1. lgrantz
   Member

   Hello Everyone!
   My name is Lauren, I am 27 years old. I was born with a severely clubbed left foot, with another complication: I didn't have a heel. I had the surgery to cut certain tendons to allow the heel to drop when I was a new born, and I was casted for most of my baby and early toddler-hood to correct the clubbed foot. It was so bad that my doctor said I would never be able to walk. WIth that being said, I can walk, I am a yoga instructor, and I also bike in the springtime. Balance is very hard for me, as my left foot is an inch smaller than my right and my left leg is slightly shorter than my right. The foot still turns inward, but since I am used to it, it doesn't really bother me too much. I haven't had any problems since I was a kid.
   
   Anyway, I am thinking about taking up running, but I am very concerned that this will cause complications with my foot. Are there any clubbed foot runners out there that can offer some advice to me? What should I expect? What should I avoid, look out for? Is there a special way I should run or shoes I should wear? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
   
   -Lauren

   Posted 1 year ago #

2. Jussi
   Member

   Wow!
   
   I'm impressed Lauren! I consider my feet to be pretty good, but I run like a real plonker! 
   
   Here I was patting myself on the back for joining a gym - you are inspiring and I hope that someone here can offer you good advice with regards to footwear and what to expect.

   Posted 1 year ago #

3. drcferguson
   Member

   
   I've never been able to run with the club foot because it doesn't "roll" when I run. I've seen commercials for the Skeechers shoes that have a rounded sole. I was curious and I think I might get a pair and see if they help make my club foot roll. If anyone has ever tried this, I'd love to hear about it.

   Posted 1 year ago #

4. gammy126
   Member

   Hi , I have a right club foot and i have ran 10ks, 1/2 marathons and 1 full marathon.
   Admittedly it was whilst i was in my mid 20s im 46 now . The only advice i can give is listen to your own body and know your limits.  I started off walking a lamppost then running a lamppost.
   Warm up well especially the club foot by stretches , manually stretch the foot if you carn,t get it limber.
   Its especially important to stretch after exercise. and the days following even if your not running dont forget to rest.
   I found that i needed to manually stretch for several days after a run at first but as your tendons stretch and become more supple it should get easier. But remember baby steps and dont push it to hard.
   As I said know your limits, after a few months of slowly building up I managed a 10k no speed records but finished , I ended up doing 1 10k a month and after about a year i done my 1st 1/2 marathon and then started running every night at least 5 miles a night and 1 1/2 marathon a month. In 1990  i ran the Abbingdon marathon in 4 hours 29 mins . Unfortunately that was the last time i have ran , after the run i felt great but the day after my ankle was in a lot of pain and swollen, even months later i tried to get back training but it was so uncomfortable , months turned to years and years turned to decades and i even find it painfull to walk long distances now as my ankle stiffens up and swells. On saying all this i wouldnt change a thing and am extremely proud of my sporting achievements, so go Girl.
   Regarding Running shoes i would strongly recommend the Addidis Torsion range of shoe if they are still available as they allow the front of the foot to twist as well as the heal.
   Hope this help.
   Good look and Merry Christmas.
   Alan

   Posted 1 year ago #

5. AshleighE
   Member

   I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Only my right foot was clubbed, but landing on it correctly while walking is difficult, so I'm very worried to try running. I was thinking of starting out small and building up if that went okay. I don't know about you, but I can sprain my ankle just about everyday.
   
   How can you do yoga, if you don't mind me asking? I've tried, but with the limited mobility and lack of balance on my right foot and leg, I find many of the positions difficult.
   
   -Ashleigh

   Posted 1 year ago #

6. megandiniece
   Member

   I have also thought about becoming more active. I find it not so difficult to just go for daily walks but when it comes to running it becomes difficult. I find myself having a sharp pain on some of the days I do more of my  intense workouts and am wondering if thats normal, i'd love some feedback if anyone has any to give.
   
   -megan.

   Posted 1 year ago #

7. zgray
   Member

   Hey Lauren,
   My name's Zack, I'm 28, I was born with a severely clubbed right foot and partially clubbed left foot. The left foot was basically corrected through surgery though arthritis has resulted. The right isn't correctable though the Dr.'s have tried. Balance is pretty tough for me too at times. God forbid a cop ever tries to make me walk the line b/c that ain't happenin j/k. I've never been able to run long on my club foot due to the pain from arthritis(surgeries). I also try to stay active; I'm in pretty good shape from fast-walking on a treadmill for an hour a day 5-days a week and a healthy diet. I do experience pain in my ankle & foot if I try walk up a large hill; partly from the foot and partly due to the arthritis. I find it extremely hard to bend my foot while walking up a hill which adds to my limp. It's really hard to find a good shoe that doesn't irritate my skin around the edge of my ankle after long walks. My current shoes (nike lowtops) have basically peeled away the first layer of my skin around my ankle in a little circular patch and occasionally bleeds a little which is pretty gross & painful(sorry for that mental pic). I'd try the running thing if you think you do it w/out much pain. I could possibly see it affecting your knees later on due to the pressure being applied from your foot to your knee at the wrong angle, but thats going to happen to most of us club-footers from walking anyways. I go to a chiropractor which helps me a lot... he never touches my foot, but a club foot can affect a person's cervical area putting them "out of whack" so to speak. The chiropractor does wonders for me as far as mobility goes.

   Posted 1 year ago #

8. Eisa
   Member

   I couldn't ever "walk the line" either!  It's just...not in the cards, I can't balance properly while perfectly sober.
   
   I can't really take up running anyway because of asthma. But I remember going to a church softball practice in high school and I ended up running back to the car. My mom said it broke her heart to see my run. I.E. it looked that bad.  ::) Thanks a lot, Mom...

   Posted 1 year ago #

9. mikespike80
   Member

   Just found this and thought I'd share...

   I'm 30 and I had a clubbed left foot and no heel. I had 4 ops on it, corrective boots and loads of physiotherapy. I used to have problems running as a younger man and got injured a lot, funnily enough on my right leg! Anyhow, I gave up running and took up triathlon and found that the cycling built leg strength which allowed me to run without injury; I also had custom orthotics made for me to run in.

   I completed an Ironman at 27 and then ran a 50 mile mountain race this year. Next year I'm doing a 100 mile run in the mountains! Perhaps I'm physiologically lucky but I was brought up with no exceptions allowed for my leg, it was just another problem to deal with!

   Posted 5 months ago #

10. Spuddy4994
    Member

    I was born with 2 club feet, tho my condition is not as bas as yours, i run every day at least a mile to 10 miles, im fine and have no pain as long as i do long achilles tendon and calve stretches. I also suggest because of your condition to research custom made shoes that might help you roll your feet as you run. Plus i worked my way up to running by incresing my calve strength from low impact workout like the ellipticle machine or running stairs, or the bicycle. I also heard that hors-back riding is very, very good for club feet to become alot stonger really fast, making running less painful. Another idea is to go on youtube and look for arch exercises to make your foot stronger. I hope this or at least the other comments will help you :)

    Posted 2 months ago #

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