Barefoot or minimalist running

I tore up my knee playing soccer.  I've been put back together, but without a medial meniscus in my right knee.  For a long time after that injury/surgery, I couldn't run at all without discomfort that would last for days.  I couldn't lift at all (even on equipment/machines).

I bought a pair of FiveFingers at the suggestion of a friend who has used them to rehab from a ruptured Achilles.  I started running in them and was surprised to find that I could do so without any knee pain.  I was also surprised by how much this hammered my calves.  I think I ran 1 mile the first time I went out in them, and my calves were sore for days.  I slowed it down after that.

I don't always run in my FiveFingers, but even when I'm not, I run the way that my FiveFingers taught me to run - I don't land on my heel.  My heel tends to only lightly touch the ground in the course of a step.  That has made all of the difference for my knees.

I'm not that familiar with the conditions you identified, so I don't know whether my situation relates at all, but I do find the barefoot/minimalist argument very compelling from a biomechanical argument.

Someone made an interesting point to me once that changing my shoes was not a cure-all for running injuries. His point was, if you spend a TON of time running and constantly use the same muscles in more or less the same way every time you run (hello 50mpw!), you're going to get some overuse injuries. Switching, then, to a different way of running might indeed alleviate your running injuries, because hey, you're not using those same muscles in the same way. You'll probably feel pretty great and believe that Vibrams or whatnot cured your problem. But if you then continue to spend a TON of time running and constantly using those same muscles more or less the same way (albeit differently than how you used to run) you're going to get some overuse injuries!

The solution to my running injuries was annoying but at least much simpler than switching shoes and running style: support the muscle groups that are getting overused. I had to realize that all the training I was doing had me essentially moving in the same way, using the same muscles. Constantly. I totally don't work out my glutes and hips and core as much as I should. I'm a runner at heart, and I truly believed that if I "cross trained" on the bike and swim I'd avoid injury--in fact, it sounds like you and me discovered triathlons for the same reason. Strengthening my glutes and hips (balance exercises, one legged squats, etc.), to provide stabilization for the knee and quads and hamstrings is what eventually cured my overuse injuries. I realized it was about finding true balance among the muscle groups.

I'm not telling you NOT to try barefoot/minimalist running shoes. Just cautioning you that it's might not be the fix to your injuries (and as some have pointed out, it can also lead to new ones if you're not careful).

That said, I do own a pair of Vibrams, though I haven't been using them lately as I work on rehabbing my own injuries. But when I was trying them out, I was spending one workout a week on the treadmill, a few minutes EASY JOGGING, a few minutes walking. Don't push in the beginning. I kept the runs pretty short and did them on a recovery/rest day/pace. Definitely felt it in the heel and in the arch of my foot. Not pain, but sudden awareness that I had muscles in the bottom of my foot.

Also, some people think you have to run on your forefoot or not let your heel touch the ground when wearing Vibrams, but I messed around with it a little and discovered that it felt better to run "normally" with a more midfoot strike and to allow the foot to relax and let the heel touch if I felt like it. Easier on the calf muscles.

Also, also, spend more time walking around barefoot at home, as this also strengthens those muscles. And you can you do towel scrunching with your toes to strengthen the bottoms of your feet (sit in a chair, lay out a towel in front of you and try to grab the towel with your toes and pull it towards you, scrunching it up).

OK. That's my $0.02. Good luck with your recovery and with your running!

I had similar problems with my knees that you hear from alot of runners.  I tried a ton of different shoes and training programs.  Almost quit running all together.  Tried the VFF (vibrams) and BF running as a last chance effort.

HUGE difference it made.  You have to retrain your body on how to run, so take it SLOW and SHORT for awhile.  Running World's forum will help.

So now I run in Min shoes and run very fast for my size (7:07 miles @ 220-no BS), no knee issues.  My gait is much different and that was due to the retraining process.

It will kill your distance and your speed for about 6 months, so it is an investment that you HAVE to take slow, but it worked for me.

Boski