Gait Analysis and Shoe Fit: Do They Prevent Injury?
By Dr. Hamid Sadri The Sport Factory A common question asked by our athletes is: “What type of shoe should I wear to avoid injuries?” In recent years, shoe manufacturing companies have gone to great lengths to produce highly-engineered, sport-specific shoes in order to improve performance and prevent sports-related injuries. The resulting shoe types vary in design from neutral to full-stability and include specifications for over-pronators, heel-strikers, forefoot runners, supinators, high arches, flat feet and so on. In turn, many running stores have started analyzing running styles and foot-strike patterns so they can more accurately fit the athlete with a shoe that matches their gait pattern. As a result, many injured athletes have gone to great lengths, spending time and money trying to find a shoe type that will help them avoid injuries. On the surface, if you are a so-called over-pronator, it makes sense to think that you should be wearing a shoe type referred to as a “stability”
