For years I had operated under the illusion that I was a pronator. I went to a running store back in 2002/2003 and they analyzed my stride and told me I was a moderate (or more) overpronator. I have been using stability shoes ever since.
Two months ago I was having my bike fit at Tri On The Run in Houston and Johnny Z. asked me what kind of running shoes I wore. He was apparently watching me walk around in my barefeet and felt compelled to ask. I told him and he had that look that said “no way.” He was of the opinion that I had a neutral gait. I didn’t think much of it since I was there for the bike and not the run.
I have been looking to get a new pair of trainers and decided to thought about what Johnny said. I went to a Fleet Feet store and had them check things out. Hopped on the treadmill and it took the guy all of two seconds to confirm that I was indeed a neutral pronator.
Can your gait change over time or was I misdiagnosed years ago?
For years I had operated under the illusion that I was a pronator. I went to a running store back in 2002/2003 and they analyzed my stride and told me I was a moderate (or more) overpronator. I have been using stability shoes ever since.
Two months ago I was having my bike fit at Tri On The Run in Houston and Johnny Z. asked me what kind of running shoes I wore. He was apparently watching me walk around in my barefeet and felt compelled to ask. I told him and he had that look that said “no way.” He was of the opinion that I had a neutral gait. I didn’t think much of it since I was there for the bike and not the run.
I have been looking to get a new pair of trainers and decided to thought about what Johnny said. I went to a Fleet Feet store and had them check things out. Hopped on the treadmill and it took the guy all of two seconds to confirm that I was indeed a neutral pronator.
Can your gait change over time or was I misdiagnosed years ago?
I have a whole new world of shoes the try now.
I had a similar experience, but I found that rather than my gait being an issue of “pronation” it was an issue of “surfaces, volume, technique, & shoes.”
In short, running: 1) On pavement and 2) against traffic when combined, caused overuse injuries. I actually run road more now, but only after improving my technique, and I attribute my ability to run road more to the fact that I no longer run strictly against traffic, but rather with traffic and in the middle of the road (where the surface is the least angled).
A lot of times people are told the 100% opposite of what they really are. It’s sad, really. Can happen at good running stores too.
I can’t tell you how many times somebody comes in convinced they are a severe over-pronator because of one thing or another and walk out in a 100% neutral shoe.
Yes, your feet can change, but I’m guessing you were misdiagnosed.
It is entirely possible that you did overpronate 7-8 years ago and don’t now. Your stide and footstrike can most certainly change over a timeframe like that, expecially if you have been a dedicated runner ever since. However, it is far more likely that the first shoe store overestimated how much correction you needed. It happens all the time- I see people barefoot and they definitely look like they’ll need help, but get them running and they’re fine.
My only recommendation would be to STAY AWAY from the super light, super flexible, super squishy neutral shoes. Even though you have a neutral strike, you’ve been wearing stability shoes for a long time, and your body doesn’t like rapid changes. Don’t switch to a super flimsy shoe just because the Fleet Feet folks tell you that you can- your body won’t be ready for such a drastic change. I’d recommend getting a neutral shoe that is fairly similar to your current trainers, so as not to alter your footwear too dramatically.
My only recommendation would be to STAY AWAY from the super light, super flexible, super squishy neutral shoes. Even though you have a neutral strike, you’ve been wearing stability shoes for a long time, and your body doesn’t like rapid changes. Don’t switch to a super flimsy shoe just because the Fleet Feet folks tell you that you can- your body won’t be ready for such a drastic change. I’d recommend getting a neutral shoe that is fairly similar to your current trainers, so as not to alter your footwear too dramatically.
Yeah, I wasn’t about to run out and get some super minimalist shoe to celebrate the news. I have been using the Saucony Fastwitch 4 (and raced an Oly and 70.3 in them) for a couple of months now mixed in with my everyday stability trainers. While they are super light, they do have a little bit of support. I will certainly ease into things. I don’t think I’ll buy a pair of Kinvara’s and go run 20 miles tomorrow or anything like that.
Trying to figure what shoe to go with. I’m a big Saucony fan. Heard nice things about Brooks.
When I started distance running many years ago, the guy at Roadrunner decided I was an overpronater by having me stand and lift my pantleg cuff over my ankle. Very scientific. My prescribed shoes were Saucony Hurricanes and later evolved to be mostly Asics DS Trainers. I spent the next several years with recurring knee injuries.
Out of frustration I eventually restarted from scratch by running only in totally unstructured racing flats. I of course transitioned slowly. I haven’t been hurt since I made that change almost 2 yrs ago, despite usually running 60-80mpw. Conventional wisdom is often entirely wrong.
But that said, if your existing shoes haven’t been causing you any problems, then why switch - even if you were misdiagnosed initially? What is there to gain in your case, and is that worth the risk of changing?
Ask 10 running store workers if you are a overpronator and you will get a different answer every time. My first told me severe and put me in a motion control shoe, 4 weeks and 2 injuries later I was back at a different store. Next guy told me I over pronate…a little and put me in a stability shoe. 4 weeks and all the same injuries…another guy tells me I should be in a neutral shoe. 4 weeks and nasty shin splints and another knee injury later…I get a run gait analysis and the PT tells me I am a moderate overpronator and should try a stabilty shoe again. So from my expierence of 1, I would say that the first guy got it wrong. Good luck with the new shoes.
I don’t know where and when this happened, but somewhere along the road, pronation was given this evil connotation. Something that needed to be stopped in it’s tracks. When in fact it’s a natural part of the foot strike and action of the foot in the running gait. Yes, there are over-pronators, but it’s a far smaller percentage of the running population than people realize.
I was once told by someone in the running business that unfortunately so called “motion control shoes”, had probably lead to more people being injured from running! Indeed, the only time in a many years of running a career that I ever experienced classic overuse running injury, was when a long time ago, I trained for a bit in the wrong shoe - a motion control shoe - of my shoe sponsor of the time. Totally my fault, as I should have known better. Lead to a 3 month bout of ITB problems.
I don’t know where and when this happened, but somewhere along the road, pronation was given this evil connotation.
I know that comment was a generality and not specifically aimed at me per se but I don’t think it’s evil. I agree that it is what it is - a natural thing that is different from person to person. I was just a little shocked that I was misdiagnosed years ago. I somehow doubt that my gait changed from being a moderate to severe overpronator to someone with a prototypical neutral gait. My bad for not getting a second opinion back then but frankly I didn’t know jackshit about running at that time in my life. I was about to head to the FBI Academy and knew I had better do some run training and went to a very well respected running store to get some shoes and advice.
I have never had shin splint issues but I have always had some knee pain. I just chalked it up to getting older and having bad knees from years of playing lacrosse, baseball and basketball. Could it have been the stability and motion control shoes causing some of the problem? We shall see.
Indeed, the only time in a many years of running a career that I ever experienced classic overuse running injury, was when a long time ago, I trained for a bit in the wrong shoe - a motion control shoe - of my shoe sponsor of the time. Totally my fault, as I should have known better. Lead to a 3 month bout of ITB problems.
I was put into Asics Kayanos and Brooks Trances, both motion control (as a new runner). Everything went fine for about 1 year, until I reach roughly 30 mpw, this past December and January were both 100 mile months (which for me was a milestone). All of a sudden, bam, out with bad ITB for 3 months. I am now back up to about 15 mpw, been doing it with Mizuno Wave Riders and the occasional barefoot run (few miles a week). Thus far no problems (my long is only back up to about 6).
My hope at this point is that what happeded to you is what happened to me. I guess I will never know 100%, because I tried everything under the sun to correct the ITB, so who knows if the shoe change is what got it done. Running store still says I need motion control, chiro says I need orthotics, PT says I am neutral . . . feels like hocus pocus sometime.
I had always been told I was an over pronator and needed stability shoes. However, the stability shoes made my feet hurt so I never bought into that. Later, after years of wearing neutral shoes, I was told I “self correct” my over pronation while running. Well OK I guess? I just wore the shoes that felt good running! I don’t think it has to be so hard. The real problem may be that a lot of people need to strengthen their foot muscles–and stiff supportive shoes can contribute to weak foot beds IMO.
I was put into Asics Kayanos and Brooks Trances, both motion control (as a new runner).
Not to nitpick here, but there is a lot of terminology being thrown around that is a little off. All Motion Control shoes are stability shoes, but not all stability shoes are motion control. Motion Control represents the shoes at the very highest end of the stability spectrum, shoes like the Brooks Beast and the Saucony Grad Stabil. These shoes are typically constructed differently from a more mainline stability trainer like Kayanos and Trances.
It is certainly understandable how all of this talk of pronation and overpronation can seem like hocus pocus. Stability shoes come in a whole variety of different amounts of cushioning and stability, and the way that the stability in a shoe works very much depends on a)how YOUR FOOT and YOUR STRIDE works and b)how YOUR FOOT interfaces with the shoe. You could take an average runner (moderate overpronator) and have them try on comparable stability shoes from multiple brands and find that only one of them actually works. Whether it is the positioning of the arch in the shoe, the shape of the foot, the foot’s positioning during footstrike… there are dozens of things that can affect how a shoe works, and many of them are difficult to see, let alone measure.
I also think a lot of runners (especially newer runners) can be very quick to blame shoes for non-shoe problems. IT Band issues can stem from shoes (how old were your shoes? Had you recently switched running surfaces or graduated to faster paces? How was the footing; snow and ice, or relatively good?) or they can stem from other stresses, like poor mechanics or muscle imbalances or weaknesses (how often do you hit the gym and lift or do core conditioning?). Bottom line is that running is a very difficult sport to nail down where problems come from, because there are so many things that can cause them. The best thing you can do is listen closely to what your body tells you, never run injured if it can be avoided, and learn from your experiences. I’m probably too young to speak with any authority, but my running habits have evolved and continue to evolve to match what I find works best. Whet worked best for me in school and what works for me now are quite different from each other (I rather suspect a younger me would have called my current self a wimp), and that is a product of both available time and some longer term, non-fixable injuries I’m dealing with. Hence my recent conversion to training for Tris!
Alright, I was way off on a tangent there. Bottom line, pay very close attention to your running and I suspect you’ll be able to catch the problems when they’re small and not run into 3 month layoffs, no matter what kind of shoes you wear.
Most of this stuff IS hocus pocus. Ignoring the fact that conventional running shoes with their padding and positive heel ratios have DAMN little scientific evidence proving efficacy, if you take 100 people and send them into a running store I bet almost half will be “prescribed” stability shoes. Really? Is that percentage of the population really physiologically injured that they need what amounts to a crutch to allow them to move in a proper way?
Dr. Tim Noakes in Lore of Running referred to a study showing that those in stability or MC shoes actually pronate just as much after using the shoe as before. Granted, in many cases the medial post stiffness does indeed reduce injury for them, but this whole topic is not understood well.
I also subscribe to the idea that the higher, beefier the shoe, the more likely regular, natural pronation is going to be overpronation, so it’s not inconceivable that these shoes are simply trying to correct a problem they themselves actually are introducing.
I have personally spent hundreds on shoes and these days do most of my running in as little shoe as possible (I was told before to use stability or MC) and my knee thanks me for it.
