The definition of overpronation gets a great deal of controversy in running and sports medicine circles and there's a incredible amount of confusion and hype about it. Pronation is a normal motion where the rearfoot rolls inwards and the arch of the foot flattens. Everybody requires that motion for normal function. Overpronation occurs when there's an excessive amount of this motion. The predicament is that there isn't a consensus about what is normal and what is too much. The reason it's important is that often overpronation has long been theoretically connected to a whole number of overuse injuries in athletes. As there is a not enough data as to just what is normal, the published studies is often rather puzzling with this. Several studies show that overpronation, no matter how you elect to define it, is a risk factor for a running injury. Many other studies have shown that it’s not.
In the past running footwear have been depending on how much a foot pronated. People who overpronated could get a running shoe that has been which is designed to stop that too much motion. Runners that had more normally aligned feet could have been given a much more neutral running shoe. Runners with too much of the opposite movement could have been given running footwear with additional shock absorption. While this is still popular in the running footwear industry, the published research evidence does not back up that approach.
Should there be a group of studies for a theme that seem to be contrary and perplexing then scientists like to do systematic reviews and a meta-analysis that's meant to be a cautious review of all of the studies without having any bias. Only the good studies should be included in the analysis designed to weight the standard of the research. If these systematic reviews are done about the topic of overpronation in athletes chances are they commonly determine that, yes, overpronation is definitely a risk factor for an overuse injury in athletes, but it is just a small risk factor. It is still statistically significant. These outcomes also indicate that there are plenty of other factors than overpronation which can be a risk for injury.
This definitely does leave the complete idea debatable with lots of misunderstanding. Overpronation is a modest risk factor for an overuse injury, even so the prescribing of running footwear based on pronation is not backed up. This can be perplexing for clinicians with regards to just how much attention will they put on the overpronation with regards to the dealing with of a overuse injury or should they place more emphasis on the additional factors. For the running shoe stores might they continue to provide running shoes in accordance with the pronation model? It is still the most frequently used framework and runners find out about this within their running publications and they do count on it. Usually athletes tend not to care what the medical research demonstrates. They simply would like to get much better from their injury and so they just want a running shoe that can help them to exercise much better and is more comfortable. Much more investigation must be carried out about this plus much more training is needed on the principle.