Podiatry & Orthotics Clinic London UK

You hit the ground 19.000 times during a marathon. Who wants to make 19.000 times the same mistake in a single race?

When running, your body will either get stronger or incur more damage. It is all down to your foot support, your only foundation and how you play with the movement of pronation at a foot and knee level.

 

Choosing the right shoes and lacing method is key, because footwear, orthotics, and laces all bring some precious support to the table. As a former trainer in Decathlon’s running department, Christophe uses his extensive knowledge of Nike, Adidas, Mizuno, Asics, New Balance, Brooks, and other brands to match his patient’s needs.

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Pronation is your best friend.

In the past, running shoe brands and retailers had to change their label from “anti-pronation” to “control-pronation.” Because pronation is actually your best friend! This is a movement you need at a foot and knee level to absorb the shock on a landing sport when applying up to three times your body weight around the ankle joint that connects a small horizontal foot to a tall vertical body. Challenging, isn’t it?

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What is the movement of Pronation?

Pronation is the sum of three movement:

- A subtalar eversion (frontal plan).

- An ankle dorsiflexion (Sagittal plan).

- A forefoot abduction (transversal plan).

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Over-pronation

Like any excessive movement, over-pronation leads to joints misalignment. Affecting your foundation and the base of the body, over-pronation has a powerful and damaging impact on your health (from your ankle, knees, hips, back to your neck) but also on your performance in that it dissipates the precious kinetic energy that you could stock and restore… 19,000 times per marathon!

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Pronation control or Neutral shoes?

Many patients have been told that “when having custom orthotics, you must buy neutral shoes”. Here again is a myth to dispel. Trained by Nike, Adidas, Asics, Mizuno, New Balance and Kalenji and former trainers for Decathlon stores, Christophe uses pronation controls to satisfy his patient’s needs whether they have orthotics/insoles or not. If you do not know or have any guidance, it would be safe to stick to a neutral pair of shoes. It is also important to note that a gait or run analysis alone is not enough to recommend a pair of running trainers with a pronation control. Looking at the foot type, its mobility, the location of its dry skin, the knee type (valgum or varum) helps us decide which shoes to go for.

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Running orthotics?

At PODO we make the orthotics for your feet and recommend the right footwear (type, brand, and model) for your activity.

 

However, as orthotics and shoes work together, it is important to bear in mind that running shoes are more supportive than casual shoes. From their reinforced and well cushioned soles to their upper and lacing system allowing to maintain the foot without tightening it (Logo strapping and so on), running shoes are already bringing a good amount of support to the table. This extra support allows us to provide you with more flexible orthotics, to give you more bounce, evenly distribute the pressures and allow the foot and its three arches to rest and remain naturally efficient.

 

Again, it is key for the orthotics to be fully custom when running as your shoes come symmetrical and your feet never are! Orthotics improve comfort and performance as much as they prevent or address plantar fasciitis, Achilles’ tendinopathy, Metatarsalgia, Morton neuroma, Shin Splints, ITB (iliotibial band syndrome), Stress fracture, Runners’ knee, hip, and back pain to give a few.