H/T Women Walking Shoes for a great job explaining pronation and how to pick best shoes for your feet.
Yesterday, I talked about my new favorite socks. Today, I begin my quest for new sneakers. I thought it would be as simple as trying on a few pairs. Lo and behold, there is a lot more to it than just snapping up some cross trainers.
As I started my search, I kept coming across the word “Pronation.” This is the inward rolling of the foot from heel to toe while walking. There are different levels of pronation and you need to know how you roll to choose the right pair of sneakers. Just look at the bottom of your well-worn sneakers and check the inside and outside edge around the heel.
Foot Mechanics
If the outside is more worn down, you are prone to underpronation. You transfer weight from the heel to the outside of the foot, so your body isn’t absorbing the shock efficiently as you walk.
If you’re like me, you’ll find the heel worn down more on the inside edge. My foot mechanic is overpronation. I tend to push-off from my big and second toe. So the shock of impact spreads unevenly through my foot and ankle. Wonderful! This causes pain in the foot, shin and knee without the correct shoe.
Arch Typing
Just knowing your foot mechanic isn’t enough. You also need to know your arch type. Are you flat-footed? Have a high arch or a normal arch? There is a simple test. Just step on a piece of paper with a wet foot. The amount of your arch that shows indicates your type of arch. I turned out to have a normal arch.
So now I’m looking for shoes for overpronation and medium arch. So my shoe of choice is:
The New Balance 990 WB3 Lady! This shoe provides the cushioning and stability to compensate for overpronators like me.
So while I await my new shoes, I need to start focusing on walking heel-to-toe.
Related articles
- Finding the Right Running Shoes (cysterswithfinesse.wordpress.com)
- Pronation, Explained (Runner’s World)
- Do You Have Overpronation (Foot.com)