Foot Type, Foot Strike and How it Affects You
Instead of writing about the types of shoes available today and what to look for I decided it would be much more beneficial to go over foot types, and the foot strikes associated with them.
When it comes to feet there are two factors that play a pivotal role. The first of the two is your foot type. This is the factor which most everyone has heard of. Foot type can be classified into three categories: Normal or neutral arch, high arch, and flat foot or low arch.
Of these three foot types by far the most common today is a low to flat arch. The height of the arch is determined by the plantar fascia. A more elastic plantar fascia will result in a higher arch while a more lax one will usually result in a flat foot. So how does your arch height affect you while running?
The simple answer to this question is PRONATION. Many may have heard of this before, it is usually the thing the sales people at the big box stores categorize as either fix it or your foot will fall off or they have no idea what it is. Yes excessive pronation isn’t a great thing it places excessive rotational torque/stress on the lower leg and can lead to a slew of overuse injuries. Some pronation is also a very normal and necessary thing in the gait cycle though. Everyone has some form of pronation as it is the foot and ankles mechanism to absorb the impact when the foot strikes the ground. Pronation is broken down into three categories and directly correlates with the three foot types. Pronation is classified as: neutral pronation, overpronation, and underpronation (more commonly referred to as supination.)
In the neutral pronator the Achilles tends to stand straight up and down with a 0˚ curvature medially or laterally. In the overpronator the foot is angled medially or to the inside of the foot with a high˚ of medial curvature. Last but not least is the supinator which I’m sure you have figured out by now is angled laterally or to the outside of the foot with a high˚ of lateral curvature. The picture below is a great example of each foot type.
Next up is foot strike. This is the way that your foot strikes the ground. Once again this is broken down into three categories just as arch type and pronation. Foot strike is classified into heel striker (the most common), Fore foot strike/ toe runners, and midfoot strikers (by far the least common). I won’t go into to much detail about foot strike since it can be a very complicated subject and can lead to many issues if one tries to manipulate their foot strike. It is possible to change your foot strike but it’s something that takes a long time and a keen eye to make sure it doesn’t cause serious injury. There is also a lot of controversy about which foot strike is better with the sudden boom of barefoot running. This is a subject that has intrigued me quiet a bit. For years heel striking was always said to be how we should run and walk yet the top runners barely have their heels touch the ground while running and seem to be doing fine. I personally midfoot strike and have never had an issue and after over a decade of running have only had one major injury which I needed to take time off for. With that said I do feel the terrain and situation dictates our foot strike to some extent. While running downhill we naturally heel strike, leaning back and loading the heel is how we slow forward momentum. A good thing to remember is heel = brakes. While on flat or technical terrain many will switch to a more midfoot strike, midfoot = cruise control. Then when running up hill or sprinting we go to our toes, toe/forefoot = accelerator.
With each foot type we see a much different shock applied to the body. In the heel striker more shock is seen in every step. Striking heal first causes a straight line from the foot to the lower back and a perfect path for that shock to follow up to your pelvis and lower back. In a midfoot or forefoot striker this shock can be seen to be greatly decreased by a smoother transition through the gait. That’s all I will say about this as it really is not something anyone should worry too much about till you get to the upper levels of training. The images below are great examples of the differences between a heal strike and forefoot strike with the impacts associated with them.
Now that you know the different arch types and pronation types its time to find out what category you fall into. This can be done by a simple wet test. In the wet test you step into water then on a sheet of paper. Looking at the print left behind you can determine your arch type and the pronation type most likely correlating with your arch type. The wet test is only a glimpse of how your foot is reacting while running. For the best results I recommend going to a reputable physical therapist, movement specialist or running specialty store where they will analyze your stride for you and determine the best shoe for you. All good specialty stores will do this. Some will do it automatically others you may have to ask for them to assess your stride.
Here’s a great description of the wet test process for anyone who would like to try.
www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/take-wet-test-learn-your-foot-type
I hope after reading this everyone has a little better understanding of the role the foot and ankle play in our running. Any questions which may come up feel free to post in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Endurance = Strength= Speed
Happy Running
Matt
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