Extremley bad knees - running shoe advice

Hi

Brand new to this site so apologies if this is a regular daily post.

Im quite a fit 42 year old ex-footballer who has worn out completely cartlidge in one knee (it needs replacing)and 50% of the other - not great.  Ivee started taking fish supplements that appear to be helping the feeling I have and generally I cycle in the summer about 50 miles per week witthout too much soreness.

Most days my knees creak and are sore but.....I want to have a last attempt at doing a half marathon and I need some running shoes that will help me with my 80 year old knees.  I run in my gym trainers on the treadmill relatively fine but want to start road running for the half marathan in May that id like to do.

The inside of my shoes generally wear out quicker than the rest and not quite sure the technical term but Im think am increaed cushion shoe would help my knees?

Can anyone give me any advice on what I should buy?  Would really appreciate the feedback from the pros out there?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

In your situation you really need to go to a proper running shop and do the gait analysis on the treadmill. Then try out the suggested shoes to find the most comfortable.  

 

I also have really bad knees (41yo) i had to stop cycling they are that bad and couldnt even walk far my knees hurt so much, ive tried averything from insoles to loads of different knne straps/tapes etc.
Then i heard about barefoot/minimal running and havnt looked back, i started with new balance mt110 and ran my first 10k in them, then moved on to the new balance mt00 which are also brilliant and now im changing slowly to vibram fivefingers.
When my nb mt110's needed changing i went to Sweatshop and had all the test done and they recommended a certain pair of "normal" trainers, a good thing they do is let you try them for a few weeks and you can exchange for a different pair which i did as they killed my knees!

Look in to it, its certainly help me run

Good luck

Thanks guys, much appreciated will try those  trainers beachbomb

Second the minimal shoes.

I have a lumbar problem (waiting for a fusion) and have suffered with aching feet, numbness in my feet and left leg, sciatic pain and....well general discomfort. Picked up some minimal shoes and haven't looked back.

Not a niggle in the 3 weeks I've been wearing them.

Interestingly I've noticed I'm running far more efficiently (further, a little faster with lower heart rate)

i have similar knee problems (don't know if it's cartlidge) which, combined with heel striking prevented me from taking up running....it simply hurt too much!

i bought a pair of vff's (vibram five fingers) and started my running career in them. i immediately found that heel striking was very painful, so tried forefoot instead. instantly, the knee pain whilst running stopped. if you do swap to vff's / minimalist / barefoot and don't already run fore/midfoot, your calves will complaint like hell for the first few months, so build the distance up slowly. literally start at ¼mile maximum. your feet need to land pretty much under your hips - don't overstride - or you will probably get calf / achilles injuries (been there, done that) and the cadence needs to be about 180 steps per minute. the high cadence is generally enough to prevent over-striding.

you may be hard pushed to get up to ½ marathon distances in minimalist shoes by may, but they are certainly worth giving a go to see if you get the same pain free knees that i now run with.

cheap ebay chinese 2nds / copies at c£30 a pair are an inexpensive punt to determine if you can get on with them, although they take 2-4 weeks to get delivered.

Beachcomb, what was teh sizing like on the Mt110's?

I've bought a pair and they seem fine lengthwise but my big toe feels restricted by the inner sock - not the shoe structure itself. 

I've sized up by half a size from my normal shoe size.

What was your experience?

I'd normally go with the barefoot/minimalist advice, but it does take some getting used to, and if your new to running, you may want to get the basics right first.

 

In saying that, I mean make sure your technique is sound, for example your not running with poor posture or you don't have an underlying injury of some sort which would require some sort of treatment or RICE before you can get back to running (slowly). If you do have underlying issues, they will only continue to get worse whatever footwear you try.

 

But I would advise reading the book Born To Run which is pretty good at explaining how the whole thing works.