Best Shoes for Supination

With built-in support, kuru shoes for supination will mold to your feet.

Updated on May 29, 2024

You’ve seen it before. That familiar loss of tread right along the outer edge of your shoes—pair after pair. The inner sole is nearly spotless while the outer edge is, well, struggling.

This tell-tale wear pattern could be a signal of leaning too far on the outer edge of your foot while walking—or supination. If left untreated, supination can cause a ripple effect of foot and body pain, including plantar fasciitis, ankle injury, hip and back pain, and shin splints.

Supination shoes can help neutralize your gait and establish a healthier stride over time. KURU footwear features our patented technology that helps alleviate the symptoms of supination and deliver heat-molded cushioning and support where you need it—whether you walk or run.

What is Supination?

In short, supination is an underpronated ankle. It occurs when an ankle rolls (or pronates) outward more than it should while walking, resulting in increased weight distribution on the outer edge of the foot.

While overpronation happens when the ankle rolls inward too much, underpronation—or supination—happens when the ankle rolls outward too much.

If you have supination, you might experience pain in your feet, ankles, knees, or hips due to the uneven weight distribution on your foot. To combat this, there are various exercises and stretches you can do to help correct your supination, including a toe extension and arch stretch. In the video below, we’ll demonstrate how to properly perform this stretch to improve your foot alignment and alleviate pain associated with supination.

  • Woman wearing KURU QUANTUM best shoes for supination.

Most Common Causes & Risk Factors

Poor biomechanics of the foot = poor biomechanics of the body.

On its own, supination might not seem very serious, but if left untreated, it can contribute to a host of foot problems, including an increased risk for ankle injury, shin splints, hip and back pain, plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, calluses and tailor bunions.

  • Naturally High Arches
  • Muscle Imbalance or Instability in the Ankle Joint
  • Improper Footwear
  • Genetic Predisposition

Symptoms & Diagnosis

As with any medical condition, it is always best to make an appointment with your doctor to get a formal assessment and diagnosis of supination.

That said, there are a few common symptoms people experience when suffering from supination that might help you know when it’s time to visit the doctor:

  • Uneven wear on the outer edge of your shoes
  • Achilles tendon, hip, back, or knee pain
  • Plantar fasciitis
  • Consistent ankle sprains
  • Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS) —or shin splints
  • Reduced ability for your foot to absorb shock

Your doctor will be able to provide the best pathway forward for treating your unique case. For a few tips on conservative treatments you can try at home, check out our Supination Treatment section below.

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Facts and Stats

  • Supination is most likely to occur in individuals with high arches.
  • A supinating foot will pronate outward at the ankle by about 45–60 degrees, while a neutral foot will pronate inward at the ankle at about 15 percent.
  • Supination can cause foot and body pain, including hip and back pain, ankle strain or instability, and shin splints.
  • Over-supinated feet can lead to plantar fasciitis in some people groups.

Treatment

Neutralizing your ankle’s pronation is key to reducing injury—and the right footwear and exercises can help you get there.

People who experience supination tend to have high arches rather than flat feet, which is why there typically isn’t a great need for flat foot supination shoes.

Instead, the best shoes for supination—women and men alike—feature high-quality arch support, flexibility, and shock-absorbing cushion to help create a supportive structure and promote an even weight distribution.

When you neutralize your foot’s degree of pronation through exercises and wearing good shoes for supination, you can experience a more even wear of your shoe’s tread and, more importantly, a reduced risk of injury.

Tips for Treating Supination:

• Practice rolling through the middle of your foot from heel to toe when walking rather than the outer edge.

• Practice exercises for supination to stretch and strengthen your muscles.

• Wear a high-quality walking or running shoe for supination that includes arch support and shock-absorbing cushion.

• Use podiatrist-recommended shoes for supination, which include footwear with adequate arch support, a wide toe box, and breathable mesh around the upper, just like many KURU shoes.

KURU Footwear offers some of the best shoes for supination and plantar fasciitis. Our three-part technology goes above and beyond traditional inserts to offer unparalleled support and comfort.

FAQs

  • How do I know if my feet are supinating?

    Though your doctor or podiatrist can give you an official diagnosis through a gait analysis, you can perform a couple simple at-home checks to start.

    First, look at already worn-in shoes. Footwear that has excessive wear on the outer edge of the sole, but less on the inside, can be a symptom of supination.

    Second, get your bare foot wet and step on a dry piece of paper—preferably one that can absorb a bit of water. Your foot likely supinates if you see only a thin line at the outer edge of your foot, or little to no imprint of the middle of your foot.

  • How do I know which shoe to buy for supination?

    The best shoes for supination—for men and women alike—offer adequate arch support and cushion. Whether you’re looking for running shoes, dress shoes, neutral shoes, or flip flops, KURUs line of over-supination shoes help alleviate supination symptoms (including plantar fasciitis!) for all-day pain relief.

  • How is the arch support of KURU shoes?

    KURU shoes deliver excellent arch support without the need for thick inserts or expensive, custom orthotics.

    Superior arch support starts with our patented KURUSOLE technology, which delivers natural cushioning and dynamically hugs your heel with every step. Every foot is unique, and our ULTIMATE INSOLES adapt to fit your needs by using your own body heat to custom-mold to the shape of your feet over time.

    The corrective nature of our superior arch support is designed to neutralize your weight distribution and place your foot in the best anatomical position. This support can take some getting used to. We suggest slowly breaking in your new shoes over the course of 2–3 weeks.

  • Can I use custom orthotics with KURU shoes?

    Due to the anatomical shape of the KURUSOLE, custom orthotics with a rounded heel fit best inside our shoes. If the underside of the custom orthotic (the part that sits on the footbed) is squared off, then it may not fit into our deep heel cup—which is rounded like your foot.

    That said, many of our customers tell us the KURUSOLE technology offers better support and stability than they expected, and that they don’t need to wear their custom orthotics with KURU shoes.

Three Layers of Support

At KURU, we pride ourselves on our unique approach to shoe design. We believe that shoes should be shaped to fit the natural contours of your feet, which is why we create every pair in three distinct support layers, not just an insole.

 

Our revolutionary ergonomic design starts with a curved footbed and adds unparalleled triple-layer support that includes shock-absorbing KURUCLOUD, heel-cupping KURUSOLE, and arch-supporting ULTIMATE INSOLES. The result? Shoes that are so comfortable you’ll stop thinking about your feet.

  • 1

    KURUSOLE

  • 2

    KURUCLOUD

  • 3

    ULTIMATE INSOLE

  • How KURU brings relief

    KURUSOLE

    Our patented KURUSOLE plate protects and stabilizes the heel and provides dynamic flexion with each step. This plate extends from the arch to wrap around the heel—but not under it—to support and leverage your heel’s natural cushioning system: the fat pad.

Our Secret

Animated GIF showing KURUSOLE tech in KURU shoes vs. typical flat interiors for plantar fasciitis pain.
Why Others Love KURU

Why Others Love KURU

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ratings.

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Comfortable and helps with my supination. Normally I have a difficult time finding shoes that fit and are comfortable, but I had no issues with my first KURU purchase. These greatly help with my supination, and I am already noticing a difference in my stance and posture. Not to mention they are comfortable. This has greatly helped me get back to exercising.

Katie S.

These shoes have changed my life. I have very difficult feet – actually a very difficult right foot. I supinate, which is walking on the outside of my right foot and I have extremely high arches. Before I stumbled on Kuru I was a desperate woman. Every shoe I wore hurt after a few hours. I spent hundreds on custom orthotics and store orthotics, nothing helped. I love to walk and I live in a city which requires a lot of walking. I was in constant pain. I somehow found this brand and it sounds cliche, but these shoes changed my life. There was no break-in period, they fit like a glove as soon as I put them on. And the longer I wear them, the more comfortable they get. They offer support in all the right places. I got rid of all of my other walking shoes and now just buy Kurus.”

Wendy G.

Super shoe. I underpronate/supinate. The Quantums provide significant support and stability enabling me to be pain free while wearing them. I also would welcome similar stability in a shoe with a less “athletic look”. Absolutely recommend.”

Rvchhi

Best shoes for wide high volume feet with supination problems. Finally a pair of shoes that fit my wide high volume feet. My feet are better aligned greatly reducing my supination (under pronation). They also reduce the pressure on the outside of my feet, and the pain associated with a injury (a commuted fracture at the base of the 5th metatarsal and torn peroneal tendons).”

Darrell

Wide feet/heel pain/supination. I ordered this shoe fully anticipating that I would have to return it since I wear a wide width. I read that the shoe had a wider toe box so I thought I’d give it a go since I could always return it. My feet roll outward and it can be challenging to find shoes that don’t correct for an inward rolling foot thereby pushing my foot back out again. My last issue was that I am on my feet all day long and would often have heel pain. I read about how the shoes would mold to your foot’s shape and about the heel technology and was really excited to see if it worked. When the shoes arrived I was pleasantly surprised that it felt pretty good as far as the width so I kept them. I was still skeptical about the heel pain being relieved. After wearing these for almost a month I really like the way they fit and feel. My heal pain is pretty much gone and my feet don’t roll outward in the shoes.”

anonymous

Great walking shoe! I’m a 300lb man and have wide feet. Finding a walking shoe that offers room and good arch and heel support is difficult. I found the right product with this Quantum fitness/walking shoe!! It’s comfortable and amazing heel support!! I have under-pronation/supination, and this shoe offers good support.”

Carlton W.

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Recommended Shoes For Supination

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