Is wearing mens racing flats a cause of tendonitis?

Question

I am a high school track and xc runner and every year I get really bad tendonitis at the end of xc. Could me wearing mens racing flats be one of the causes? I wear a size 9 in womens and a size 7 in mens. I only got guys shoes because they had my school colors on them. The shoes feel awsome don't get me wrong I love them, but I have read that womens feet need special support so I was just wondering if this might be contributing to my end of the season pain. I had to limp through CCS championships last year...

Answer 1

Yes i bet that is a problem.

You need shoes that support your feet.

Answer 2

Do these shoes provide proper support for your arches? Do you even have arches on your feet?

Answer 3

Mens shoes are a little bigger than womens and the arch is a little smaller, that is the only difference. But a lot of women can run in mens shoes (I always wear mens shoes both racing and training). That is not your problem.

Ok now there could be 1 of 2 possible problems. #1 your training shoes are causing the problem and #2 your workouts are the problem.

#1- your trainers should have a heel that is less than 1/2 an inch tall. the reason for this is simple. You train your body in one pair of shoes and eventually your body will get used to where the foot strikes the ground (the larger the heel of the shoe the sooner your foot will hit the ground) your body will compensate and start to cushion itself naturally. Than in races you switch to a pair of shoes that have little or no heel at all. Your body is not used to this so it will cause extra stress on your body. To fix this you can either A.) get a pair of running shoes with a smaller heel. (try to find a shoe that has a 1/2 inch heel or less.) B.) get a racing flat that has a bigger heel (try finding one with at least a 1/4 inch heel this is beneficially because it will give more cushioning over a longer distance).

#2. Your workouts could also be causing the problems. A lot of coaches will switch workouts towards the end of the season to gear the team up for a championship meet. If the coach makes to much of a change to fast it could cause problems.

I hope this helps and good luck next year.

Answer 4

i had the same problem except im a year younger. my foot doctor told me my growth plate wasnt growing as fast as my body and it was causing such bad pain i had to sit out for a while...i play scr to so it was even worse...he told me to get shoes that had back heel support...dont ask wh tho he didnt tell me...

Answer 5

There's no difference between men's and women's racing flats. It's important that you don't train in them.

Because the heel is lower, before you race in the shoes, make sure you warm up in the racing flats.

The lower heel can put extra pressure on the Achilles tendon.

With any tendon problem, you should soak your feet in ice water after you race for about 10 min.