I’m not sure I understand the difference between motion control and stability. Is it a continuum from MC to stability to neutral to flats? I have really flat feet, if that matters. I notice that my feet flare out slightly, though as I’ve changed technique that has lessened. Now I land on the midfoot, and feel like I’m gliding (relatively speaking).
Perhaps I should just dump some $ on neutral shoes first and give it a shot.
You’re not alone – most people don’t understand the features in a shoe and what they’re for. To answer your question, yes, there is a contiunuum between Motion Control, Stability, Neutral/Cushioning, Performance, and Racing Flats. At JackRabbit we stay away from those terms because they’re confusing. We simply say that shoes on this side of the shoe wall have the most features to stabilize your foot, and shoes on the other side of the wall are built for people who can stabilize themselves. The term “cushioned” shoe is particularly misleading because almost all shoes offer some cushioing, and many Motion Control shoes offer more cushioning than many “cushioned” shoes. I prefer the term “Neutral” for that category.
Below I’ll describe a set of features that shoe manufacturers put in shoes to help stabilize your foot. A Motion Control shoe is going to have all of those features, and is going to have “heavy duty” implementations. The less “stable” the shoe, the fewer features it’s going to offer and the less material/construction/etc will go into building those features. When you get to lightweight neutral shoes, all they have is a sole capped with an upper to keep the sole attached to your foot, and the sole is designed to flex with your foot.
**Last Shape: **Motion control shoes have a straight last; a line from the toe to the heel of the shoe follows the expected line of travel of your motion. Most other shoes have a semi-curved last, where the toe area is a curved a little inward from the heel, assuming you’re going to roll onto it. Many racing flats have curved lasts, which really bring the toe inside the heel. Spikes and other track shoes have rigid soles that force you to run on the balls of your feet without your heels ever hitting the ground.
**Medial Posting: **The most common stability feature, this involves putting something in the midsole on the inside of the shoe that resists compression. In Mizunos it’s the shape of their wave. In most other shoes, it’s gray dual density foam, usually coupled with some plastic pieces. The idea is that your body puts more force on the inside of the shoe and less on the outside, so if the inside resists compression more than the outside, the net effect is even compression across your entire foot. In more stable shoes, the posting extends further back under your heel and further forward toward the ball of your foot, and is augmented with more plastic and rigid materials.
**Heel Counter: **A rigid piece of material surrounding the lower part of your heel and attached to the sole, designed to prevent your heel from rotating inside the shoe. A more stable shoe will have a more significant heel counter, which goes higher up the back of your heel and extends further forward (usually on the inside).
**Arch Support: **By building up the arch on the interior of the shoe, the manufacturer does two things at once: they prevent your arch from collapsing, and they prevent the front of your foot from rolling inwards. The kind of support you get from orthotics – either prescription or off the shelf – comes primarily from arch support. Somewhat strangely, more stable shoes often have less arch support because the people who need stable shoes usually have lower or more flexible arches, so arch support feels uncomfortable. Likewise, many more neutral shoes have higher arches because people with strong arches & feet who need neutral shoes often have high arches and like to have something under them to support them.
External Support: I don’t have a good term for this, but in motion control and premium stability shoes you’ll often see a piece of more rigid material on the upper of the shoe to prevent your foot from rolling inward inside the shoe. It often takes the place of an interior arch support.
All of these features exert forces on your foot to try to resist “incorrect” behavior. In an efficient runner, those forces are provided internally by your muscles and ligaments. If you don’t have the muscle strength, you can choose features in your shoes to compensate. Most running stores will help you find a shoe that corrects for your overpronation or other problems. A good running store will help you pick a shoe with only the features you need to counteract your specific weak areas, so the shoe only provides the support you need, and doesn’t provide support that you don’t need.
Hope that helps!
Lee Silverman
JackRabbit Sports
Park Slope, Brooklyn
