For any serious runner, gait analysis is an important tool in determining which pair of shoes best suits your need. While a slight inward turning of the foot as it rolls from heel to toe, or pronation, is ideal, overpronation can cause damage to your legs and joints if uncorrected. With varying degrees of severity, determining the extent to which you pronate while running can be vital to your current and future performance.
Determining Your Gait
Podiatrists, physiotherapists, sports therapists and many specialty running shoe salespeople are trained in gait analysis and can help you to determine the extent to which you overpronate. If you do not have such services available, a few simple tests can help you to analyze your own gait. First, check the wear pattern on the bottom of a well-used pair of shoes. If it is moderately to severely worn on the insides with relatively little wear on the outside, this indicates overpronation. To verify, walk barefoot in sand or another substance that will preserve your footprint. If an even, full outline of your foot is present, this is a sign of potentially problematic overpronation, with regular pronation and supination indicated by minimal or no impact on inner side of the foot.
Degrees of Overpronation
Pronation can generally be subdivided into different categories based on its severity. Neutral pronation, associated with a healthy gait, is characterized by an even heel-to-toe ratio, with the middle-to-outer heel striking first and a slight inward rolling occurring as you follow through. Mild overpronation is the most common gait type, with the outer heel striking the ground first and the foot rolling inward as you step to compensate for the initial strike and maintain balance. Moderate and severe overpronation are defined by similar characteristics, with the outside of the heel striking first and the foot rolling inward moderately or excessively as you step. Rather than aid your balance, this excessive inward rolling can make your gait less stable and force other joints in your legs to compensate.
Shoes for Overpronation
While people with neutral pronation require little support from their shoes, with neutral cushioning or mild support shoes suitable for your running needs. For mild overpronators, stability shoes and minimum support shoes should help to compensate for your gait. Moderate pronators may benefits from moderate support or moderate motion control shoes, which contain firm padding on the inner side of the foot to help control your gait. Severe pronators should look for maximum support and maximum stability shoes, which contain a harder, larger padded area in the inner side of the shoe.
Long-Term Damage
Aside from impacting your balance and causing sore feet and joints, wearing the wrong pair of shoes while running can lead to long-term damage. If you overpronate and do not wear corrective footwear, you run the risk of developing corns, shin splints, tendonitis and even stress fractures in a relatively short period of time. Over a longer period of time, wearing the wrong pair of shoes can lead to muscle, tendon and ligament damage, particularly targeting the joints of your ankles, knees and hips. As running places more of an impact on your gait than walking, wearing the wrong pair of running shoes can cause significant damage over a short period of time. Have your gait professionally assessed to determine the best course of action for your overpronation.
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