Pronation in runners. Implications for injuries.

In spite of some significant progress in the understanding of the biomechanics of the ankle joint complex, especially the coupling mechanism between foot and leg, various mechanisms causing overuse injuries in the lower extremities are still poorly understood. Some increased pronation of the foot is often physiological, but excessive pronation is potentially harmful. Compensatory overpronation may occur for anatomical reasons. However, not only the amount of foot eversion, but also the way this eversion is transferred into tibial rotation may be crucial to the overloading stress on the knee. In other words, the individual transfer mechanism of foot eversion into internal tibial rotation may be of some predictable value for lower extremity overloading and related injuries. Further research is necessary to improve the functional understanding of anatomical and biomechanical abnormalities and their pathological value in predicting overuse injuries.