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Shopping for running shoes I got a free gait analysis. They said I have a slight Pronation, however the wear on my shoes is mostly on the outside edge at the heel indicating Supination. I've not had an issue before so a little hesitant to splash out on stability shoes if they don't work out. Not had an issue with neutral shoes too.
Or am I missing something obvious?
If you've had no issue then my temptation would be to crack on with neutral shoes. Trying to correct supposed biomechanical anomalies when you are currently not experiencing any problems is risking an injury for no gain imho
Gait analysis aka videoing you on a treadmill and then drawing a line up the back of your calf with MS paint.
For heaven's sake if neutral shoes are working well for you, don't mess it up by getting something heavier with harder plastic bits in the sole (which is what stability shoes are).
Ps re free gait analysis- so many people are over pronated it can sometimes be easy to see it when it isn't there
i pronate quite markedly and have wear to the outer heel - i think it is just a natural action of the heel strike pre-emptively compensating for the inwards roll which follows. i wear trainers with some stability, but the key is a decent footbed.
I always worked on the wet foot test:
I used to have stability shoes and hard plastic custom orthotics. I now run in minimal shoes like Altra with toe spreaders.
In my experience, which is a sample of two (me and the wife), using foot muscles and strengthening them is better than bracing them in shoes.
I have slightly bow legs and at one point spent a lot on custom orthotics because I was getting some hip pain. After a while I gave up on the orthotics and just went back to a neutral shoe, adopted a shorter stride with mid foot strike and ran faster than I could before without the niggly injury problems.
Choose the shoe that feels the most comfortable is probably the best advice on current evidence…
One of my feet is fairly flat, flatter than the other. Got more niggles running in stability shoes than neutral ones and I only run in neutral ones now - generally tried to run with a shorter, lighter stride which I think works better for me. I sense the industry is moving away from clumsily designed stability shoes like random hard bits of plastic in the sole anyway - wider toebox seems to be becoming more of a feature for many brands.
They said I have a slight Pronation, however the wear on my shoes is mostly on the outside edge at the heel indicating Supination.
i pronate quite markedly and have wear to the outer heel
Same, my shoes/boots all wear the rear outer heels first, and I have pronation (identified by physio). Daily footwear and hiking boots, not running. Having had ITBS after lockdown inactivity, personally I wouldn't mess with anything that isn't causing a problem.
How qualified is this shop assistant?.
Slight pronation is normal, and what you're meant to do. I do as well. As per other answers, don't fix what isn't broken.
As said above, everybody lands on the outer side of their heel so it doesn't indicate supination. It's what your foot does after landing (on your outer heel) that dictates the shoes you need.
Anti pronation shoes are not all the same, the extra support that corrects your foot over pronating comes from a section of darker, more dense foam on the inside of the shoes midsole. You can see this darker section on the shoes themselves. The longer and denser this darker section is, the more correction. Some shoes even have a plastic wedge.
If you are mild, they should have suggested a shoe with mild correction. You probably wouldn't even notice.
Saying all that, unless you are heavy or doing mega miles it generally is just a case of finding a shoe that fits well and replacing them fairly often.
I'm also an over pronator and have wear to the outer heel on all of my shoes/trainers. As above it's that part of the foot that strikes first. I've always thought of pronation as toes pointing out, supination as toes pointing in, hence the outer heel wear for over pronators.
I've also used loads of running shoes with pronation support over the years but it's hard to say if they've helped a great deal. My current runners are neutral as most of my running these days is off road so support adds nothing. And they are covered in dust from lack of use 🙁
Sounds like I'm better off sticking to neutral then. Looking at some Hoka road shoes to keep me going while it's dark after work and trails are so muddy. Did a longer trail run at the weekend but my Decathlon trail shoes were a bit harsh on the roads between trail sections so want to try a bit of road.
I bought some Nike Air Zoom Pegasus Trail last summer to replace my Saloman SpeedCross as I was having calf issues and thought extra cushioning might help (it did). They are very luxurious compared to my usual trail shoes and would probably be lovely on road too. Can highly recommend, depending how mucky your trail running gets as the grip on them is far from aggressive and they'd probably struggle on "proper" trails this time of year.
Gait analysis is Snake oil unless you are having it done in a lab by qualified peeps.
everybody lands on the outer side of their heel
No they dont. I run on my forefoot and my heels seldom tough the ground when I am running.
@tonyd Agree, IMO a road shoe with a slightly aggressive outer-sole is ideal for road/paths and a bit of mud. Brands such as Inov8 seem to be making a killing convincing runners that they need a specialist trail/fell shoe when its often overkill.
Unless your current shoes are causing you pain, I'm firmly in the "gait analysis in a shop is bollocks" group.
I've had a couple of sessions of gait analysis by a physio and he wasn't interested in looking at the pronation / supination side of things and far keener to work on touching down in the correct place.
The Hokas arrived but too narrow. Silly design too; the rubber outer sole goes about 3mm higher than the footed so as your foot spreads out it pushed against it. My Decathlon shoes were more comfortable. The search continues.
i pronate quite markedly and have wear to the outer heel
Me as well. Using orthotics has eased the pain in my feet and ankles significantly. I wish I had done it years before
I used to wear down all my shoes on the outer back of my heels. I also have arch support. This all stopped when I started buying zero drop shoes. I was heel striking too early, the heel was always in the way.
Highly recommend going to a podiatrist that can 1. Better assess your feet and 2 get you inserts if needed (better than the 20 quid variety.).
I bought some new shoes once with a fair bit of support on the inside because a shop told me I overpronated. After a few runs the wedge in the inside just really annoyed me and hurt the bottom of my foot.
Then I realise heel striking might be a bad idea and discovered that forefoot striking was miles better. Now I do mid foot striking in zero drop shoes with padding.