What Is Supination of the Foot?
Supination of the foot occurs when your weight is on the outer edges of your feet. In a normal gait, your foot should roll inward slightly (pronate) so that your weight transfers through the ball of your foot and then pushes off the big toe. If you supinate, most of your weight falls on the outside of your foot, and you don’t toe off through your big toe adequately.
This is sometimes referred to as walking on the outside of your foot or walking on the side of your foot, and it’s more common than people realise. If the mechanics of your foot are even slightly off, it can throw off the alignment of your entire body.
Excessive foot supination can lead to:
- Back and hip pain
- Stress on the knee
- Shin pain
- Ankle pain
- Plantar fasciitis
If you supinate, you’ll need to address the muscle weaknesses and footwear factors involved — usually through targeted exercises, supportive footwear and in many cases, custom orthotics.
What Causes Supination of the Foot?
Supination is often an inherited problem with the structure of your foot and usually runs in families. Supination may also be caused by weakness in certain muscles of your foot, ankle and leg or be the result of a neurological condition.
The lack of strength or stability that contributes to supination may be a result of:
- Improper shoes
- Misalignment of the body
- Prior injury to the foot that damaged tendons or muscles
- Ankle instability or a history of recurrent ankle sprains
- Naturally high-arched (cavus) foot structure
A person with an excessively supinated foot finds it difficult to adapt to uneven surfaces when walking. This means that the surrounding bones and muscles have to work differently to maintain posture and balance. Over time, this can lead to tension and overload on various parts of the lower limb, leading to injury.
Signs You May Be Supinating
- Wearing down the outer edge of your shoe soles faster than the inner edge
- Pain along the outer foot, ankle or shin during or after activity
- Recurrent ankle sprains or a feeling of ankle instability
- High arches that don’t flatten when bearing weight
- Tight calf muscles and limited ankle flexibility
- Unexplained hip or lower back pain linked to altered gait
Supination Treatment
If you suspect that you’re supinating when you walk or run, or you’re suffering from unexplained pain in the lower back, hip, shin, ankle, arch or heel, a gait analysis with one of our podiatrists can determine whether supination is the cause. Treatment depends on the severity of your case but is typically aimed at correcting the supination to prevent future injuries.
At Highett Podiatry, supination treatment may include:
- Gait analysis and biomechanical assessment — to confirm supination and understand how it’s affecting your lower limb mechanics
- Lightweight, cushioned footwear — shoes with extra cushioning and ample room in the toes
- Running shoes designed for supinators — typically found in the cushioning category rather than stability or motion-control ranges
- Custom orthotics — prescribed and fitted by your podiatrist; pre-fabricated orthotics or insoles are rarely appropriate for supinated foot types
- Strengthening exercises — targeted programs to build strength in the peroneal muscles and improve ankle stability
- Stretching program — to loosen tight calf muscles and Achilles tendons that contribute to supinated gait
- Soft tissue therapy — to address muscle tightness and overload patterns in the lower limb
Why Choose Highett Podiatry?
Supination is one of the most under-recognised biomechanical issues we see. It is frequently missed in patients presenting with recurrent ankle sprains, shin pain or unexplained lower-limb pain.
Our podiatrists use treadmill gait analysis with video technology to accurately identify supination patterns and build a treatment plan that addresses both the foot mechanics and the downstream effects on the knees, hips and back.
We offer appointments at our Highett and Mentone clinics. No referral required.