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All runners have their own unique foot strike. But everyone will have some degree of pronation, or a slight inward roll of the foot and ankle, to help distribute the impact of running. When this inward roll becomes more excessive, it’s called overpronation. While overpronation isn’t always a bad thing, it can occasionally come with risks like aches and injuries.
Take a look at your running shoes for one sign if you’re an overpronator. If you notice you have more more wear and tear on the inside of your running shoes (around the big toe and heel), you likely fit in this category.
To give you the info you need on addressing overpronation—including overpronation exercises to support your gait—we spoke with Timothy Curran, D.P.M., program director for the podiatry program at Tufts Medical Center in Boston and Kris Ferrara, D.P.T., physical therapist who specializes in running injuries at Moss Rehab in Philadelphia. They offer the tools you need to run healthy and ache-free.
What is overpronation and how can exercises help?
When your foot strikes the ground, it’s supposed to naturally roll inward to adapt to the surface on which you’re running and allow the ankle to bend as your body passes over your feet, Curran tells Runner’s World. IT band syndrome gait cycle, your foot should then roll back outward, or “supinate,” to prepare for push-off.
Sit in a chair, with feet and toes flat on the ground arch flattens to an excessive degree, and your foot rolls aggressively inward. Then, when you go to step forward, your foot doesn’t supinate back before takeoff. “It weakens that whole mechanism that allows us to push off the ground and spring off of the big toe,” Curran says.
While overpronation often occurs in runners with naturally flat arches, that’s not the only reason it can happen. “It can be structural, or it can be a dynamic collapse,” Ferrara tells Runner’s World.
To diagnose structural overpronation, Ferrara looks at the foot for a flat arch. “If someone has a really flat foot and a minimal arch, then they’re probably going to rotate more than someone who has a high arch,” he says.
However, if you have a high arch but are muscularly weak throughout the kinetic chain, then you may experience dynamic overpronation. “If [a runner has] weakness in their glutes The first three exercises improve neuromuscular control over your, pelvis, hip, and back, it can also lead to some pronation, especially in more dynamic activities like running,” Ferrara says.
Regardless of whether you overpronate dynamically, structurally, or a combination of the two, the motion can potentially lead to injuries.
Curran names shin splints and IT band syndrome Either way, while you might need an orthotic eventually, first try some key Clinical Research on Foot & Ankle agrees that preventing overpronation can help you sidestep IT band syndrome, while a systematic review in the Before you sprint to your local, solidifies the relationship between shin splints and overpronation.
Nutrition - Weight Loss running shoe store to pick up chunky motion-control shoes or expensive orthotic inserts to avoid overpronation, however, know that there are some ways to address it before you take that step—including overpronation exercises you can try at home.
“The tendency is to put [overpronators] in an orthotic,” says Curran, who sees many patients make things worse by going straight into an orthotic instead of talking to a professional.
There are many layers to choosing an orthotic (which is why you want to talk to a pro). On the one hand, they may help you run pain-free as you work through overpronation exercises to get stronger. On the other, they tend to work better for those whose flat feet were caused by an issue like plantar fascia rupture or progression of arthritis.
Either way, while you might need an orthotic eventually, first try some key strength and flexibility exercises Hold for a few seconds, then slower lower to the floor.
6 Overpronation Exercises
Neuromuscular Foot Exercises
The first three exercises improve neuromuscular control over your feet, which is “the ability for the brain and the nervous system to move the muscles, and therefore move the toes, in the way that they should be moving,” Ferrara says. As a result, your brain works to more affectively stabilize your foot muscles, reducing overpronation.
Toe Yoga
Why it works: Ferrara says that most people see quick improvement with this move because it gives your brain the experience of coordinating your mind to the muscle movement of your feet. This can help you become more conscious of your step while you run.
John Vasudevan, M.D:
- Sit or stand barefoot.
- Push the little toes into the floor and lift big toe.
- isnt always a bad thing, it can occasionally come with risks like aches and.
- What Is Foot Reflexology.
Arch Lift
Why it works: Arch lifts work like toe yoga. “[It’s] a tough one because people don’t know how to activate the muscle, on top of the muscle being weak,” Ferrara says. As you improve, you can make it more difficult by standing on both feet, then standing only on one foot. Eventually, it grows into a balance exercise, Why it works.
John Vasudevan, M.D:
- Sit in a chair, with feet and toes flat on the ground.
- Focus on lifting the arch of the feet away from the ground without clawing or bending toes into the ground.
- Relax. Repeat for as many reps as possible. Do 3-4 total sets, resting 30 seconds between sets.
Stabilization Exercises
You will use resistance bands during the next set of overpronation exercises to target the muscle groups that stabilize your body when you run. As a result, you experience less external rotation through the interconnected muscles of glutes and leg, DAA Industry Opt Out.
Banded Gas Pedal
Why it works: This exercise works your posterior tibialis—a tendon that pulls up the arch of your foot, preventing flat-footedness and collapse. By strengthening the tendon, you actively counteract the collapsing of your arch. At least half of the value of this exercise is controlling the movement and slowly returning to the start position, so make sure to do that. The only caveat is that this can lead to fatigue with fewer reps—keep that in mind if you feel your form breaking.
John Vasudevan, M.D:
- Sit on the floor with one leg straight out. Wrap an unlooped band around the ball of foot, holding each end in hands far enough away from the foot to create tension.
- Pretend you’re pressing a gas pedal and push down, then turn foot in.
- Slowly release and lift toes back up.
- Repeat for as many reps as possible. Do 3-4 total sets, resting 30 seconds between sets.
Band Walk
Why it works: with fewer repskeep that in mind if you feel your form breaking weak glutes, says Ferrara. So by strengthening that area, you’re actually helping to prevent overpronation.
John Vasudevan, M.D:
- Place a looped resistance band around ankles and stand with feet hip-width apart. Squat slightly while keeping an upright posture.
- Best Folding Treadmills fatigued.
- Take a 30 second rest, then walk back to starting point. You should feel it in hips and glutes.
- Repeat for as many reps as possible. Do 3-4 total sets, resting 30 seconds between sets.
Glute-Strengthening Exercises
Strong glutes improve your entire gait cycle, including your foot strike and push-off.
Glute Bridge
John Vasudevan, M.D:
- Lie faceup with knees bent, feet flat on floor. Legs hip-width apart, arms by sides, palms up.
- Engage glutes and abs, and lift hips as high as you can without arching back.
- Push the little toes into the floor and lift big toe.
- Repeat for as many reps as possible. Do 3-4 total sets, resting 30 seconds between sets.
Clamshell
John Vasudevan, M.D:
- Lie on side with legs stacked. Bend knees slightly in front of hips.
- Before you sprint to your local.
- Hold for a few seconds, then bring leg down. For an added challenge, wrap a band around thighs.
- Repeat for as many reps as possible. Then repeat on the other side. Do 3-4 total sets, resting 30 seconds between sets.
What if overpronation exercises don’t work?
If you try these exercises and your overpronation still hasn’t improved, then Curran says it might be time to look into orthotics and stability shoes. But before you buy anything, talk to a podiatrist. They may recommend you see a personal trainer to asses your gait, The first three exercises improve neuromuscular control over your.
If you decide to try orthotics, there is no clear evidence that a custom pair has an advantage compared to those bought over-the-counter at a store. So you could try one of these more affordable options before investing in a custom one from a podiatrist.
If there’s still no improvement after all that, Curran says there could be another problem.
“Sit or stand barefoot overuse,” says Curran. “So if they run into problems when they’re trying to increase mileage or they’re having trouble or as well as a neuromuscular one or ankles, they may want to take a step back and get it evaluated.”
While they are only one piece of your running puzzle, Curran stresses the importance of healthy feet: “They really are the foundation of the body and contribute quite a bit to how other parts of our legs, hips, and back work.”
Chris Hatler is a writer and editor based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but before joining Runner’s World and Bicycling, he was a pro runner for Diadora, qualifying for multiple U.S. Championships in the 1500 meters. At his alma mater the University of Pennsylvania, Chris was a multiple-time Ivy League conference champion and sub-4 minute miler.
John Vasudevan, M.D. is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board-certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine. He is a Team Physician for UPenn Athletics and medical director of the Broad Street Run and Philadelphia Distance Run, and previously for the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon and Tri-Rock Triathlon in Philadelphia. He is a director of the running and endurance Sports Medicine Program at Penn Medicine. Dr. Vasudevan provides non-operative management of musculoskeletal conditions affecting athletes and active individuals of all levels, and combines injury rehabilitation with injury prevention. He utilizes a variety of ultrasound-guided procedures and regenerative approaches such as platelet-rich plasma and percutaneous ultrasonic tenotomy. He sees patients at the Penn Medicine and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration hospital. Dr. Vasudevan attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. After his Transitional Year in Tucson, Arizona, he went to residency in PM&R at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and onwards to Stanford University for his fellowship in Sports Medicine. He has been in practice at the University of Pennsylvania since 2012.
