Oversupination
The symptom of Oversupination is typically a high rigid arch. Oversupination of the feet is a relatively uncommon misalignment.
Supination is a natural movement that occurs when an ankle rolls outward while the soles of the feet roll inward toward the body’s midline. Many people believe that oversupination is preferable to pronation, which is a much more common foot misalignment. However, all types of misalignment have repercussions, the most critical being catastrophic failures such as stress fractures and, to a lesser extent, tissue strain through distorted weight bearing body parts.
Symptoms 
Causes 
Solutions
Dr. Sam Dubé discusses oversupination
Learn about the symptoms, causes, and benefits of different treatment options.
What causes oversupination?
Oversupination occurs when there is a dominance of the muscles that invert the foot—especially, the tibialis anterior.
The side-to-side mobility of the feet and ankles is controlled by invertor muscles that cause the soles of the feet to face inward towards the body’s midline and evertor muscles that cause the soles of the feet to face outward. These muscles pull against each other.
In most instances, the evertor muscles have been conditioned to be inactive and are unable to balance the foot alignment against their antagonists, the invertor muscles.
In this case, the body is unable to create and maintain an ideal dynamic arch system.
Historically, oversupination has been thought to be hereditary. However, modern science has identified that the nervous system plays a critical role in stabilizing the feet and ankles when walking or running. It is now understood that oversupination is a symptom of inefficient neuromuscular function caused by conventional footwear use. In fact, conventional footwear use causes poor neuromuscular function throughout the feet, legs, hips, and back, when:
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the soles of the feet don’t receive the subtle, varied stimulus that the nervous system requires for healthy function, and
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snug toe boxes, stiff midsoles/outsoles/uppers and tight lacing restrict healthy foot movement.
To learn more about how your shoes may be causing your foot, leg, hip, and back pain, click HERE.
Solutions
The best way to prevent and treat oversupination is to retrain optimal neuromuscular function and to use footwear that is soft, flexible, and roomier in the forefoot.
Conventional treatment methods for oversupination
Since the late 1890s, the standard treatment for oversupination has been to artificially support the arches with an orthotic. Other conventional treatment options include:
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Heel wedges
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Foot/shin taping
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Therapeutic exercise
Modern science has transitioned away from using long-term support and cushioning on any body part because it causes a progressive weakening of the body part being supported or cushioned.
The modern approach to treating oversupination
Science has shown that merely challenging the body to “do its job” is the best way to restore and enhance function.
The modern approach to address poor neuromuscular function is to employ a “Proper Technique” rehabilitative therapy to regain healthy function. This approach is extensively used pre- and post-surgery and is also the foundation of virtually all sports training/rehabilitation programs. By employing a therapeutic approach, the feet become stronger and more stable, thereby addressing the cause of the oversupination. Proper Technique therapies employ exercise that focuses on safely training healthy neuromuscular function, i.e., optimal mobility, muscle strength, stability, and alignment.
Proper Technique therapies require both Right Stimulus and Right Movement.
Right Stimulus occurs when the information that the brain receives from the senses triggers an efficient protective reflex function or Right Movement. The nerve endings in the soles of the feet play a critical role in providing the brain with the information required for optimal Right Movement throughout the feet, legs, hips, and back. When the brain receives insufficient or inaccurate information from the soles of the feet, the protective reflex function Right Movement will be ineffective or absent altogether. This is what happens when conventional footwear is worn. For more information on Right Stimulus and Right Movement, click HERE.
To therapeutically address the cause of oversupination and to prevent it from reoccurring, do the following:
- Walk barefoot on natural terrain as much as possible. This provides the optimal Right Stimulus and allows for the Right Movement required for healthy neuromuscular function.
- Use Biopods® Stimsoles® Footwear or Insoles. Biopods Footwear provides the ultimate Proper Technique shoe environment. Biopods Insoles improve the stimulus in your conventional footwear. Use in loosely laced, soft, flexible footwear with ample toe room that allows your arches and toes to rise easily for best results.
- Consult with your healthcare practitioner to ask about employing soft tissue mobilization therapies to address the fibrotic scar tissue that may have formed prior to using Biopods.
