Taking a step to maintain your foot health and prevent pronation-related maladies from affecting your life can be as simple as choosing the right insoles.
Corrective medical devices are imperative aspects of everyday life for people around the world. Prescription glasses, for example, are worn by nearly 64% of adults in the United States. But foot health, specifically the common issue of overpronation, is often overlooked, both by shoe companies and end consumers. As a company dedicated to improving foot health and shoe comfort, that has never sat quite right with us, which is a huge part of the reason why we developed Contoura® insoles.
At INSITE, we believe that insoles are the cornerstone of shoe comfort and performance. Our Contoura insoles for overpronation are the culmination of years of intensive research and development that went far beyond the standard practices of footwear design and manufacturing. Forget run-of-the-mill die-cut footbeds; Contoura insoles are specially designed with insights from biomechanical testing, the podiatric field, and materials sciences to result in peak comfort, performance, and support for more consumers than ever before. In our fight for foot health, Contoura paves the way for correcting and preventing overpronation.
First things first, let’s cover the types of pronation people experience because it doesn’t just come in one form! Foot pronation refers to the natural movement of the foot and its components as a human walks. The heel joint hits the ground (or the inside of your shoe), turns inward, and absorbs the impact. Then, the foot slightly flattens as you push forward into the step and onto the next one. It is when feet become overpronated or underpronated that foot health issues arise.
Neutral or “normal” pronation is when the foot rolls inward by about 15%. Normal pronation helps distribute the forces of impact evenly throughout the foot and lower limb, allowing for efficient movement and adaptation to varying surfaces.
Overpronation occurs when the foot rolls inward excessively, beyond the normal range of about 15%. It is more prevalent among individuals with flat feet. Overpronation can lead to challenges in stabilizing the body, particularly the foot and ankle. The Contoura shape was developed specifically to address overpronation.
Underpronation, also known as supination, happens when the foot rolls inward less than the standard 15%. It is more common in individuals with higher arches.
Our bodies naturally adapt to small amounts of over or underpronation. But when the problem goes beyond what our bodies are willing to adapt to, heel, arch, and Achilles pain can occur. That’s why it’s imperative to take care of your foot health before that breaking point is reached and to support it however you can. Insoles for overpronation play a huge role in preventing the worsening of the condition or injuries. At INSITE, we’ve been perfecting the practice of crafting specialty insoles designed to address these very concerns.
When the INSITE team set out to develop our Contoura insoles, we knew we weren’t making a run-of-the-mill insole design. We wanted to do things differently, be effective, and make a real difference in the world of foot health and shoe comfort. So where do you start when you’re embarking on that kind of journey? By scrutinizing the scans of over 100,000 feet, of course.
120,000 3D foot scans and their corresponding orthotic prescriptions were collected from podiatrists to give us an extremely well-rounded view of the state of foot health and the most common shapes, pronation types, and pressure points of all different kinds of people. Using that data, we developed INSITE’s patented shape algorithm.
The INSITE shape algorithm integrates seven key foot measurements outlined in each prescription, alongside the foot scans, ensuring precise proportions and contours of the insole. Many in our industry assume that linear proportions should inform the insole shape and forget to account for the intricate complexities of the human foot. That’s why we employ a sizing algorithm that ensures our Contoura insoles for overpronation will be effective in any shoe size. As a result, INSITE Contoura is engineered to enhance comfort and fit for up to 85% of wearers, as per the findings of a standard deviation analysis.
When developing the Contoura insoles, creating a product that would address pronation was top of mind, but we kept comfort and overall performance at the forefront, too. Contoura was to be our solution to the common problem of overpronation, specifically the inward movement of the ankle and the subsequent flattening of the arch along the frontal plane, known as foot eversion. To address this concern, we designed the Contoura insoles to include a stabilizing heel cup and dynamic arch support.
Traditionally, the go-to remedy for overpronation has been the corrective arch support insole. However, just as our fingerprints are unique, so too is our cycle of movement. What may correct the shape for one individual could potentially harm another. The dynamic support provided by the INSITE Contoura shape accommodates the entire gait cycle, from heel to toe, working in harmony with what is known as “preferred movement” rather than constraining it. Preferred movement is a set of standards described in a 2017 biomechanics study that measured how running shoes influence joint movement. The conclusion was that most runners stay in a preferred movement path — regardless of their footwear.
Unlike standard insoles, personalized INSITE Contoura insoles for overpronation re meticulously crafted to fit the contours of the shoe’s midsole, allowing seamless interaction between the shoe and insole to optimize movement.
Last month we sat down with INSITE Biomechanics Research Lab Assistant Lily Bartel to discuss her research as she completes her master’s degree at Oregon State University and how it relates to her work with INSITE.
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