Foot Typing & Shoewear Analysis
Picking the correct running shoe is necessary to prevent injury, reduce pain, and optimize your performance. There is a lot of variability to every individual. Your skeletal alignment must be evaluated from the hip/pelvis down to the foot to understand your anatomy and analyze compensatory patterns utilized to accommodate for structural malalignments.
A rigid high arched “cavus” foot often is accompanied by a supinated gait and is best supported by a flexible shoe to aide in force attenuation. A flat “planus” foot often leads to a pronated gait and is best controlled by a stability or motion control shoe to provide additional support and rigidity to the foot. We also evaluate forefoot to rearfoot orientation and mobility, and examine what occurs at the foot in both a loaded and unloaded position.
Most brands of running shoes manufacture a line of sneakers which range from cushioned with flexibility to firm with rigidity. The common terminology looks like this: