Shoes for the injury prone (need a pair for tennis and a pair for general wear).

[Andykay]

So my body is extremely injury prone. I've got all manner of lower body issues, shin splints, heel spurs, knee issues, you name it. I'm about to start ramping up my treatment with the intent of beginning to play tennis again (I had an extended time off due to an unrelated injury).

I need two pairs of shoes. One to play tennis in, one to walk around in day to day and do some light running in (mostly gym work). I was planning on buying a pair of orange Superfeet insoles to wear inside both, as the custom orthodics I had made are hard on my feet, make my heels worse and don't seem to help my shins much. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

As for shoes, I play tennis mostly on synthetic grass, with the occasional hardcourt and I have reasonably wide feet (I developed little toe blisters after long matches in my last shoe).

And for the running/general shoe, comfort and support are paramount. Durability would be nice too, since I plan on wearing them everywhere around the house etc.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Andykay]

Nobody? I was looking at the Barricade 7s, since they seem to receive the most consistent good reviews, but I also read a couple of things that indicated they might not be ideal for shin splints and tight calves (which is where most of my problems come from).

I'm also no sure if they work well with Superfeet, although I assume they probably do.

[FlameYo]

Heavy Duty Tennis Shoes w/ Break In
Barr 6/7, CB 3.3/4.3, and Propulse 2/3, Lotto Rap

Softer Tennis Shoes
GR3/4, Vapor8/9, Big Shot, Barr. Team

Insoles for extra protection
Use a hard insole on top of a soft insole. Depending on your feet and insole thickness you might have to go up .5 size. The Superfeet Orange or Air Sole should be ok soft insoles. Usually you can use the stock insole as the hard layer.


$40 General Training Shoes

[Andykay]

Thanks for the reply. Most of the discussion here centres on shoes for clay or shoes for hard courts it seems, but in Australia the dominant casual court is synthetic grass. I'm a little curious if that changes shoe selection at all.

[FlameYo]

Originally Posted by Andykay

Thanks for the reply. Most of the discussion here centres on shoes for clay or shoes for hard courts it seems, but in Australia the dominant casual court is synthetic grass. I'm a little curious if that changes shoe selection at all.

I'm guessing syn. grass is slick, so the Barr. 6(Hard Upper) or Barr. 7's(Softer Upper) great traction will do great. I recommend the Barr. 7 if you have the cash.

Is Australia that bone dry not to permit clay courts? Whats up with all these syn grass with sand in Aus.?

[Andykay]

We have some clay, but it's pretty rare. Our summers tend to be hot and dry and I don't think the surface would work. We have more hard courts than clay, but syn grass is definitely the dominant surface. Not sure why, I prefer HC, but many of the HC I've played on are cracked or damaged in some way, which leads me to believe they may not be ideal for the temperature either.

[Smasher08]

Brands to try:

New Balance
Asics
K-Swiss

(in that order)

Probably the best shoes for support and cushioning. Once you get that right, a whole host of other potential ailments go away too.