Sorbothane insoles

Does anybody have experience of Sorbothane insoles? Do they help? Which sort are best?

Running in the dark has made me move from trail running to more road/pavement running, and as a result my feet ache and my knees are a bit dodgy too. Do you think sorbothane insoles would help – or should I be buying more shoes with more cushioning?

Thanks for any comments & advice.

Comments

  • oops - this should have gone in the 'Gear' area !
  • After I'd been running for about two or three months I started to get a bit of knee pain. At one point it was bad enough to make me take a week off running (after which they were fine, so obviously it wasn't particularly bad).

    After this I bought some of the sorborthane insoles, and I haven't had any knee problems since. I'd be a bit wary of ascribing the improvement just to the insoles, as I guess there's a certain amount of my knees taking a few months to get used to the stresses of running, but they certainly didn't do any harm.

    So a qualified yes - don't expect any miracles, but they seem worth a 20 quid investment. I use the double strike ones, for the very well thought out reason that they were the only ones in the shop...

    venom
  • MuttleyMuttley ✭✭✭
    I use the heel pads, after being told to "run lightly" by the physio. They seem to work. The full-length ones I found bulky and heavy.
  • I have always found them beneficial in reducing impact injuries - unless the whole thing is psychosomatic! If you are a pronator, the double-strike ones are probably best as they include a bit of support under the arch.
  • I've used them and liked them.

    I think there are two types of full length ones - one which is flat and has cushioning heel and toes, and other does too but is shaped to support the arch as HR mentions.

    Having said that, in one pair of shoes which were for over-pronators, the shoes plus the insole was too much and over corrected me, so beware of that. I ended up with really sore achilles as a result.
  • (Just disabling email notification - ignore me!)
  • Thanks for the input,sounds like its worth a try. I'll have to give some thought over which ones to go for.
  • More cushioning. Sorb insoles are used to correct 'faults'.
  • You could always buy a head torch and go back to the trails !!

    Seriously - think about changing your shoes. Go to a good shop and get yourself fitted properly. You'll probably pay over the odds but once you've found a pair that you like you can always go back to mail order....
  • I recently developed achilles tendonitis. A request for help on this site came up with the suggestion of sorbothane heel raisers. I have just been out for my first run after 4 weeks and tested out the new inserts. I only ran 2 miles but didn't get any twinges so I reckon they're a must! I have been advised not to put them in new shoes though as this would give too much cushioning, better to wait a couple of months till the shoes are a bit squished!
  • I havent tried Sorbothane but have tried Noene insoles only 2mm thick placed under the shoes insoles. I felt as though there wasn't enough room in the shoe now, and I developed sore calfs and sore ankles and pins and needles and numbness in my toes after a weeks use, so I took them out and the problems went, so i tried them in again and the problems came back so they are now in the bottom of the drawer, a waste of £16.99........
  • Quite a few years ago I had achilles problems and I used heel pads. They seemed to help. At the very least they acted as a mental crutch while I was regaining my confidence and building up the miles
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