It is bad to heel strike when running because the net impacts are so excessive that they actually cause structural damage to the lower back. It turns out that landing heel-first when running facilitates an unusually long over-stride which pushes the torso too far back, resulting in a brake force that the body and thick cushioned running shoes cannot absorb. The positional alterations in the lower back and pelvis during heel strike running, coupled with the pronounced brake loads were found to directly cause negative lumbar lordosis changes, resulting in lower back pain as compared with forefoot running, which was found to be better at sustainably safeguarding the lower back by automatically engaging a compact stride that includes a more forward leaning torso. Read more here!
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