Edit 2: I kinda want to just delete this entire post and start over, but in case it’s relevant to anyone, I’ll leave it up. I’ve added my new thoughts in a comment: https://lemmy.world/comment/10745394

TL;DR: My outer/little toes often go numb when walking/running. My doctor’s advice was to try different shoes/inserts so that I don’t land so much on the outside edge of my foot. In terms of shopping for new shoes, what does this mean I should I be looking for?

First off, I’ve already spoken to my doctor about this, so I’m not looking for medical advice. They told me to try different shoes, and the options are overwhelming!

My little/outer toes on my right foot frequently go numb when I’m running, and often even when I’m walking. Its not consistent though, in fact, they went numb on a short walk yesterday, but were fine on my 5k run this morning, both in the same shoes. I’ve tried some suggestions found in an old reddit post, as many of the complaints and assumptions lined up with my situation, but the symptoms did not clear up.

I was finally able to see a doctor the other day, and they believe it’s “pressure neuropathy”. The wear pattern on my current shoes suggests that I’m running on the outside of my feet, putting disproportionate pressure on this area. It’s not in my after visit notes, but their suggestion was to try inserts or different shoes, so I’m trying to understand exactly what I’m looking for in my next shoe or insert.

I had been wearing Nike Free Runs (I really like the slip ons), but when I switched to running outdoors, I found that hitting even the shallowest of puddles (anywhere the ground was shiny) in those resulted in soggy socks, and the ground here is almost always wet, so I went to the local running store and got fitted for shoes. Since then, I’ve gone through a couple pairs of Brooks Ghost 15s, and have otherwise been pretty satisfied.

I’ve been doing a very loose C25K and am running about 90% of the route now, averaging a bit under 7 min/km or 34 min total. My neighborhood is rather hilly, although my training route isn’t too bad. I’m not training for anything specific, just trying stay active and counteract the effects of some less healthy choices. I popped in to the running store yesterday and explained the situation, and of the shoes I tried on, the Hoka Arahi’s felt comfortable, but I didn’t buy them yet.

So, what exactly should I be looking for? Should I just be looking for a “stability” shoe? Anything else to look for or avoid?

Edit: The more I dig into this, the more and more confused I am. I’m pretty sure my doctor mentioned “stability” shoes, but the wear pattern on my shoes (which we looked at together) indicates supination/underprotonation, and everything I’m reading online says that stability shoes are intended to address overprotonation, so would likely make things worse for me. Also, when I search for shoe recommendations for supination, many of the articles recommend the Ghosts.

A few other things that will affect my final decision:

• I’m hoping to find a “standard” model so that I can just keep buying the same model whenever my current ones wear out.
• Arch support. My arches are on the higher side, and I prefer something that gently hugs them.
• Some form of protection against at least the shallowest of puddles. Waterproofing would be nice, but as long as the rubber on the bottom extends up a bit, that should do the trick also.
• I wear a women’s US 10 wide (D) or men’s 8.5. I don’t really care if it’s a “men’s” or “women’s” shoe, as long as it fits well. The Brooks are nice since a women’s wide is identical to a men’s regular, but I understand that the difference between a men’s shoe and a women’s shoe is variable across brands, and options for a women’s wide are often quite limited compared to a men’s medium.
• If there’s anything good available that happens to be slip-on/elastic closure, like the Free Runs, that would be amazing, but otherwise, I can swap in some elastic laces. I understand that most serious runners don’t like elastic laces, but I’m super sensitive to my shoes feeling “uneven”, so traditional laces mean I end up adjusting/retying them a dozen times every single time I put them on, or tying them so loose that I can just slip them on and off (which just doesn’t work for running). I tried the Ghosts with standard laces for the first week or so and just couldn’t handle it, but the elastic laces seem to be working for my needs.