How Can I Avoid Overpronation?

With increased awareness about health issues and too high premiums that insurance companies demand (!), more and more people have begun to take their health and fitness in their hands by taking up running, jogging, and other forms of exercises. Gymnasiums and health centres have begun to cash in on the trend, consequently. However, since many people do not consult specialists, professional trainers or doctors, before they begin their regimen, they often end up hurting themselves – either because they do not know the right way to exercise or because they do not wear the right kind of shoes. This gives rise to foot problems like overpronation and supination, problems where the foot may become flat or curve too much inwards placing undue stress on parts of the body, like the lower back and the ankles and calves. The best way to deal with such problems is to avoid them – by taking the necessary precautions. Here are some ways in which you can avoid overpronation.

 

 

Pronation is a name given to the inward roll of the foot during normal motion. It is caused when the outer edge of the heel strikes the ground when running or during any other exercise, causing the foot to roll inwards and flatten out. The body is attuned to take a moderate amount of pronation, so that the whole foot can function properly during such times of strain as a workout or warm up. However damage and injury can occur during excessive pronation. When such a thing happens, the whole arch of the foot flattens out, causing the muscles, ligaments, and tendons, underneath the foot to stretch in an unhealthy and dangerous way. 

Avoiding Overpronation 
There are ways in which one can avoid foot problems, especially overpronation. Its first part deals with choosing the right kind of shoes and sandals, or footwear and the second part corresponds to doing the exercise regimen or warm up the right way. Perhaps the simplest ways to avoid overpronation is to purchase a pair of orthotics for the shoes, which many shoe stores sell relatively cheap and that can be inserted into most pairs of shoes. They create a higher arch in the shoe, which in turn keeps the foot in a more neutral position. Such kind of insoles can be inserted into shoes for exercising as well as shoes for everyday wear.