Forums >General Running>Foot dorsiflexion and minimal shoes?
Hi!
I had a new gait analysis performed a couple of weeks ago and was told that due to the small amount of dorsiflexion in my feet, I should never have been put in the Brooks Pure Flows. Is there any truth to that or was I just given a line of bullshit?
I only have 12 miles in the pure flows, I tried to get adjusted to them too quickly. It turns out that running 3 miles on Monday, 4 miles on Wednesday, and 5 miles on Saturday is not really easing into them. When I was sold the pure flows, I was running in stability shoes but the running pattern and foot strike indicated I should be in neutral shoes. I have since been running in wave riders with no issues, but if possible, I'd like to eventually give the pure flows a go for 5Ks.
Eric
I have been told by a running shoe salesman that, because I have high arches and pronate, I should be in motion control shoes.
I run in sandals, Bare-X 200s, and the Minimus line.
I think the way you feel when running in a shoe is more telling than a person who is trying to sell you another pair of shoes. Listen to your body. It's the best feedback device you've got.
"When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. Then willpower will be no problem." Emil Zatopek
I wouldn't put too much stock in anything they have to say - many many of those people don't know much - some do....
If the Brooks Pure Flows feel good to you, then run in them.......
Every time I have a gait analysis at a running store, they ALWAYS recommend I buy Asics........I don't have anything against Asics but find it a little weird that's what they always recommend.......I always figured Asics paid a higher commission....
Champions are made when no one is watching
My philosophy is that you should wear the least amount of shoe as you can, and only wear a heavier/more stable shoe if absolutely necessary.
I haven't had a chance to find out if the pure flows work for me yet. Since I didn't switch to them slowly enough, I ended up with a knot in my left calf. Strangely, I didn't feel it while warmed up, but I did feel it when I was walking. I haven't ran in them since then.
Hi! I had a new gait analysis performed a couple of weeks ago and was told that due to the small amount of dorsiflexion in my feet, I should never have been put in the Brooks Pure Flows. Is there any truth to that or was I just given a line of bullshit? I only have 12 miles in the pure flows, I tried to get adjusted to them too quickly. It turns out that running 3 miles on Monday, 4 miles on Wednesday, and 5 miles on Saturday is not really easing into them. When I was sold the pure flows, I was running in stability shoes but the running pattern and foot strike indicated I should be in neutral shoes. I have since been running in wave riders with no issues, but if possible, I'd like to eventually give the pure flows a go for 5Ks. Eric
I would count that as a line of BS because it really doesn't make any sense to me. My understanding is that Brooks Pure Flows is minimalist shoe. Most probably what they call "low profile", meaning the heel-forefoot drop is less than "normal" running shoes. In such case, your ankle will be "flexing", not dorsiflexing (toes pointing with the greater angle at the ankle), slightly more than normal. So if your calf is tight and you "don't flex" as much, chances are that you might get extra "pull" in your calves and may strain them if you are not careful.
Either way, our body is an amazing adopter and, if you give it enough time and sensible exercise, it'll adopt to the new stress in most cases. If we all practice, I believe almost all of us CAN do the Chinese split. If our hip joint can do that, I don't see any reason why we can train our ankles to flex or dorsiflex a few degrees more in a few weeks if not less. It's a typical trash talk of someone who's dying to show off their very limited knowledge; he probably just learnt how to measure flexion/dorsiflexion and, based on that information ON THE DAY, concluded "if your ankle mobility is such-and-such angle TODAY, then you shall NEVER wear such-and-such shoes EVER!" not taking into consideration how our body can adopt to most anything.
That said, for someone who's been wearing stability shoes and skip the middle step and go all the way to minimalist shoes in one jump may be a bit too much of a change. Particularly walking in them. When you run, and if you're trying to switch your running form to fore-/mid-foot landing (if you wear minimalist shoes, you may tend to change to this naturally anyway), your calves are where it takes most of landing shock. That's why you get tight calves when you try to run tip-toe. But your calves also get stretched out further in a walking motion because the angle at the take off in walking may even be slightly greater than that of running. In other words, if you have stiff ankles, a good exercise to loosen up is actually walking more so than running. Some ankle strengthening exercises like standing on the edge of steps or something and go up and down by flexing/dorsiflexing your ankle in extreme would help.
If I were you, when someone tells you something like "you can't wear these shoes because your ankles don't dorsiflex enough," I would always ask them "why" a bit more deeply. I'd say 9 out of 10 times, they have no clue why--they're just reading the manual and, sometimes, they mix up words. ;o)
Thanks for the reply!
The reason I switched from stability to neutral was because I run neutral. When I first started running, I was put in Brooks Adrenalines. They worked OK, but eventually got to the point where I would get shin splints, even after buying new adrenalines. I switched to Mizuno Inspires and those worked, but I always seemed to have hip/ITB issues when I started to get above 15 miles.
I did some research and learned that running in stability shoes when you're a neutral runner can lead to similar issues. That's when I had another gait analysis that determined I was a neutral runner and landed mostly mid-foot.
I believe my issues with the pure flows were solely from not easing into them slowly enough. I never did find out what the knot in my calf was, or why it would be more pronounced when walking (didn't matter the shoes) than when running. I have been in the wave riders since the issue with the pure flows.
Snarl snarl.
I have very poor ankle flexibility especially when it comes to dorsiflexion. I have a pair of Brooks PureConnects and love 'em.
It does take a little time (for me it was a couple weeks) to get used to the reduced heel lift, but once that's taken care of, they're really wonderful shoes. I've worn them up to the HM distance.