Over-pronation/leg muscle shape

[davef]

Can you tell by the shape of your leg muscles whether or not you are over-pronated?

I went to a sports med guy, who said, "yup, you are pronated and here are some orthotics to correct the situation". Well, first time out I found some new muscles on the insides of the calves and pain in the kneecap. Back to the sports med guy, who now said, " your kneecaps are NOT properly centralised and here are some stretching exercises". So after a month of doing the exercises I tried the inserts again. This time was much better, however after 2 or 3 sessions I took them out again.

What I have noticed is the muscles above the kneecap and to the inside of both legs and both calve muscles (on the inside of the leg) seem to be the ones that have grown the most over the last 6 months.

Any thoughts on pronation and it's effect on leg muscle shape?

Cheers

 

[byron27]

From my own experience, this stems from the position of your feet when riding. If your feet are straight you will have equal development. Ride with your toes pointing in, you will develop your inner leg muscles. Ride with your toes pointing out, and your outer muscles will develop more. Test it the next time you ride and see if you can tell if you are using different muscles. I used to always ride with my toes pointing out and developed problems in the the inner muscles above the knee. I saw a physio and they recommended turning my feet in and it has strengthened these muscles up considerably.

 

[-=KingFisher=-]

Can you tell by the shape of your leg muscles whether or not you are over-pronated?

I went to a sports med guy, who said, "yup, you are pronated and here are some orthotics to correct the situation". Well, first time out I found some new muscles on the insides of the calves and pain in the kneecap. Back to the sports med guy, who now said, " your kneecaps are NOT properly centralised and here are some stretching exercises". So after a month of doing the exercises I tried the inserts again. This time was much better, however after 2 or 3 sessions I took them out again.

What I have noticed is the muscles above the kneecap and to the inside of both legs and both calve muscles (on the inside of the leg) seem to be the ones that have grown the most over the last 6 months.

Any thoughts on pronation and it's effect on leg muscle shape?

Cheers

Well, from the better late than never department, I'm wondering if you've an update on how you are doing?

I've just become quite interested in the subject... some of my earlier posts talked about a challenge I had with the first metatarsal head in my big toe.

On a business trip to Boulder, Colorado I went to a running shoe store to have my foot strike videotaped and get a shoe recommendation from the top guy in the store who outfits many of the elite athletes in the area. In Toronto, because I have high arches I was told I'd need a neutral shoe to help with pronation! Well, the neutral shoe was causing me to over-pronate and injure my big toe as all of my weight rolled from the outside of my foot to the inside. Only after seeing my footstrike on video was I able to understand that I actually needed stability shoes.

Like yourself, I was also prescribed orthotics... but, personally I think the orthotics are meaningless if you have the wrong type of shoe.

Now, I'm getting interested in cycling shoes. Particularly, Specialized Body Geometry shoes that seem to help with pronation of the knees. I'm hoping to upgrade my Shimano to Specialized BG over the winter.

Let me know if you've learned anything on your end.

 

[davef]

Well, from the better late than never department, I'm wondering if you've an update on how you are doing?

Half-way through another racing season and I have been using the orthodtics the whole time. The inside part of each calf muscle is larger than the outside half of the calf.

Just noticed that if I drop a line from the centre of the kneecap down to the centre of the ankle that both shin bones are bowed outward. So it could be that the muscles are OK and I am just bow-legged