Orthotics

What is over pronation of the foot? Pronation occurs as weight is transferred from the heel to the forefoot when walking or running and the foot naturally rolls inward. A certain amount of this is natural but in many people the foot rolls in too much or over pronates. When standing, pronation occurs as the foot rolls inwards and the arch of the foot flattens, hence the term often used to describe someone who over pronates as having ‘flat feet’. Pronation is a normal part of the gait cycle which helps to provide shock absorption at the foot. The opposite movement to pronation is supination.

How does over pronation cause injury? Excess pronation usually causes overuse type injuries, occurring most frequently in runners. When a neutral foot pronates during walking or running, the lower leg, knee and thigh all rotate internally. When an athlete with over pronation runs, his or her inward rotational movement is exaggerated. This in turn increases the stresses on the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the foot, lower leg including shin and knee as the limb rotates in too far.

Over pronation of the foot is not an injury itself but if you over pronate then you may be more susceptible to a number of sports and feet injuries. It is often recognized as a flattening or rolling in of the foot but it is not quite as simple as that as the timing of when the foot rolls in is also important.

Over pronation and running injuries

The problem with pronation is when it’s excessive. Here the term over pronation (or hyper-pronation) is used. This is quite a common problem and can lead to a number of injuries, especially in runners, including:

• Shin splints
• Anterior compartment syndrome
• Patello-femoral pain syndrome
• Plantar fasciitis
• Tarsal tunnel syndrome
• Bunions (Hallux valgus)
• Achilles tendonitis
• Knee pain

This picture shows someone who over pronates. The right foot is rolling in. This causes the lower leg to turn inwards which puts the knee and hip out of alignment and can cause the back to be rotated.

Vasyli Medical Custom Orthotics

Our office carries multiple different brands of orthotics in order to best fit your needs. VASYLI’s heat-moldable custom orthotic is a product that works for patients at different weights and activity levels. It’s truly customizable—but without the price tag or wait associated with similar types of custom products. What’s behind the success of our product? Triplanar Motion Control™. This is the ability to control foot function in all 3 cardinal planes: frontal, transverse, and sagittal, as well as other additions and customization that can meet your needs and goals.

Make an appointment to have one of the doctors here evaluate your feet, posture and gait to determine if these orthotics can benefit you.