Ask The Experts

Category: Running
Subject:	Pronation and Supination
Question:	I keep hearing these terms used by other runners but though I've tried to read about them I'm confused. It used to be I could just run without thinking about it. Now I often think about how my foot strikes the ground, if the inside or outside of my foot has more load and so on. I'm all messed up! I don't know how to just run any more. Can you shed some light on this subject and advise me how to correct the problem?

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Pronation is when the arch of the foot flattens out a bit and the ankle sort of leans towards the inside. Supination is the antithesis, where the ankle is tipped to the outside and much of the pressure is placed on the outside of the foot from the pinky toe on back towards the heel. Some of this motion is totally natural. The arch is there to help absorb shock (so we get some pronation out of the ankle in the running motion), and the rolling off of the toes helps us push off well (so there's a touch of supination). The problems occur when the ankle has too much motion either way. This puts stress on the stabilizing muscles of the ankle and can cause tendonitis in several areas around the foot and ankle. So what should you think about during runs??? - certainly not any of this. If you believe that you are a problem pronator or supinator then see someone about it. Go see Richard Diaz at USA Sports and Fitness in Woodland Hills or Bob Forster at Phase IV in Santa Monica, or a great shoe store like The Starting Line on Washington near the Venice pier, or any sports/med doctor who has some knowledge of running (if the doctor has a treadmill in the office, all the better). If you've got a problem, they'll let you know how to deal with it. What you should be thinking about is keeping your posture upright and running in a proud manner. The next priority is a short stride so that your forefoot meets the ground just in front of your hip. Try and hit 30 foot falls for every 10 seconds - the goal is 180 steps a minute so if you get to 29 that's a full 6 strides short. This may seem odd at first, especially for those long striders who land on their heels, but this method of running will make you faster, more efficient, and less prone to injury. Ian Ian Murray ACMEcoaching.com
Ian Murray
This Coach's average rating: Rated 12074 times.

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