Doctors of Running Podcast · Doctors of Running

#277 Mailbag! Best Non-Plated Speed Shoes? Does Toe Spring Effect Hyper Extension? Running Advice for Joint Disease and Arthritis?

·1 hr 1 min·4 clips

Toe spring may be aggravating a plantar plate tear after 860 miles in Altra shoes.

1. Doctors of Running Podcast #277 is a mailbag episode about running shoes, toe spring, arthritis, and wet-weather footwear. 2. Andrea and David appear as doctors of physical therapy and shoe reviewers, and their own testing of the Saucony Endorphin Azura, Nike Structure Plus, Saucony Endorphin Pro 5, and Kane Revive shapes the discussion. 3. The episode asks what footwear changes help runners with first-metatarsal arthritis, hypermobile first ray mechanics, plantar plate pain, and muddy winter routes. 4. Andrea says degenerative changes on MRI, x-ray, or CT scan are common in older adults and do not automatically explain pain. 5. For a 56-year-old runner with first-metatarsal degeneration, she recommends avoiding the Altra Escalante 4 and Lone Peak for gym walking because both are zero drop and flexible in the forefoot. 6. She suggests looking instead at a slightly higher drop and a stiffer forefoot, naming the Topo Fly-Lite 6 and Topo Phantom 4 as lower-drop options. 7. The hosts also say the runner's flare-ups may come from work, standing, or dress shoes rather than running alone. 8. On wet winter routes in London, David suggests the Salomon Aero Blaze 3 Gravel GTX as a waterproof option for park runs. 9. Andrea adds that Saucony's old RunShield line, especially the Endorphin Speed 3 RunShield, was a useful winter option because it felt stable and less water-absorbing. 10. Both hosts note that some shoes shed water better when they use a synthetic mesh upper rather than Gore-Tex. 11. The toe-spring question starts with a listener who had a plantar plate tear after 860 miles in the Ultra Lone Peak and Torrens. 12. The runner then reports sensitivity again after trying the Adidas Evo SL, New Balance SC Elite v5, Ultra Experience Flow 2, and Puma Deviate Nitro 2. 13. David explains that toe spring and forefoot flexibility can hold the toes in extension and increase passive tension on the plantar plate. 14. He adds that soft foam can let the ball of the foot sink downward and create more extension through the big toe. 15. Andrea notes that the runner previously used mostly zero-drop Altra models and has now shifted into shoes with more drop, including models around 4, 6.5, 8, and 10 millimeters. 16. She recommends finding a shoe in the 4-to-6-millimeter range with no toe spring and a moderate forefoot rocker if the runner wants to move away from the pure zero-drop setup. 17. The shoe-testing segment is conversational and comparative, with Andrea and David disagreeing about stiffness, heel shape, and whether certain platforms feel stable or aggressive. 18. The mailbag section is practical and medical in tone, with repeated reminders that shoe choice is only one factor in pain. 19. People dealing with first-ray arthritis, plantar plate issues, or winter running problems will likely get the most value from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting race recaps, interviews, or non-technical chat may skip it.

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