Hello all,
My name is Mike - long time reader/follower, first time poster. My 'barefoot' experience began about a year ago... but perhaps I'll save that for the intro forum.
At the peak of my full-fledged barefoot running (this summer that just past) I was still only running about 2 maybe three times a week, up to about 3kms on gravely trails and uneven dirt with larger smooth rocks protruding. I was feeling really good (no knee, hip pain, and no PF that rarely would plague me before anyways) other than sensing that my core was fairly loose and out of shape.
Back in mid-September, a work related injury (lifting 25lb boxes repeatedly from low to high, twisting as I would bring them up) caused me to bulge one of my lumbar discs (unsure of which one as I still haven't been issued an MRI). This is also a hereditary issue - my dad needed back surgery for a herniated disc in which the pain wasn't manageable.
It felt like a muscle issue in the upper buttock so I took it easy and ignored it for a couple of weeks (only running once and playing hockey twice in that time - neither of which made it much worse). A couple of weeks later, I woke up and could barely walk that first day. Throughout the next couple of weeks it got better, to a point where the pain sort of stabilized for another few weeks. About 5 days ago, it got worse unexpectedly - it may have been from some very minimal lifting.
Anyways, I'm doing exercises for core, prescribed by my chiro, and just trying to keep moving (but not overly active - not been running or playing hockey). One thing that concerns me is he wants to put me in orthotics. I've recently (March-ish) moved to Vivobarefoot shoes as I want the benefit of strengthening my feet even when I'm not running, plus work doesn't allow me to walk around the office with no shoes on. Based on what I've read, people are able to strengthen their feet and keep their arches 'in-shape' so as to not necessarily require orthotics. His initial assessment by looking at my feet is that I overpronate. Upon having me static stand and walk across one of those sensor pads, the footprint - to me - actually looks quite healthy and as he tried to draw a 'best-fit' line to show what a healthy foot looks like, he basically followed the one that the computer drew. Following this, he then retracted what he previously said, saying that it actually doesn't look too bad, but that my metatarsals don't land in the proper order, one of my feet has too little pressure across the midfoot, among a few other things and that orthotics would fix that.
I guess what I'm looking for input on is:
1) Who has had this issue before, what was your recovery time? (I understand this will differ)
2) Are you able to get back to running without any complications?
3) Is it possible that running barefoot may have contributed to the stress on my disc(s) given that my core wasn't well developed?
4) Your thoughts on orthotics (particularly if you come from a medical background or have lots of experience, please)
5) Anyone on here from the Vancouver, BC area that is aware of BF friendly docs?
Sorry for the lengthy post, I'm anxious to get back in shape and hopefully stay there this time as I'm only 30 and don't want to be dealing with back issues for the rest of my life.
I appreciate any information or experience you can share (from what I've seen, there is a lot on here). Much thanks in advance.
Mike
My name is Mike - long time reader/follower, first time poster. My 'barefoot' experience began about a year ago... but perhaps I'll save that for the intro forum.
At the peak of my full-fledged barefoot running (this summer that just past) I was still only running about 2 maybe three times a week, up to about 3kms on gravely trails and uneven dirt with larger smooth rocks protruding. I was feeling really good (no knee, hip pain, and no PF that rarely would plague me before anyways) other than sensing that my core was fairly loose and out of shape.
Back in mid-September, a work related injury (lifting 25lb boxes repeatedly from low to high, twisting as I would bring them up) caused me to bulge one of my lumbar discs (unsure of which one as I still haven't been issued an MRI). This is also a hereditary issue - my dad needed back surgery for a herniated disc in which the pain wasn't manageable.
It felt like a muscle issue in the upper buttock so I took it easy and ignored it for a couple of weeks (only running once and playing hockey twice in that time - neither of which made it much worse). A couple of weeks later, I woke up and could barely walk that first day. Throughout the next couple of weeks it got better, to a point where the pain sort of stabilized for another few weeks. About 5 days ago, it got worse unexpectedly - it may have been from some very minimal lifting.
Anyways, I'm doing exercises for core, prescribed by my chiro, and just trying to keep moving (but not overly active - not been running or playing hockey). One thing that concerns me is he wants to put me in orthotics. I've recently (March-ish) moved to Vivobarefoot shoes as I want the benefit of strengthening my feet even when I'm not running, plus work doesn't allow me to walk around the office with no shoes on. Based on what I've read, people are able to strengthen their feet and keep their arches 'in-shape' so as to not necessarily require orthotics. His initial assessment by looking at my feet is that I overpronate. Upon having me static stand and walk across one of those sensor pads, the footprint - to me - actually looks quite healthy and as he tried to draw a 'best-fit' line to show what a healthy foot looks like, he basically followed the one that the computer drew. Following this, he then retracted what he previously said, saying that it actually doesn't look too bad, but that my metatarsals don't land in the proper order, one of my feet has too little pressure across the midfoot, among a few other things and that orthotics would fix that.
I guess what I'm looking for input on is:
1) Who has had this issue before, what was your recovery time? (I understand this will differ)
2) Are you able to get back to running without any complications?
3) Is it possible that running barefoot may have contributed to the stress on my disc(s) given that my core wasn't well developed?
4) Your thoughts on orthotics (particularly if you come from a medical background or have lots of experience, please)
5) Anyone on here from the Vancouver, BC area that is aware of BF friendly docs?
Sorry for the lengthy post, I'm anxious to get back in shape and hopefully stay there this time as I'm only 30 and don't want to be dealing with back issues for the rest of my life.
I appreciate any information or experience you can share (from what I've seen, there is a lot on here). Much thanks in advance.
Mike