Hi all,

I've had a hip injury for the last 2 months and am seeing a physio. She says it's likely to be tight glutes and other surrounding muscles pulling my pelvis out of alignment when I run - although it always felt like the pain was coming from right inside the joint. The injury happened after the long Christmas break and then me coming back and doing a 10km run. BUT, this was also my first long run in my new shoes (Mizuno).

Has anyone else had injuries that you think could be a direct result of your shoes? (Incorrect fit, shape etc.)

In good news I've done 3 short runs this week and the hip is pain-free so I'm seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I had some dry-needling to my glutes and did a few exercises, but in all honesty I haven't been keeping up with the twice daily stretching regime.

And I'm running in my old shoes....

Any thoughts? I'm not sure if once my hip is 100% I should try my new shoes again, or if I could potentially have to go through this whole thing again if the shoes are the issue.

What’s your running background LaurenR??

When I first started out and didn’t know anything about running shoes I was using a pair of support shoes and suffered a few niggles including ITBS. I then had an assessment done and moved to lighter neutral shoes and things improved but it was just as likely to be from the common curse of a newish runner increasing mileage and doing too much too soon without building up the strength and also flexibility in muscles and connective tissue (particularly around the hips and glutes).

Only shoe related problems I’ve had since have been running in them a bit too far past the point I should have retired them.

I've always been a runner, getting up to distances of 16km as my longest run so far (as well as doing triathlons so swimming and cycling), however I did come back after a month off running over Christmas (which I'll NEVER do again!!!!) so my body was out of practice.

I think I do need a proper shoe fitting, and perhaps I can take my shoes into the store and see if they're ok or if I need a different fit. I'll look back through some old posts to find some good fitters in Perth.

I suppose I can try and sell my new-ish shoes if they're not right to help with the cost of a new pair $$$$$$$$$$

Hi Lauren
Any sudden change- whether it be coming back to running and doing a 10km after a break or changing shoes- is an insult to the body and can cause injury.

Are the shoes the same type of shoe you've had previously (ie. stability versus neutral)?

It's possibly if you've been overdoing the cycling it's tightened up your back and hips and particularly hip flexors causing the problem when you go and run.

I'd do a good stretching and strengthening program from a physio then get back into running gradually. New shoes are meant to be an improvement so as long as they're right for you, give them time to adjust to. Good luck!

I think shoes definitely can cause injuries - I've barely been able to run for the past few months due to a range of injuries, the worst being an ITBS issue that was kicking in at about the 2k mark every time.
The whole time I was having the problems I was running in Kayanos (had a podiatrist watch me walk barefoot and recommended them). Last week, based on the advice of people on another thread on here (thank you!), I went and had myself fitted (Shoe Logic) - turns out when I am running I have an almost neutral strike, and I left with a nice light pair of Nike Zoom Elites. I've gone for three runs since, all only around 5k so far, and I had absolutely no problems with my knee. Now i just need to regain all of the fitness I've lost!

Ding ding ding. Alarm bells are ringing for me. Hopefully your hip is fine. Sounds like it's responding well to the treatment. But if it isn't responding well or pain comes back then get a bone scan (GP can refer you) or MRI (will need a specialist visit). Your symptoms are potentially sounding like a stress fracture.

As to shoes, you really must ensure that you know your gait type and then get appropriate shoes. I made the mistake early in my running in getting a pair that seemed comfortable and were expensive (Asics Trabucco). But they are suited to pronaters. I verge on supination and so they screwed my forefoot inward and excessively to the ball. Ended up with PF issues.

If you can get some good video of your running on a treadmill, send it to this mob and they will provide you with a free gait analysis:
http://www.runningwarehouse.com/LearningCenter/?video=FOOT05

Good luck with whatever's going on and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Thanks all for your advice - much appreciated. I'm going to get my gait assessed properly to ensure I buy the right type of shoes from now on. The (new) shoes I bought and started running in earlier this year were bought at a big warehouse sale so I can't be certain they're the same type as my old pair.

Lesson learned

Just an update on this in case anyone is interested. Turns out it's totally a shoe issue. My old shoes were Mizuno Wave Nexus (which are a neutral shoe), and my recently purchased ones were Mizuno Wave Alchemy's (which are for over-pronators). The alchemy's were too rigid for my foot and the difference between them and the Nexus quite remarkable.

Goes to show that the right shoe makes all the difference, and I certainly won't be buying from any warehouses again without researching the type of shoe.

Thanks for the update Lauren.

I bought some shoes a couple of months ago without any gait assessment (neither podiatrist nor in-store).

Several people pointed out that I'm a pronator, and a podatrist confirmed this assessment. The podiatrist also pointed out that my shoes are for a neutral runner, and that I should get shoes designed for pronators.

I mentioned which brand I like, and the podiatrist recommended three particular models in that brand.