While training is when you figure out what shorts, shoes, food, bike, skis, etc. work. You have enough pressure during competition. That's not the time to find out that the new Gel Shot makes you puke, or the orthotic in that shoe rubs *right there* and breaks out a huge blister in the first half mile.

You race in old, broken in, tested gear.
posted by eriko at 5:38 AM on January 26, 2006

More: if he's trying to live without orthotics, and it works, you want to live without them as much as possible. However, if you have bad feet that cause functional problems, running without them can cause damage to your ankles, knees and hips, since you're putting forces on them that they're not built to handle.

The true short form: Ask the doctor. If you need them, you'll need them in training and in racing.

I'd think if you could safely run in bare feet, you really wouldn't need orthotics. Thus, the idea of shoes that act as bare feet supplanting them rings false, but the doc would be able to tell you.

The bit about racing in old gear is important, though -- I've met guys who paid dearly for grabbing the new bike for a century.
posted by eriko at 5:41 AM on January 26, 2006

I'm not a doctor, but a runner. I'd have to say no, but with the caveat that we don't really know what the issue is with your son's feet from his description. Were I he, I would not put in a lot of miles in the Frees (and I would have just started out running short distances on the infield). Go by how things feel. He is (presumably) more open to injury when running without the orthotics, but I've never heard that running without makes it a problem later to run with.

If you google barefoot running you'll find all kinds of sites extolling the practice. On the email list to which I am subscribed, there are several partisans. What seems clear, partisanship aside, is that barefoot running does stregthen your feet and lower legs, and it does move the footstrike forward on the foot (onto or near the ball). Both are benefits for producing good form. I'm not sure how effective the Free is in providing those same benefits.
posted by OmieWise at 5:42 AM on January 26, 2006

And yeah, seeing eriko's comment I think it bears repeating, no new gear in a race.
posted by OmieWise at 5:43 AM on January 26, 2006

I am not a doctor either, but taking your question to the extreme there would be no benefit to barefoot/free training versus shoes for anyone -- after all, shoed and non-shoed is still two different methods of running. But barefoot training is widely used, because it -does- produce balance, strength and running form improvements that are still useful even when the athlete competes in shoes. Your son may recieve more/less benefit from the frees, but I can't think of any reason it wouldn't be a positive effect.

Disclosure: I own and use the frees myself. Not just for training, but in everyday life -- because I have horribly weak ankles. Just wearing them "normally" for a couple months has made an obvious difference (that might even be something your son could try for a while if you're iffy about this, even Nike recommends just "wearing them around" for a couple weeks to see how you feel).
posted by Pufferish at 7:27 AM on January 26, 2006

See a podiatrist. Mine is now advocating for me to wear my shoes and orthotics *in* the house, not just when I'm out and about. She says I'm at risk of twisting an ankle, going over on an ankle, dislocating a toe, grating bone against skin, etc. Everyone is different, of course.

Has your son's podiatrist suggested going without orthotics during the high impact, riskier-than-sitting process of running? I'd return the shoes, check with the podiatrist, then revisit the shoes. My podiatrist actually gave me a list of shoes that were likely to work for me.
posted by acoutu at 8:47 AM on January 26, 2006