Everyone experiences foot pronation. This natural foot mechanism cushions the foot during walking and running. It functions similarly to a car’s suspension system. Without pronation, every step would be a hard impact. Foot pronation is particularly important for physically active people, especially runners. This is especially true when the foot’s range of motion becomes too large. This is referred to as overpronation.
Foot Pronation – Definition and Importance
Pronation is simply internal rotation. In the world of running, we almost always talk about foot pronation, though similar movements occur in other parts of the body. It is a natural mechanism. The body uses it with every step.
In the foot, pronation refers to inward movement within the ankle joint. This occurs when the foot rolls from heel to toe. In an ideal movement pattern, the outer edge of the heel makes initial contact with the ground. The foot then “rolls” further, placing weight on the fifth and first midfoot bones, one after the other.
As body weight is transferred, the arch of the foot lowers slightly. The ankle joint moves inward. This whole process works like a flexible spring. This movement allows some of the impact energy to dissipate. As we push off and shift our weight to the other leg, the foot gradually returns to its original position. This controlled pronation is responsible for the cushioning and smoothness of a stride while walking or running.
Overpronation in Runners – Causes and Symptoms
The problem arises with overpronation, which occurs when the ankle joint moves too far inward. As a result, the foot does not roll naturally through the middle but rather rolls more onto the medial side. This is often visible to the naked eye – the heel takes on a valgus position. Overpronation can lead to overload, injury and other health problems.
Stabilizing shoes have been developed to help correct excessive foot movement for people with this problem. These shoes usually have a harder element on the medial side that limits bending in this area. This reduces excessive rotation in the ankle joint and counteracts ankle valgus.
Foot Supination in Runners – How to Pick Shoes
The opposite of pronation is supination, which is the outward rotation of the foot. It occurs when movement in the ankle joint is restricted and the ankle tilts outward. In this situation, the calcaneus bone assumes a varus position, and varus knees are often present as well. A supinated foot does not roll through the middle; it mainly puts weight on the outer edge.
There is no separate category of shoes for supinated feet. People with supination wear neutral footwear, i.e., shoes without stabilizing elements on the medial side. These shoes have a symmetrical midsole on both the medial and lateral sides without hard inserts that restrict foot movement.
Foot Pronation Check – Professional Gait Analysis
I have no doubt that the best way to determine the degree of pronation of the foot is to visit a physiotherapist. Preferably one who has already treated many runners. Why? The answer is simple – knowledge and experience.
A physiotherapist knows the biomechanics of the human foot best. They have it in their little finger and don’t just look at your feet. They look at you more broadly. Because what looks like an overpronating foot may not be. Maybe it’s a matter of poor alignment of the knees, pelvis, etc. A physiotherapist will tell you more than just “you have a pronating foot”. A physiotherapist will dissect your biomechanics down to the smallest detail, assess the whole, identify weak points and suggest possible remedies. And they will do it best. Period.
There are two drawbacks to this solution: money and availability. The first is because a visit to a physiotherapist costs (more or less) money and hardly anyone who wants to start running starts their adventure with a consultation with a physiotherapist. I didn’t start either. But if you have the opportunity to have a physiotherapist look at you from this angle (at any stage of your running adventure), do it. This will give you much more than an examination of your foot carried out in a professional running shop.
Secondly, not everyone will have the opportunity to take advantage of a physiotherapist’s examination. Such examinations are not carried out everywhere and unless you live in a big city, you will probably have to travel to get one. In small towns, there are simply not enough people or examinations available.
Foot Pronation Analysis in a Running Store
A foot examination and determination of the degree of pronation of the foot can also be done in professional running shops. This way, you have the opportunity to determine your foot type and immediately choose the right shoes in one place.
There are different examination methods. Often, it involves running on a treadmill while a camera records how the feet position themselves while running. The image can later be played back, slowed down and observed frame by frame. This is called video analysis. The same can also be done without using a treadmill. In this case, the shop assistant’s eyes are the camera. It observes the ankles, feet, knees… All methods boil down to the same thing: to assess how much the foot pronates.
Much here (as everywhere) depends on the human factor. Because no matter what method is used, it is almost always the human being who makes the final interpretation. At the same time, we should remember that shop employees, although they may have a lot of knowledge, usually do not have medical knowledge. With few exceptions, they are not physiotherapy specialists or experts in the biomechanics of the human foot. In most situations, they are able to make an accurate assessment, but in some cases they can make a mistake.
Wet Foot Test – A Simple Way to Check Foot Pronation at Home
The most difficult part is to determine the type of foot on your own. In the case of self-assessment, we can usually only use the wet foot test. It consists of pressing a wet bare foot on any surface where water will leave a mark. Then, depending on the appearance of the footprint, we can roughly determine our foot type.
The biggest disadvantage of this test is the fact that the wet foot test only determines the arch of the foot. This test says little or nothing about how the foot behaves and how the ankle works. The height of the arch influences the degree of pronation of the foot, but not always. Most often, people with a narrow footprint, i.e. a high arch, will be supinators. On the other hand, people with a wide footprint, i.e. a low arch, will be pronators. This is often the case, but not always, so drawing definitive conclusions based solely on the footprint is a big generalization.
An example would be a person with both severe longitudinal and transverse flat feet. In everyday language, this person is said to have “flat feet”, but when moving, their ankle does not tilt excessively inwards. In this situation, we talk about a neutral degree of pronation, and such a runner does not need shoes with overpronation stabilization. Relying solely on the wet foot test, which suggests pronation, could lead her to choose the wrong shoes.
Not Sure About Your Foot Type? Here’s What to Do…
What should you do if you can’t visit a physiotherapist or a professional running shop? What if you don’t want to make a mistake by following a wet foot test? What if you have any doubts whether you are “already” an overpronator or “still” have neutral feet?
Then neutral shoes are a safer choice. You can do more damage to yourself by running in stabilizing shoes when it is not justified than by running in neutral shoes when you are overpronating and need stabilization. When in doubt, neutral shoes are always the safer choice.
