Appropriate shoes are a very important piece of the puzzle during rehabilitation or performance training.
Used coherently, they will help an individual to hold onto the changes they are working on with their coach/therapist but also take away some compensatory strategies in order to make the process more effective and reach their goals faster.
SHOE LIST
To the right are shoe recommendations* that I have recently found useful when working with my clients and athletes. These are only recommendations so please do not take these as absolutes.
I categorized the shoes into Early, Middle and Late Propulsive shoes (thanks to my mentor Bill Hartman) and these are a rough recommendations:
EARLY SHOES:
I would recommend this for someone with a high arch with weight bearing mostly through their outside heel (traditionally supinated foot + inverted heel)
MIDDLE SHOES:
I would recommend this for someone who has the ability to feel their medial heel on the ground when standing and has a ‘’medium’’ arch.
LATE SHOES:
I would recommend this for someone with a very low arch or traditionally pronated feet - arch that cannot get off the ground
*Some of the shoe recommendations are based only on my best educated guess and I have not personally tried or tested all of the shoes provided.
EARLY SHOES
Top Pick for Walking/Every Day: Saucony Echelon Walker 3
Top Pick for Road Running: Brooks Glycerin 21 (rocker type heel shape)
Top Pick for Trail Running: Brooks Cascadia 18
Top Pick for Training: Adidas Dropset 3
MIDDLE SHOES
Top Pick for Walking/Every Day: Altra Escalante 4
Top Pick for Road Running: Altra Shoes (e.g. Ecalante Racer 2)
Top Pick for Trail Running: Altra Superior 6
Top Pick for Training: UA Reign 6 or No Bull Outwork
LATE SHOES
Top Pick for Walking/Every Day or Running: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 23 or Brooks Glycerin GTS 21
Top Pick for Trail Running: Haven’t found any good + they would probably be too unstable for trails.
Top Pick for Training: Use walking/running Late Shoes above
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