Silicone Dynamic Orthotics
Written by T. J. Murphy, running editor and patient
Triathlete Magazine, March 1997,
page 56
Finding a good shoe can be tricky enough. Personally, I've always feared
that the use of orthotics in a running shoe should be the last resort.
This is mostly because the hard nature of the standard orthotic gives me
the same sensation I get when looking at a dental chair.
Subscribing to a different technology, Dr. Dennis Kiper, D.P.M., uses
a silicone-based orthotic when treating runners who come to him with their
troubles. This was something I thought I could try, being fully cognizant
that my biomechanics were substantially responsible for the dramatic number
of injuries that continued to ripple up and down my left leg and lower
back.
In addition to Dr. Kiper's use of a more forgiving material in his orthotics,
he almost exclusively works with runners and triathletes, and this experience
became immediately obvious to me when he initally examined my feet and
skeletal structure. In fact, he told me what problems he suspected that
I was prone to, and he was exactly right.
He then took imprints of both my feet, worked up a set of notes, and
shortly thereafter I received a set of insoles to place in my running shoes.
He carefully advised me on how to slowly work them into my running, allowing
for adaptation time. The adaptation was smooth; I had no problems.
My immediate subjective observation was one of a striking improvement
in the amount of power I was getting from my left leg and the general feeling
of balance that I couldn't ever remember feeling. The sensation of dragging
my left leg and straining the hamstring went away immediately. For me,
the chronic injury dissipated.
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