Orthothics, What Every Runner Should Know about Them (When to Replace, Usage)

We get a viewer question in about orthothics! We offer a response to the question and also some additional wisdom we've gathered from our PT experiences.
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Doctors of Running aims to use knowledge of human movement, clinical biomechanics and performance to bring you cutting edge reviews, science and knowledge. Featuring reviews of the latest shoes and shoe technology from the perspective of physical therapy professionals.

[@eddiesrunningshoes6667]

Couldn’t agree more! I used to work at a running shoe store and this was one of the most common questions. Thanks for such an in-depth explanation!

[@rahelwijeyekoon9403]

On the note of orthotics not lasting - I work at an outdoor retailer which sells a variety of shoes (so we get far more casual or new runners/hikers than enthusiasts who do their research), and you wouldn't believe the number of people who come in with an "orthotic", only to pull out something that's completely falling apart and obviously not doing them any good. I watched a guy in his 70s pull out an orthotic that looked older than me - it was paper thin due to compression and in 3 pieces in one shoe and was about to become 2 in the other. How he thought those things were doing anything but harm while moving around in his shoe is beyond me.
Then there's the people who buy off-the-shelf inserts/insoles who obviously have no idea if they actually need them because they're just blindly following someone else's lead. I've had so many people solicit me for a diagnosis and recommendation who I've directed toward medical professionals, so I'm guessing a lot of these people get into the mindset of using these things after being upsold by some unscrupulous sales person or someone who doesn't know better who takes the complete lack of nuance in the marketing materials surrounding a lot of these off-the-shelf products at face value.

[@DoctorsofRunning]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We agree, we see a lot of this. Thanks for supporting getting these runners to professionals. It could mean a big difference for many folks getting into running or whatever physical activity they do.