{"id":2549576,"date":"2020-11-05T16:12:45","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T23:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/?p=2549576"},"modified":"2022-01-19T09:03:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T16:03:58","slug":"moving-beyond-pronation-control-in-running-shoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/running\/gear\/road-shoes\/moving-beyond-pronation-control-in-running-shoes\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving Beyond Pronation Control in Running Shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Brooks Beast 20 came out in spring 2020, something was missing from the venerable shoe that has defined the ultimate in motion-control since 1992: it no longer had a medial post to reduce pronation. Brooks began eliminating posts from their stability line a couple of years ago, and now all Brooks\u2019 shoes are post-less except the “max support” Addiction<\/a>, and even its post will disappear in 2021. Whether you view this as a sign of the apocalypse or a harbinger of a new enlightened age, the departure, from a company known for motion control, marks a turning point in how we think about stability. Many say it is about time.<\/p>\n

Never a Control Issue<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Everyone in the industry agrees that the connection between motion and injury has been suspect for years. In his 2010 book,\u00a0Biomechanics of Sports Shoes,<\/em>\u00a0kinesiology professor Benno Nigg wrote, based on his studies over the previous decades, \u201cPronation is a natural movement of the foot and \u2018excessive pronation\u2019 is a very rare phenomenon. Shoe developers, shoe stores, and medical centers should not be too concerned about \u2018pronation\u2019 and \u2018overpronation.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe science has been around since well back into the \u201990s,\u201d says Spencer White, VP of Saucony\u2019s Human Performance & Innovation Lab. \u201cThere is no correlation between how much the foot moves and who is getting hurt. It doesn\u2019t matter how much you pronate, it matters whether your body can handle how much you pronate. It\u2019s not a motion thing, it is a stress on the body thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only is pronation rarely bad, but devices in shoes do a poor job of controlling it, even if we wanted to.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a motion control shoe, the foot is rotating very nicely on top of that platform \u2014 it\u2019s not doing anything,\u201d explains Simon Bartold, podiatrist, shoe consultant and blogger (@bartoldbiomecha).<\/p>\n

Physical therapist and author Jay Dicharry says, \u201cDo you really think an 8 to 13 ounce piece of material is going to stop or control or eliminate motion in a 180 to 200 pound skeleton? No.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"running<\/p>\n

Photo: Dustin Renwick<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What The Shoe Does Do<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This is the type of evidence and reasoning that led to the minimalist movement, and on this point, the minimalists weren\u2019t wrong. They also weren\u2019t wrong about shoes being a source of the problem. Experts agree that control features in a shoe are solving an issue created by the shoe itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there are shoes that make our body more stable, but there certainly are shoes that make our body less stable,\u201d says Geoffrey Gray, president of the Heeluxe biomechanics lab. \u201cThe closer we get a foot to the ground, in general the more stable it is going to be. But that\u2019s also going to exact a price on other features we like in a shoe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shoes primarily provide cushioning\u2014both impact reduction and spreading forces underfoot. But cushioning and distance from the ground creates instability. Some people have no problems with that instability, while others need or prefer additional structure underfoot to help counteract it.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, however, that even a structured shoe doesn\u2019t physically control motion. \u201cYour foot is an actively modulated spring. Your body controls what those bones do\u2014they are not controlled by a shoe,\u201d says Dicharry. \u201cWhat you\u2019re trying to do is find the right filter between you and the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shoe is providing a signal to the brain that enables the movement pattern,\u201d Bartold says. Nigg agrees: \u201cI think that the shoe is more a proprioceptive instrument than it is a mechanical instrument. It seems not to be the mechanical effect of the support, it seems to be the neuromotor effect that the supports provide.\u201d<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean stability devices are entirely about feel and could be replaced with a well-placed thorn in your sock (although that would clearly reduce motion). \u201cThe shoe is actually doing some physical work\u2014just not very much,\u201d says White. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t dramatically change how your body moves, but it does change how that force is distributed under your foot. The body is adapting because of how load is being applied under the foot.\u201d<\/p>\n

And changing the loading of the foot helps some runners, even if it isn\u2019t altering their motion path. \u201cJust because a shoe doesn\u2019t control the motion of a foot, doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t some runners who really need a shoe that does have some added level of stability built in,\u201d says White.<\/p>\n

Nigg admits that, even though we can\u2019t prove they prevent injury, stability shoes work better for some runners. \u201cSome people like to have support under the arch, and some people don\u2019t like that. And the group that likes support under the arch is not a small group,\u201d Nigg says. \u201cTo have a control shoe on the market is nothing bad, it just doesn\u2019t control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Podiatrist and professor of applied biomechanics Kevin Kirby agrees that science hasn\u2019t proven that dual-density midsoles work\u2014but also hasn\u2019t proved that they don\u2019t, and in clinical practice he\u2019s seen them help runners. \u201cAnything that limits medial midsole deformation, for some runners, is going to be very beneficial and comfortable,\u201d says Kirby. \u201cIt would be a mistake to totally eliminate some sort of stability or motion control shoes for those who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Altra<\/p>\n

The guide rails on Altra\u2019s Paradigm are an extension of the midsole, providing proprioceptive feedback only when the foot tires and begins to move excessively. Photo: Altra<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Why Change?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Regardless of why they work, if motion-control shoes with medial posts have helped runners, why should the industry change?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe potential benefit in the dual density midsole shoe is durability,” says Bartold. “But the penalty is weight, the penalty is lack of feedback, the penalty is ride\u2014there are so many different things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooks echoes these ideas explaining why their new technology is an improvement. \u201cMoving away from a bigger, blockier post, you\u2019re going to experience more of the cushioning you want underfoot,\u201d says Jon Teipen, Senior Global Footwear Product Line Manager at Brooks. \u201cAlso the shoe\u2019s going to be lighter, transition better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than a post, what you\u2019ll find in the new Beast and other Brooks stability shoes is called \u201cguiderails\u201d\u2014firmer material on top of the midsole running along the perimeter of the heel and midfoot. In addition to being lighter and smoother, the guiderail promises to be less prescriptive than a full post, thus it should work for a wider range of runners.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t go all the way down to the ground, so gives the shoe a little bit of play,\u201d says Teipen. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to be a firm block on the medial side of the shoe. The more you evert, the more the guiderail will push back on you.\u201d The rail also provides support on the lateral side of the heel, designed to reduce sideways rotation of the heel that puts strain on the knee.<\/p>\n

Many Roads to Stability<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Expanding the ways shoes provide stability is a welcome change. Bartold says, \u201cWhat Brooks has done with the guiderails seems like a far more sensible design feature than any form of dual density, because, in effect, it will give a total foot-cradling effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooks isn\u2019t the only company using such a system. Altra has had guiderails on their Paradigm since it\u2019s inception over six years ago, enhancing the stability inherent in their wider, foot-shaped and zero-drop geometry. \u201cThe Guiderails do not affect the foot when it is functioning correctly,\u201d says co-founder Golden Harper. \u201cHowever, when the foot starts to fatigue or collapse in too much, the foot hits the GuideRail which then causes a proprioceptive reaction to track straighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoka\u2019s shoes, dating from their first model in 2010, have also provided stability through a cradling geometry. \u201cWhen we sat the foot deeper down into the midsole and kept the platform wide enough, that seemed to create a more stable ride for a variety of runners,\u201d says Hoka Global Product Line Manager Zack Paris. \u201cThose sidewalls created the \u2018active foot frame,\u2019 and they\u2019re designed to act as rails to guide the foot, rather than push the foot outwards.\u201d The J-frame you find on Hoka\u2019s stability models simply reinforces this geometry cradling the heel and midfoot.<\/p>\n

Beyond guiderails, brands are starting to explore a wide variety of strategies to improve both the holistic stability of shoes and their ride. White and Grey talk about landing zones that don\u2019t increase the torque around the joints of the foot. Bartold mentions geometrical decoupling<\/a>. Dicharry discusses ground feel, last shape, plates, foams.<\/p>\n

\u201cStability is a function of so many features such as sole geometry, stack height, midsole hardness, outsole, upper materials and how they are structured\u2014not just medial posting,\u201d says Kurt Stockbridge footwear development vice president at Skechers Performance. \u201cEach of these levers can be pushed and pulled to make a great stability shoe without it having to look like what we typically picture today.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"HOKA<\/p>\n

The J-frame on Hoka\u2019s Arahi adds structure and durability to the foot-cradling geometry that stabilizes the ride in all Hokas. Photo: Hannah DeWitt<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Evolution Overcoming Inertia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The move away from a simplistic, single-solution idea of motion control shouldn\u2019t be a shock. \u201cThe community is taking a large gasp of surprise that Brooks has done this,\u201d says Bartold. \u201cI don\u2019t think we should be surprised; it is a natural progression based on the science of the day, that\u2019s where we\u2019re going.<\/p>\n

White says, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say there has been a giant revolution in our understanding as much as a steady evolution that has consistently shown that it\u2019s not a simple matter of measuring the motion of the heel to determine if you need some added stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

If anything, the surprise should be that the industry has been so slow to evolve. The knee-jerk reaction of minimalism and its backlash may have slowed progress in the public perception. But mostly, it comes down to inertia. \u201cWe\u2019ve got consumers who have had a positive experience, and any time we\u2019ve had a positive experience, we want to go back to that. It\u2019s a big step for that consumer to say I\u2019m going to derail myself from what I\u2019m used to,\u201d says Tom Garza, Product VP of Global Footwear at 361\u00b0.<\/p>\n

The simple solution has also been easy to sell. \u201cYou put a device in there, the perception is you\u2019re controlling something,\u201d says Garza. \u201cIt\u2019s the first thing the consumer identifies with support\u2014when you walk to the wall and turn that shoe around and see the medial grey matter, the consumer today has been educated enough to know, \u2018That is my support shoe.\u2019 That is the giant hurdle: perception is reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

If nothing else, the gradual elimination of the medial post should help the running industry move away from the view that stability equals reducing pronation. Perpetuating a one-dimensional sort for footwear has done a disservice to the running community.<\/p>\n

Moving away from assessing pronation to talking about forces and levers and load attenuation can be overwhelming. \u201cThe challenge is coming up with a simple way to communicate what is a very complicated set of physics and biology,\u201d says White. That is a challenge we can all embrace as we explore the increasingly complex\u2014and exciting\u2014array of workable options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s time we broadened our concept of running shoe stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124341,"featured_media":2549577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"uuid":"1590993fc18dfb29576ebb6cb0f40fde","footnotes":""},"categories":[5180],"tags":[3085],"byline":[1835],"ad_cat":[],"legacy-category":[],"class_list":["post-2549576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-shoes","tag-running-shoes","byline-jonathan-beverly"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Moving Beyond Pronation Control in Running Shoes","url":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/running\/gear\/road-shoes\/moving-beyond-pronation-control-in-running-shoes\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/running\/gear\/road-shoes\/moving-beyond-pronation-control-in-running-shoes\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/beast20.jpg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/beast20.jpg"},"articleSection":"Road Shoes","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"matt"}],"creator":["matt"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Online","logo":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/favicon-194x194-1.png"},"keywords":["running shoes"],"dateCreated":"2020-11-05T23:12:45Z","datePublished":"2020-11-05T23:12:45Z","dateModified":"2022-01-19T16:03:58Z"},"rendered":"