Running is one of the best exercises that can help in keeping our bodies fit and healthy. However, if you have bad knees running it will be hard for you to continue running since you can’t run appropriately when in pain. Understanding the science behind the knee pains that occurs in runners can help you know the appropriate running shoes can help greatly reduce the discomfort before and after running.
How to know if you have flat foot
The very first thing you should do before going ahead to purchase shoes for flat feet, is to ensure your feet are flat by doing a foot structure test. You can tell if you are flat footed by looking at your stability, being prone to injury or check if your shoes are wearing out in some parts. To perform foot structure test you need to wet your feet with a substantial amount of liquid and most preferably water. After wetting your feet you can then step onto a substance that can hold your footprints. If you see that your entire sole makes a mark on the substance. Then you should know you are having a flat foot. With that information you can now go ahead and purchase running shoes for flat foot. It’s important to know that wearing the wrong shoes for the wrong type of foot can cause knee pain and affect your running. Everyone has natural suspensions in their feet to absorb the impact of hitting the ground as you run. Knee pains occurs in runners when their feet over compensate for that impact which causes quadriceps and hamstrings to develop wrongly. In most cases, knee pains occur to people with flat feet or those with low arch since they are!
This one is simple to understand. Having flat means you lack arch in the bottom of your feet. The arch acts as a spring that pushes your feet outside as you step. In arch’s absence your foot rolls inward towards the menial side of the foot. This is called overpronation and causes knee pain associated with flat feet. When looking for shoe reviews and their technical specification, any indication of “added support” means you are headed to the right direction.
Denser material
Any running shoe for flat feet and knee pain should have denser material in the inner side of the shoe. Since overpronation comes as a result of your feet rolling inward, having a denser material that doesn’t have any give like the rest of the shoe sole in the inner side will correct that. As you shop for running shoes this is an awesome feature to look out for. You can easily tell if the running shoes have this feature by simply looking at the inside. The denser rubber will usually have different color from the rest of the sole. This is a very crucial component to prevent your feet from rolling and preventing knee pain before and after running.
Give in the heel
This also another great feature that best running shoes for flat feet and knee pain should have. The idea is having some space on the heel to allow your feet to roll inward like you are used to allowing your feet to move freely as you run. This should be accompanied by denser material in the inner part to allow your feet to complete the role properly centered on your toes.
Proper size
This is a very important feature. Running with a shoe that doesn’t fit you properly can be dangerous. You should always ensure that you get the right size for your running shoes for proper foot movement when running. With a running shoe that doesn’t fit properly you might suffer knee pain as a result of improper foot movement. Inappropriate running shoes for flat legs can cause instability at the flat area of your foot and on your knees. This condition can trigger accidental injuries at your knees as you run and once your stability is affected you might result to uncontrollable body movements. However, choosing a running shoe isn’t as easy as many think it is and so you should be keen. You can purchase a pair and see how it works for you. If you feel that you need extra features you can upgrade on your next pair.