Marion Freijsen A blog about Sports, Fitness & Health

Running, shoes and good advice

Got an interesting question today from one of my frequent readers (I do have them it seems, quite nice to hear…) She has started to run and is enjoying it but just recently started to get an odd feeling in her groin after running. Nothing too painful, but just a twinge that is annoying.

Whenever you start running (or any new sport) it’s good to keep a check on yourself. I mean that in two different ways – 1. Don’t overdo it, build it up and go slow! and 2. literally, note down how you feel, what you feel and when you feel it. That may be “I feel great!!” but it could be “slight twinge in left hip after 2 blocks”. If that twinge continues, your notes will give you and any expert you may go to for help, guidance and clues as to what may be causing it and how to solve it.

In this case, Jody told me she had just bought some new shoes. That is a red flag. New shoes can be great (as in her case, she went from ordinary training shoes to running shoes, which is a 200% improvement!) but they can cause your whole body to misalign itself if you don’t choose wisely.  For instance, if you are a neutral runner, meaning that you have a gait that is stable, not tilting your ankles inwards or outwards on each stride – and you choose a anti-pronation shoe because the colours are cool – then you are in for trouble. Tilting your ankles slightly out, your knees and hips will have to cope with an angle that is not natural thus it may well cause you to strain something along the way. So go to a sportstore where they VIDEO you, running on a belt, in neutral shoes first to see what your gait is like. Then they should advise you on the type of shoe that may correct your natural gait. Nothing else is any good. They must video you rather then merely watch you run. A video can be stopped, played back, played in slow motion… try doing that on your run, won’t work

In Jody’s case, I suspect she is running on the wrong shoes although it may simply be that her body is getting used to running on GOOD shoes instead of her oldies. Time will tell, but it’s important to note the signs early on and keep a watchful eye on it. If pain lingers more then a few hours, you need to go see a fysio/physical therapist to help you figure it out.

Now go, grab some shoes and go for that run!

PS Some great stores that have the experts there to help you:

If you are in Chigago – best store is Fleet Feet in North Wells Street. See http://www.fleetfeetchicago.com/htm/fitting_how.asp for some more hints on fitting you with a running shoe.

In Amsterdam – Run2Day, Overtoom 345/351. Tel. 020 – 616 7272