The importance of wearing the right shoes is indisputable. Especially for runners and other athletes. Shoes can either make your day or break your day. Problems like high arches, underpronation, overpronation and back pains, etc can be beaten by wearing the right shoes. This article is about supination and how to deal with it by wearing the designated shoes for them. In the end, you will also understand a few best brooks for supination.
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What is Supination?
When the doctors ask you to supinate your forearm and hand, you must place your hand and palm outward. In simple terms to make it easier to imagine, let’s picture holding a bowl of soup with both your hands where your thumbs of both your hands point outwards away from your body while the little fingers stay closer to your body. This is the supination of the forearm.
There is supination of the forearm and supination of the foot too. A supinated foot’s sole faces in towards the ankle of the opposite foot. The front of a supinated foot looks like this: the big toe would be angled in and the ankle angled out of the midline. Supination of the foot is also known as under pronation. It involves
Plantarflexion: The best example of plantar flexion is when you stand on the toes of your feet. It is the movement where the tip of your foot points away from your leg.
Adduction: the movement of a body part toward the body’s midline is Adduction. So, if a person has their arms stretched straight out at the shoulders and brings them down to their sides, close to the body, it is adduction.
For fingers or toes, adduction brings the fingers or toes toward the center of the hand or foot. For example, if a person has their fingers spread wide apart, closing them together would be adduction.
Inversion of the foot: refer to movements that tilt the sole towards the midline of the body. The movement of the sole towards the median plane is Inversion. For example, to make it clearer, inversion is the movement when the ankle is twisted.
A natural amount of supination is normal in a normal gait cycle and occurs during the push-off phase while the running gait as the heel lifts off the ground and the forefoot and toes propel the body forward. However, excessive or over supination (outward rolling) may put a large strain on the muscles and tendons which are responsible for stabilizing the ankle and can cause the ankle rolling completely over, which could result in an ankle sprain or total ligament rupture.
Are Brooks Shoes Good for Supination?
Brooks shoes are the best choice for running. They are designed with the superior most technology that aids running for supinated runners and even overpronated runners. These shoes are designed to give you the best fit and function while on a run.
The soft and secure fit with the help of the mesh upper practically feels like it disappears on your feet, it feels so light and breathable. The BioMoGo DNA and DNA loft provide cushioning underfoot that just gives you a luxurious feel to it, providing the right softness without really losing responsiveness and durability.
Things to Consider Before Buying Shoes for Supination
Support
Most shoe manufacturers categorize their running shoes into overpronation, neutral, and supination categories. What should be considered is looking for a running shoe that is labelled as supination, neutral-to-supination, or mid-to-high arches.
The category you pick is typically based on your arch size namely high, medium, low.
People with high arches should try a full-out supination shoe. A person with a medium arch can get away with a typical neutral running shoe.
Have both feet measured
When buying your new shoes have both feet measured to make sure you get the most appropriate size. Your feet are three dimensional. The length is only one part of a proper fitting, you should carefully measure your feet for width and depth as well to get a better fit.
Cushion
If anything at all has the power to wreak havoc on a runner’s lower legs, it is the shock they experience as being under pronated. This extra shock occurs when a runner with underpronation run on the outer section of your foot, they rely entirely on their ankle and a few toes to absorb most of the shock. And as you can imagine, this can easily cause injury to foot, ankle, and lower leg causing pain which if left untreated for long enough then that will result in further damage.
This is where the role of cushioning comes in. The more the cushioning in your running shoe, the more shock will it absorb. The extra shock absorption provides better relief to your feet, ankles, and legs. And the less the pain when you run, the better as you run.
So, if you supinate, make sure to find a shoe that has extra cushioning to make it comfortable for you. Ensure that there is extra cushioning in the midsole and along the outside of the shoe as well
Flexibility
What is most essential is finding a supination running shoes with extra cushion. However, what is even more important is finding flexibility too. A flexible shoe is important as it evenly distributes impact. This helps distribute the shock out to the whole foot instead of just the outer edges.
Reviews
It is important to do a little homework before you invest in a pair of shoes for feet with supination. Here comes the role of customer reviews. Read the reviews thoroughly to know about different experiences with the same problems. Read both the good reviews and the critical ones too
Best Brooks Shoes for Supination
Brooks Women’s Ghost 11
This pair comes in 12 unique colors to choose from. The size chart compliments feet with supination. This is a Manmade shoe made of rubber sole. The Brooks Ghost 11 running shoe is constructed in a lightweight manner and features a smoother ride from heel to toe so that you can take your performance to a different level on every run. The sock liner in the Brooks Ghost 11 is removable. The toe box is a not so spacey one and it keeps pushing against the toes. customers have also complained that the toe area slips around a lot inside the shoe. These shoes, however, provide nice cushioning for underpronators and also provide perfect arch support.
Pros
- It comes in 12 unique colors.
- This is manmade.
- The sock liner is removable.
- It provides nice cushioning for underpronators.
- Provide perfect arch support.
Cons
- The toe box is not enough spacey.
- The toe area slips around a lot inside the shoes.
Brooks Men’s Ghost 11
This pair comes in 17 unique color patterns to choose from. The Brooks Ghost 11 is the ultimate choice for most runners who supinate (underpronate). This running shoe has just about all that a supinating runner needs. It’s a super comfortable shoe. There’s good cushioning through its Brooks signature DNA LOFT and BioMoGoDNA technology. Being a bilateral cushion system, this shoe is made in such a way so that it absorbs shock without losing responsiveness.
It feels like one is running on a gymnastic spring floor instead of comfortable pillows. Pillows could be soft, but there’s no bounce back.
Also, this running shoe is very stable, and this shoe surely is designed for runners with medium to high arches. Wearers love it for its soft and secure fit that also adds to the quality of the shoe.
Pros:
- It provides Forefoot flexibility for ankle mobility and shock distribution and provides relief for underpronators.
- excellent breathability especially for hot days due to the vented upper mesh.
- Its crash pad generates a smooth and soft ride. This helps prevent most shock-related injuries like shin splints in runners.
- Superior cushioning technology provides relief for high arches.
Cons:
- Some of the users like the Ghost 10’s over the 11’s.
Brooks Women’s Glycerin 16 Road Running Shoe
If you tend to underpronate and have medium-to-high arches, but you like to run on the road, then you must definitely try considering giving the Brooks Glycerin 16’s a try. Unlike other shoes, this shoe provides a “luxurious feeling underfoot” which itself is a selling factor. And even with “luxurious” comfort, it maintains its responsiveness.
Most of the comfort comes from the DNA Loft transition zone of the shoe. That is Brooks’ branded signature technology. Brooks incorporates what they call an “IDEAL pressure zone” and that is what is most unique about this shoe. This itself is a game-changer.
Now what does IDEAL pressure zone mean? The unbalanced pressure builds up in one spot leaves your feet after a run with red spots. What the IDEAL pressure zones do is disperse impact away from your body and distributes it. This provides a much more balanced and smoother run with less painful red spots! This running shoe provides excellent breathability and amazing flexibility.
Pros:
- Plush fit provides a super snug run yet maintaining expansion and contraction when needed for superior flexibility.
- The top cushion level (level 3) of Brook’s shoes provides excellent shock absorption.
Cons:
- It is not a “speed shoe.”
- It might be on the smaller side for some. It seems that those who have narrow feet like them the most.
Final Verdict
It is important to choose the right shoes for your particular condition. The right shoe breaks in with time and feels tailor-made for you. All you need is a little homework before buying one. Rest is all about taking proper care of your shoes and your feet.