Feet are the foundations of the body and whether you’re a weekend warrior pounding the pavement or an elite athlete on track, the right footwear can make a big difference to your training, performance and recovery. The right footwear assists proper foot biomechanics, which is also critical in injury prevention, particularly when it comes to the lower limbs and back. In this article we bring you some top tips from leading sports medicine expert, Dr George Janko, Director of McKinnon Sports Medicine centre in Melbourne. Minimise pronation Pronation is the term given to the slight rolling in of the forefoot as your foot strikes the ground. Excessive pronation, which occurs in over 50% of the population, leads to outside heel strike and an over roll of the forefoot. According to Dr Janko, “A significant number of injuries such as achilles tendonitis, shin splints and calf tears are caused by excessive pronation.”
Unfortunately, pronation is also responsible for tight calf muscles (especially the medial gastrocnemius – one of the long calf muscles) and the tighter your calf muscles are the more you will pronate. According to Dr Janko, “It’s one of those vicious circles which continues and continues until it is broken.” Go for:
“Elastic laces are not the best choice when it comes to preserving foot stability. I recommend that for all but those with the most stable foot, use elastic laces for competitions only. Replace your laces with normal non-stretch laces at all other times.”
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