Pronation – A Factor in Choosing Running Shoes

Choosing the perfect pair of running shoes is a very crucial process because it would determine if you would have a good or a bad running experience. If you are successful in choosing the right shoes, then you would run in comfort. But if you fail to do this task, you would run in pain. Choosing the right shoes would also ensure your safety and prevent injuries. However, people tend to purchase the shoes that are cheap or trendy. They end up purchasing the wrong shoes and suffer discomfort during running. And soon, they would quit running. So this article aims to give you some tips on how you could correctly choose a running shoe based on your pronation.

You should first know and understand your pronation. Pronation is basically when the foot “rolls” from the heel to the toe through the foot strike. Pronation plays a vital role in proper shock absorption of your foot. There are 3 types of pronation: neutral pronation, overpronation, and underpronation.

In neutral pronation, the outside part of the heel makes the initial contact with the ground. Then the foot “rolls” until it achieves full contact with the ground. This position is where the body’s weight is well supported with the least amount of stress to the feet. After the step process, the foot evenly pushes the ground from the foot front.

Overpronation starts with the outside of the heel creating contact with the ground but there is more “rolling” done by the foot. With this type, stabilizing balance is difficult. Also, shock is not absorbed efficiently and evenly. At the end of the step cycle, the force to push-off the ground is mainly done by the big and second toe.

Lastly, in underpronation, outside of the heel makes the first contact with the ground. But there is less rolling done by the foot.