Overpronation of the foot in runners
The concept of overpronation gets a lot of controversy in running and sports medicine circles and there's a quite a bit of confusion and misinformation about this. Pronation is a normal movement in which the rearfoot moves inwards and also the mid-foot (arch) of the foot gets lower. Everybody needs this pronation for normal biomechanics. Overpronation is when there is an excessive amount of this movement. The problem is that there isn't a agreement as to what is normal and what's overpronation. The reason it is important is that overpronation has long been hypothetically connected to a whole number of too much use injuries in runners. As there is a absence of evidence as to exactly what is normal, the science can be quite complicated with this. Several studies have shown that overpronation, no matter how you elect to determine it, is a risk factor for an overuse injury. Some other studies have shown that it’s not.
Previously athletic shoes were chosen depending on how much a feet pronated. Runners that overpronated may have a shoe which was made to handle that too much motion. Runners that had more normally aligned feet might have been given a much more neutral running footwear. Runners with too much of the opposite movement would have been sold a running shoe with increased shock absorption. While this is still commonly used within the running shoe industry, the published research evidence doesn't support this approach.
When there is a number of scientific studies on a subject that appear to be unclear and perplexing next experts want to do systematic reviews and a metaanalysis that is meant to be a cautious review of all of the studies devoid of any systematic bias. Only the better research will likely be included in the analysis which will weight the caliber of the study. If these systematic reviews are carried out around the subject of overpronation in runners chances are they in most cases conclude that, yes, overpronation is a risk factor for an overuse injury in athletes, however it is just a modest risk factor. It is still statistically important. These types of outcomes also show that there are lots of additional factors rather than overpronation which are a risk for an overuse injury.
This does leave the complete idea contentious with lots of misunderstanding. Overpronation is a modest risk factor for a running injury, but the prescribing of athletic shoes according to pronation is just not supported. This can be challenging for clinicians with regards to the amount of importance do they place on the overpronation in terms of the dealing with of a overuse injury or do they put much more focus on the additional aspects. For the athletic shoes suppliers must they carry on and provide running shoes in accordance with the pronation framework? It is still the most widely used model and athletes read about it within their running magazines and so they do count on it. Commonly runners don't care exactly what the scientific research demonstrates. They just want to get better from their injury and so they just need a running shoe that helps them to exercise much better and is comfortable. Much more research ought to be completed about this plus much more education is required on the approach.