Climbing Shoe Injuries
Hey Steph, thanks so much for being so open to contact from random people all around the world, it is really interesting to read others questions that you receive. My question for you is about climbing shoes creating running injuries, and if you have had experience with it. I am a really avid runner (5-9hrs on the trail per week, in zero drop, wide toe box etc shoes) and the past few months I have been having some pain and soreness in the top/outside of my right foot after running. I went to PT for it and we figured out that my climbing shoes were shutting down the the up and out rotators in my foot and ankle, which then lead to weakness in the lower back, which make the impact from running on the compromised foot painful(I only wear relaxed shoes(LS mythos) when climbing for this very reason, fear of them affecting my running). I received a bunch of exercises to do, and advice to not wear climbing shoes, or any shoes that constrict my metatarsals in anyway. So long story short, I was wondering if you have any advice or tips from experience that may help.
Thanks again
Nick
Hi Nick,
This is a new one for me, and a lot more specific than anything I’ve had diagnosed or experienced. I’m assuming you’ve already diagnosed and identified the best running shoes since you’re so focused on running. And Mythos are known to be a loose, comfortable shoe when sized large. From my experience with climbing shoes and foot pain of different types, I just wonder if different shoes would be appropriate to try. I know there are certain climbing shoes which don’t work for me–either for fit or pain, and others which are great. I’ve also had shoes that hurt (but I’m talking pain, not injury) for over a month and then suddenly became really comfortable. With running, I’ve had knee pain when wearing shoes that were overbuilt, which went away when I switched to lightweight running shoes.
I’m not a doctor and wouldn’t want to give you advice that would lead to injuries. But I think one tricky element here is that most doctors and PTs are not highly familiar with climbing or climbing shoes. I would ask if a different type of climbing shoe is worth looking into. And even if they said no, I’d probably be tempted to conduct my own experiments. I’d also be interested to dig deeper into your running habits–the reason I say that is that I ran for 15 years without knee pain, and then suddenly developed some a couple of years ago. So I switched running shoes and worked on changing my running style, and the pain went away.
I hope you can find a way to enjoy all your sports!
Steph
