Must be wondering, what pronation is? Pronation is the natural movement of the feet as and when it rolls inward. This movement absorbs shocks by distributing the impact forces generated from the ground while you walk.
Still confused? Pronation means how your foot moves from one side to another, as you walk or may as well when you run. I bet this is a clearer explanation.
Pronation can be neutral, mild and sometimes even severe. Therefore, if you ignore the clear signs of a pronation issue and choose a running shoe that is not adjusted to your feet, then you are bound to strain your body and cause multiple issues including joint and plantar fasciitis. Not to sound like a doctor here, but below is a simple test that would tell you what type of running pronation your feet have.
What you need are 3 simple things:
- A simple of bowl of Luke-warm water
- Dark colored A4 size paper. A bigger size if your feet do not fit on these.
- And the most obvious thing, YOUR FEET!
Steps:
- Soak your feet’s sole directly into the water bowl. Take them out and shake away any excessive water on them.
- Lay down a piece of paper on the ground, flat. Now walk on the paper as you normally would on a regular floor.
- What you would end up with is a fine print of how your feet looks like from under.
Once you have this print, time to now find out what category of runner your
feet falls in. Magic!
WHAT DOES YOUR FOOTPRINT TELLS YOU
This print shows you are an under-pronator or a neutral runner. Since now we know you are a neutral runner, you would be pleased to know that you have an effective running gait and are much likely to have a normal arch position. Yay!
This type of foot requires shoe with decent cushioning which will not have an impact on the natural pronation of your feet.
This print shows that you are a mild to a modest over
pronator. Which means that your arch will fall through the gait-cycle and your foot
will definitely roll inwards quite a lot. You would be pleased to know, that I
too belong in this category.
Statistically, almost 60% to 80% of runners fall in this category, so please do
not leave your sleep over it. Most of the runner shoes that are being sold in
the market are designed to address this pronation issue and are readily
available and are in all the price ranges.
You fall in the category of a severe overpronator. Which means that all the conditions of the above type are applicable to you along with severe inward movement of your feet. These type of runners have flat arch’s. The categorization of these type of people is almost 10% in the running-shoe category. A special type of running shoes , a not so common characteristic in the runner shoes; is suited for these type of feet and the toe-box of such shoes are wider for better scalability and comfort.
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