What do these results imply? Not much, until we look at one more finding. Of seven studies that investigated sagittal plane motion at the ankle (I.e. Adidas ZX 700 Femme dorsiflexion and plantarflexion, or pointing the front of the foot up and down in side view), all agreed that barefoot runners strike the ground Adidas Superstar Donne with a significantly more plantarflexed foot (front of foot angled more downward).1-3,5-7,10 Even in studies that required subjects to be heel strikers, subjects struck the ground significantly more plantarflexed. Furthermore, the longer the accommodation period to barefoot running, the more the runners plantarflexed at contact. In other words, with more time running barefoot, runners are more likely to land with a midfoot or forefoot strike. This is most evident when subjects are “habitually barefoot runners,” meaning they’ve run barefoot or in minimal Adidas Superstar Femme shoes for at least six months, but the trend is evident after just 4 minutes on a treadmill in runners who never train barefoot. Nike Air Max 90 Mujer Avoiding a heel strike is clearly an adaptation mechanism when the foot has minimal cushioning available.We know that barefoot/minimal running is Nike Air VaporMax Dam associated with a significantly more plantarflexed foot at contact. We also see data suggesting reduced pronation when runners shift toward a forefoot strike. We concluded that a forefoot strike may therefore reduce rearfoot pronation. Why might this be?In a forefoot strike, impact forces are attenuated through a combination of rotational motion at the ankle joint and energy storage in the elastic Achilles tendon. Some pronation occurs, slowed primarily by the tibialis posterior muscle (the primary inverter of the foot and supporter of the arch). In a Adidas Gazelle Mujer rearfoot strike, the ability to dissipate energy through ankle joint rotation and store potential energy in the Achilles tendon is dramatically Nike Air Max 270 Mujer reduced. Motion that would occur at the ankle joint occurs elsewhere: the subtalar joint (the joint in the rearfoot between the talus and the calcaneus that allows one to invert and evert the foot). Instead of sagittal plane motion at the ankle, the subtalar joint pronates excessively in the frontal plane, and it pronates very rapidly. In other words, heel striking may cause excessive pronation because impact forces cannot be transmitted through a mobile ankle to the gastroc-soleus complex (calves). Rather, the body dissipates impact forces at a different joint in a different plane of motion.We reviewed many other facets of barefoot running, such as knee joint motion, shear forces, plantar Nike Air Max 270 Femme pressures, and more. The idea that a forefoot strike in a minimally cushioned shoe without pronation control could actually reduce excessive javierrodriguez.es pronation, however, was particularly interesting to me. I hope readers of this blog will think the same.I’ve got feet like pancakes thus tend to “overpronate”. I’ve always thought the only way I could run was with tank-like shoes and heavy orthotics, and honestly thought only people with perfect feet could, or should go barefoot or minimal.Last fall I started making the move toward the minimal end, to where I’m in NB101s with very light insoles, and consider myself a pretty good mid-foot runner. I’m faster, my shin-splints and ITB have gone away, and I honestly have more fun running. But I’ve been hesitant to go any further. So I’m glad to see someone take a scientific approach to this, Nike Air Max 90 Femme Rose and show that perhaps my issues weren’t just something I was born with and would have to deal with, but something I could take control of.It’s Nike Air Max Classic BW Femme important to note that Nigg is contradicting quite a few other studies (I have 11 sitting in front of me) with the paper cited here when he writes that pronation is not shown to be directly related to overuse injuries. Pronation, of course, is a natural, necessary motion. Too little pronation is associated with a certain set of pathologies, and too much is associated with a different set. When we say that pronation per se is not associated with injuries that may be true. Pronation beyond a normal range is associated with overuse injuries.