Many people I know have joined the movement and become runners
. What I great way to get fit, exercise and promote health. One aspect of running which needs to be addressed is foot support.
This is often overlooked by the weekend warrior runners. Think about how many steps you take on a typical run. We are talking about numbers in the thousands. It is critical you are protecting your feet and the rest of your body by wearing a shoe with an insole that supports your arch and feet.
Every time a runner takes a step they have the chance to cause their foot to briefly flatten upon impact. This is a widely known problem that runners have been dealing with for years. Orthotics are a popular solution to protecting the foot from dangerously deforming during runs. There are a few drawbacks to orthotics I would like to discuss.
The first issue I have with using orthoics is they are not comfortable often. This is because many of them are made of leather. They cost between $300 and $400 and are rarely covered by insurnace. In my professional opinion they are all too often used as a money maker and are over-prescribed to the masses for the medical professionals to make a quick buck, or a few hundred. Don't get me wrong, I think orthotics are pillar for people with major foot anomolies but I do believe they are unnecessary for the average runner.
The next problem I have with orthotics is their functionality. They are a "cast" of your foot at one moment in time. The two most popular ways to fit someone for an orthotic are having them put their foot in a mold, barely putting weight on the foot, or the newer way is to step on a screen during a gait cycle. Both methods make a mold of the foot for support only in one phase of their walking cycle. This is not only inaccurate for the shape peoples feet chance during a step but also unhelpful for the common runner.
I urge anyone who is active to consider using a shoe insert suchas a SuperFeet or a new product called ALINE. They are more practical, economical and having better function than an orthotic and much safer for you foot than having no arch support at all.