What type of shoe is best for me? It all depends on the amount of pronation of your own feet. Running shoes can be broken down into two different types; Neutral shoes(also called cushioned) and Stability shoes.
Neutral shoes are designed for the "ideal" foot. This means for a person with generally high arches that do not collapse when standing and when the ankles does not fold inward or outward when walking. Being neutral is the ideal, but only about 30 % of people are considered neutral. A neutral shoe basically means that it does not have any added support under the arch.
A stability shoes is designed for a person who pronates, meaning a person whose arches collapse and ankles turn inward. This type of arch can range from a person who has a high arch, yet still collapses, to a person who has entirely flat feet, to a person who has a strong neutral arch, yet the ankle turns inward. About 60% percent of people pronate. What makes a stability shoe optimum for a pronator is the Stability Post (shown in picture). A stability post is going to be a harder piece of foam that is placed under the arch to support the arch and keep it from collapsing. This will intern keep the ankle from turning inward as well. What does this mean to a person who pronates? A more natural alignment which will take away most back pain, hip pain, knee pain, and inward shin splints.
Over all, being in the proper type of shoe will keep your body aligned and pain free.
Shoes I recommend
Neutral shoes are designed for the "ideal" foot. This means for a person with generally high arches that do not collapse when standing and when the ankles does not fold inward or outward when walking. Being neutral is the ideal, but only about 30 % of people are considered neutral. A neutral shoe basically means that it does not have any added support under the arch.
A stability shoes is designed for a person who pronates, meaning a person whose arches collapse and ankles turn inward. This type of arch can range from a person who has a high arch, yet still collapses, to a person who has entirely flat feet, to a person who has a strong neutral arch, yet the ankle turns inward. About 60% percent of people pronate. What makes a stability shoe optimum for a pronator is the Stability Post (shown in picture). A stability post is going to be a harder piece of foam that is placed under the arch to support the arch and keep it from collapsing. This will intern keep the ankle from turning inward as well. What does this mean to a person who pronates? A more natural alignment which will take away most back pain, hip pain, knee pain, and inward shin splints.
The left over 10% of people do what is called supinate. This is when a person generally has a very high rigid arch that does not collapse, an ankle that leans outward or remains neutral, and walks on the outsides of their feet. Since there is such a small market for supinators, most companies will not make a shoe that makes a supinator land neutral. What a supinator should look for is a neutral shoe that is more rigid. Most Asics, Saucony, Brooks, and Mizuno shoes will do fine. Stay away from Nike because they are too soft on the sides and will make you lean further out.
Shoes I recommend
Hm... so I think I am between neutral and pronate.
ReplyDeleteI don't have flat feet and feel that I have a pretty solid arch. However, my ankles my turn inward a little bit. Seeing as I tend to get callouses on the ball of my feet as well as on the outside of my big toe (inside of my foot), I think I am probably not perfectly neutral, leaning toward pronate.
Any suggestion on shoes to fix this?
Ok, Sarah in this case I would go with a moderate stability shoe or a light stability shoe with a lot of cushion. I would lean more towards the Asics 2140 (or 2130), Saucony Guide, or Mizuno Inspire. The Brooks Infinity would also be a good shoe for you, it was my first shoe of the week, it will have just a little less stability to it though.
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