Hype the Shoe, Take Two Aspirin and Call me in the Morning

So it's not just the minimalist shoes that get runners in my office. Here's the bottom lugs one the over-hyped Newton's. The idea here is it accentuate the "Pose" method or Forefoot running. I had a runner come see me yesterday who had been doing fine in the Saucony Ghost and was swayed into trying these out. The problem with the shoes is the crease line and lug distribution put a hot spot near the common location for a neuroma between the heads of the third and fourth metatarsals. She had not developed a neuroma yet but I saw swelling on my ultrasound that could develop into one if she continued with the Newton's. to much distribution to the forefoot. I told her to go back to the Ghost and and take some time to let the swelling reduce. Hype is what sells. Reality is the lesson.

Minimalism Shoes: Overdone and Running on Empty

5 years ago the minimalist running shoe was at it's infancy. Now the trend is overdone. If minimalist shoes were a stock I'd sell them short. That's not to say most people need running shoes that are built like a tank or have soles like a snow tire. After Chris McDougall's book Born to Run the seed was planted for the Vibram 5 finger and the Nike Free.now there are dozens of choices that are available. The minimalist movement also was further hyped by the culture of crossfit. If you are a podiatrist like I am you would see first hand the injuries that are direct results from these shoes. My introduction to minimalist shoes came when my friend Jay started running barefoot. He will be the first to tell you that barefoot and running in minimalist shoes are not the same thing. We also agree that running barefoot or in minimalist shoes require a lengthy transition. 5 years ago I started to blog about it and that led to an interview in the Baltimore Sun which was then noticed by an MSNBC producer and I ended up being part of a panel interview by Dr. Nancy on barefoot running. Now the trend is running on thin treads. If you are lean and fit it's one thing but for much of the rest of the running populace there is no doubt in my mind that you increase the odds of sustaining plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis and stress fractures, especially in the metatarsals. Runner's World has pronounced the trend cooling over the past year.http://www.runnersworld.com/minimalist-shoes/more-support-for-slow-transition-to-minimalism A recent article showed that runners had more injuries with minimalist shoes.One small study showed equal numbers of injuries with a neutral shoe vs. minimalist shoes but the numbers were small. Larger studies are difficult to conduct because controlling the variables of runner's body type and training. I don't put much stock in Dan Lieberman's claims off small studies of elite runners at Harvard. He's not the one seeing the runners outside the lab hobble into our clinics.

Top 3 Olympic Memories Contest

Top Winter Olympic Memories contest will be extended to the end of the Olympics as many of us are just getting into the spirit! Prizes include some fashion/function boots from Soles, snuggly Winter Slippers & insulated Sole sport insoles. To qualify for entry send your top 3 to Arlingtonfoot@gmail.com and like our page Arlington Foot and Ankle on Facebook. James Hess is the top Olympic memories contestant so far.... 1) 1980 US Hockey victory over CCCP, 2) Eric Heiden 1980 -- winning 5 golds in speed skating at every distance -- in my mind among the greatest athletic accomplishments ever -- like winning the 100 meter dash and the marathon in the same week 3) Franz Klammer's downhill win in 1976 4) Dorothy Hamel's gold in 1976 Olympics 5) Norwegian XC skier Bjorn Daehlie's Classical 10K Pursuit gold medal over Thomas Algaard in the 1992 Albertville games 6) Bill Demong's Gold medal along with Johnny Spillane's silver in the same event in the Nordic Combined in 2010 Vancouver games . First ever medal for an American in this event -- gold and Silver. If I thought more, I might come up with something obscure.