6 Tips for Managing Pronation and Supination in Pickleball Shoes
Pronation and supination are the most important natural movements in a pickleball game. By making these moves properly, you can significantly reduce the chances of having knee, ankle, or foot injuries. However, when beginners buy new pickleball shoes, they don’t know how to manage these moments while playing on the court. In actuality, managing pronation and supination in pickleball shoes is a real deal.
Therefore, novice pickleball players must know about managing pronation and supination with pickleball shoes. So, This is how you manage them:
Managing pronation and supination with pickleball shoes involves choosing footwear with proper arch support, cushioning, and lateral stability tailored to your foot type. Consider custom orthotics, opt for breathable materials, and ensure a comfortable fit to enhance performance and prevent injuries. If you want to learn more about this topic, read the whole article.
What is Pronation and Supination in Pickleball?
You should be aware of the pronation and supination in a pickleball game. Let me tell you about each.
Pronation in Pickleball
Pronation is a natural movement when players rotate their wrist and forearm during plays like serves, volleys, tennis and overheads. When serving pickleball, players often use pronation to generate topspin or slice on the ball. Proper pronation can have a big impact on the ball’s speed, direction, and spin. The wrist and forearm can be pronated to create spins, so opponents can’t predict the ball’s trajectory.
Pronation is not limited to serving; it is crucial in other shots, like volleys and smashes. Mastering the proper pronation technique can enhance a player’s overall game and give them better control and accuracy during matches. Players often work with coaches to refine their technique and ensure they use proper pronation to optimize their shots in pickleball.
Supination in Pickleball
Pickleball supination is the opposite of pronation. While pronation involves the rotation of the forearm and wrist inward, supination involves the rotation outward or upward. The slice serve is a pickleball shot that uses supination. It allows players to create different spins on the ball, making it hard for their opponents to predict where it will go.
Now you know what each of them is. It’s worth noting that you can manage these two movements with your shoes if they’re designed for these movements. However, what’s the importance of managing these movements? Let’s talk about that now.
Why is it Important to Manage Pronation and Supination in Pickleball?
Managing Pronation and supination in pickleball reduces the chances of knee, ankle or foot injuries. I’ve outlined everything below that makes it so important to manage these movements to help you better understand their importance.
Injury Prevention
If pronation and supination aren’t managed properly with the Pickleball shoes, they can lead to many different foot and ankle injuries. Therefore, it’s crucial to get shoes that are designed to manage these two natural movements, as you’d never want to get injured while in the middle of the match.
Stability and Balance
When the pronation and supination are managed, they give you great stability and balance on the court. When you get these two things, you don’t fall on the ground and get a good grip while making lateral movements, which is an important part of the game.
Comfort
When playing a pickleball game, the more comfort you have during the game, the better. If you’re not comfortable during the game, you’ll not be able to score so well. When your shoes are designed to manage those two natural movements accurately, then you’ll be playing the game without any worries.
Enhanced Performance
It’s needless to tell you that when Pronation and supination are in control, the player’s performance will dramatically enhance. Because the players will be light-minded, they’ll have good balance and stability on the court, giving them confidence in scoring well.
Prevention of Overuse Injuries
Overpronation and oversupination can contribute to overuse injuries, such as tendonitis. Properly designed shoes help distribute the impact forces evenly across the foot, reducing the strain on specific areas and minimizing the risk of overuse injuries.
Customization
Some pickleball shoes have features like removable insoles or compatibility with custom orthotics. These options allow players to customise their footwear further, addressing individual pronation or supination issues and ensuring a personalised and supportive fit.
Long-Term Foot Health
Wearing shoes that manage pronation and supination improves foot health in the long run. By providing the necessary support and alignment, these shoes contribute to the overall well-being of the feet, reducing the likelihood of chronic foot problems later in life. This is why it’s important to manage the pronation and supination with pickleball shoes. However, how do you manage these moves with the pickleball shoes?
Best ways to manage Pronation and Supination in Pickleball Shoes
After knowing the importance of managing pronation and supination with pickleball shoes, you’d want to learn how to do that. You can manage these two natural movements with pickleball shoes by following these steps. Make sure you follow these steps to avoid getting hurt.
Understand Your Foot Type
Knowing your foot type is the first step to managing pronation and supination. Check with a podiatrist or shoe store to find out if you have a neutral foot arch, pronated foot arch, or supinated foot arch. It’s a great way to determine what support your feet need.
Choose Shoes with Proper Arch Support
If you’re someone who does overpronation, then you need to have a shoe that has proper arch support. To ensure that the shoes that you’re getting have enough arch support, you can see their labels. Usually, the shoes designed with the arch support are labelled “stability” or “motion control. ” You can go for either of the labels. Adequate arch support prevents excessive inward rolling of the feet.
Seek Cushioning and Shock Absorption
It’s a constant game of movement and quick directional changes. That’s why you need shoes that have good cushioning and shock absorption. You’ll feel better during intense gameplay thanks to a well-cushioned midsole, which reduces the impact on your feet and joints.
Consider Custom Orthotics
You should consider custom orthotic insoles if you have severe pronation or supination issues. Many pickleball shoes come with removable insoles, which you can replace with custom orthotics for personalised support and alignment.
Look for Lateral Support
The pickleball game is all about making quick lateral moves. Therefore, wear shoes with supportive uppers and reinforced sidewalls, which prevent unnecessary rolling and enhance overall stability.
Opt for Breathable and Lightweight Materials
The last thing you should consider in your pickleball shoes besides the Pronation and supination support is breathability and lightweight. When your shoes are breathable, the airflow and heat will easily pass through them, preventing you from having any blisters or irritation.
Lightweight shoes are easy and don’t put much pressure on the feet. So, look for these two qualities in your shoes. With these tips, you can easily manage pronation and supination with pickleball shoes.
Final Words
Managing pronation and supination with pickleball shoes is important to avoid knee, ankle or foot injuries. Also, when these two things are unmanaged, you don’t get enough stability, agility and balance on the court, which affects your performance negatively. I’ve mentioned the steps for maintaining the natural movements, which are pronation with the Pickleball shoes. So, follow them and be safe while being on the court.
