Pronation Explained: What It Means for Your Feet and Walking Pattern
Key takeaways:
Pronation is how your feet move as you walk or run. With neutral pronation, your foot rolls inward to absorb shock with each step.
Too much pronation (overpronation) or too little pronation (supination) changes the way you walk. Both can increase your risk of injuries such as shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and iliotibial (IT) band syndrome.
At-home treatments –– like wearing orthotics or doing exercises and stretches –– can help improve your foot alignment and walking pattern.
Pronation is one of the movements your feet make with every step you take. When you pronate, your foot rolls inward to cushion the impact of hitting the ground. But overpronation or underpronation can change the way you move and increase your risk of injuries.
Learning the different types of pronation can tell you more about your movement patterns and find the best way to support your feet.
What are the types of pronation?
When your heel strikes the ground while you’re walking or running, your foot naturally pronates. Pronation occurs as your foot rolls inward a bit and your arch flattens slightly toward the ground. The extent to which your foot pronates affects your gait pattern, or the way you walk.
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People pronate to different degrees when they walk. This can result in neutral, overpronated, and underpronated (or supinated) walking patterns. Below, we discuss these three different gaits.
Neutral pronation
Imagine you’ve just lifted your foot to take a step forward. With neutral pronation, you distribute your weight evenly across your foot as it lands on the ground.
Here’s how it works:
You transfer your weight from your rear foot to your midfoot as your heel hits the ground.
Your arch lowers while your foot pronates, or rotates inward slightly, to help distribute your weight evenly across your foot. This neutral pronation helps absorb shock.
As you shift your weight to the forefoot, your arch rises into supination to push off from your toes and take another step.
Your pronation pattern affects your shoe choice. If you’re a runner, it’s also important to know when to replace them.
Targeted foot exercises can help with forefoot pain. Try these simple moves for Morton’s neuroma pain.
You may have heard of the benefits of walking barefoot. But is it worth the risks? It may not be for some people.
Neutral pronation keeps your legs properly aligned for fluid movement.
Overpronation
Overpronation means that your foot arch moves too far down or inward with each step. This is often seen in people with flat feet.
Overpronators land on the outside of their heel first and shift their weight inward instead of to the ball of their foot. This increases stress on your arch and big toe. It can lead to plantar fasciitis.
This walking pattern can also change the alignment of your entire leg. For example, your shinbone rotates inward when you overpronate. This increases your risk of issues like:
Causes
Overpronation sometimes results from genetics. Some people are born with flat feet or very low foot arches that cause the foot to overpronate. More often, overpronation is due to factors that change foot and ankle alignment, which include:
Having a larger body size
Tight calf muscles and Achilles tendon
Ankle stiffness and limited range of motion from an injury or arthritis
Weak foot muscles
Injury to the joints, ligaments, or muscles that support the foot arch
Supination or underpronation
Supination occurs naturally when you lift your heel to step forward. During this phase of your stride, your foot rolls outward slightly as you prepare to push off from your toes. But too much supination, or underpronation, happens when your foot doesn’t move inward enough when you land.
Instead, the foot and ankle roll outward, which increases stress on the outer foot and decreases shock absorption. Supination is often seen in people with high arches. This can make the ankle roll out, leading to sprains and conditions like:
Plantar fasciitis
Metatarsalgia
Stress fractures
Causes
Supination is primarily genetic. Some people are born with very high or rigid foot arches that cause the foot to supinate. Sometimes, excessive supination results from a foot deformity, like clubfoot, that people are born with. Less commonly, an injury to the foot, ankle, or leg may alter the way a person walks, leading to supination.
How do you treat overpronation and supination?
Overpronation or supination can hinder your mobility. Fortunately, there are at-home methods to support your feet and help keep them properly aligned. These techniques may also help treat or prevent injuries.
Wearing supportive shoes
Wearing supportive shoes is one of the most important things you can do for overpronation or underpronation. Motion-control shoes, which have stiff soles to limit the flattening of your arches, may help correct overpronation. Studies suggest that wearing this type of footwear may lower the risk of injuries in runners who overpronate, for example.
Other factors to consider when choosing for shoes for overpronation include a:
Firm midsole, that’s neither too flat nor too high, to support your arch
Stabilizing midfoot to help distribute impact evenly
Strong, supportive heel counter (the back part of the shoe above the heel) to help stabilize your foot and ankle
People with supination may need more flexible soles with cushioning to absorb shock and support higher arches. These shoes may also have extra padding on the outer side of the shoe to limit your foot from rolling outward.
Trying orthotics
Orthotics are shoe inserts –– like arch supports or gel insoles –– that help align your foot and ankle. They may help ease leg or foot pain and improve movement for overpronators and underpronators. You can buy orthotics over the counter or get them custom-made with a prescription.
Doing stretching and strengthening exercises
Stretching and strengthening exercises that target your legs, feet, and ankles can improve control over your foot movement, stability, and alignment. Doing so can improve overpronation and supination.
For overpronation, strengthen the foot muscles that support your arches. Examples include:
For supination, it helps to strengthen your lower leg, foot, and ankle muscles. Simple exercises include:
Calf raises
Single leg stands
Step-ups
Stretching is also useful for both overpronation and underpronation, as both walking patterns can cause or contribute to tight muscles. Focus on lengthening your calf muscles and the plantar fascia to relieve tension.
When should you talk to a healthcare professional about pronation?
There are several ways to find out if you overpronate or underpronate. For example, some experts suggest looking at your shoe wear patterns. To do this, flip over a pair of shoes to look for signs of wear and tear. If you overpronate, you might notice more damage along the inner edge of the heels. If you underpronate, you might see similar signs on the outer edges. But this isn’t an exact method.
For a more accurate assessment, talk to a trained professional. You should also visit a healthcare professional if you have an injury, ongoing foot or leg pain, or reduced mobility or function. They may refer you to a podiatrist, physical therapist, or other specialist to conduct a gait analysis. During this analysis, a specialist will examine your movement pattern, balance, and range of motion. They can also check for muscle imbalances, injuries, and other issues.
Depending on your needs, a podiatrist can help fit you for custom orthotics or recommend supportive shoes. And a physical therapist can guide you through corrective exercises. This may include a range of moves, especially if your gait is contributing to other issues.
Frequently asked questions
More people tend to overpronate. This is due to the fact that overpronation frequently results from factors that change the alignment of the foot. Many of these factors, such as tight or weak muscles and stiff joints, can be improved to help correct overpronation.
Increased body weight can worsen overpronation by placing more stress on your feet and ankles. This makes it harder for your muscles to stabilize these joints. If you have excess body weight, finding a comfortable weight may help decrease foot strain from overpronation.
If overpronation isn’t addressed, it tends to worsen over time. Overpronation gradually weakens the muscles and ligaments that support proper foot alignment. This can increase your risk of developing flat feet.
The bottom line
Pronation happens naturally when you walk. It’s a normal movement that guides your foot as it lands and stabilizes during impact with the ground. But too much or too little pronation can affect the alignment of your foot, ankle, and leg. And it may increase your risk of injuries.
Correcting your foot positioning with supportive footwear, orthotics, and targeted stretches and exercises can improve your gait. Talk to your primary care physician, podiatrist, or physical therapist if you’re concerned about your foot pronation.
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References
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Hornestam, J. F., et al. (2021). Foot pronation affects pelvic motion during the loading response phase of gait. Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy.
Malisoux, L., et al. (2016). Injury risk in runners using standard or motion control shoes: A randomised controlled trial with participant and assessor blinding. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Mei, Q., et al. (2019). Foot pronation contributes to altered lower extremity loading after long distance running. Frontiers in Physiology.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Overpronation.
MyHealthAlberta. (2023). Marble pickups.
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OrthoInfo. (2014). Walking and pronation.
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Pabón-Carrasco, M., et al. (2020). Randomized clinical trial: The effect of exercise of the intrinsic muscle on foot pronation. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
ScienceDirect. (n.d.). Supination.
Sulowska, I., et al. (2016). The influence of plantar short food muscle exercises on foot posture and fundamental movement patterns in long-distance runners, a non-randomized, non-blinded clinical trial. PLOS One.
The Ohio State University. (2017). What are the bottoms of your shoes telling you?
