Running is a hobby taken up by many people across the country, however most runners suffer from pronation problems and therefore stop running all together. Unfortunately they use this first experience of discomfort as an excuse to not carry on. Firstly, they need to learn the do’s and don’ts on running.

Pronation is the medical term referring to the movement and weight distribution of a joint. In our case, it is how the foot distributes weight as a runner cycles through their gait. It is the body’s natural shock absorption process to roll inwards from heel towards big toe as we run or walk, but it is the action of that process in each individual that determines pronation. Pronation is commonly related to the natural profile of our feet.

There are three types: neutral, under- and over- pronation. A neutral pronator, the most efficient type, will transfer from heel to toe with a relatively straight and balanced movement. Under pronators transfer too far to the outside of their feet, and their gait can loosely be described as moving in a bow-legged fashion. [Read more…]