Is Heel Strike Running Bad?

Heel strike running is bad because multiple lines of research over the last few decades have proved the many verifiable aspects of heel strike running that are primarily responsible for nearly all running injuries vs forefoot running.

Why Are My Feet Tired After Running?

Why Are My Feet Tired After Running?

04/04/2024 Bretta Riches 0

One of the main causes of tired feet after running is foot strike pattern. It turns out, how you land on your foot when you run has big implications for your foot’s energetics, whereby heel strike running was found to cause more rigid, high impact landings, while the line of travel of the foot when interacting on the ground was found to undergo a more harmful line of trajectory, tied to more over-pronation (i.e. the heel is forced into extreme positions) as compared with forefoot running, which was found to make more efficient, yet passive use of the foot. All in all, heel strike running causes the foot to grapple too much with the ground, which was found to be both inefficient and ineffective from an economical and injury preventative standpoint.

Knee Overuse Injury

Why Heel Strike Running Destroys Your Knees, Despite Wearing Thick Cushioned Running Shoes and a Knee Brace!

24/03/2024 Bretta Riches 1

Unlike forefoot running, the knee is most severely impacted in heel strike running because landing heel-first was found to cause the knee to automatically lock at landing, which not only contributed to an over-extended stride tied to longer, more intensive braking, it also caused the leg to lose its shock absorbing capability, resulting in greater-than-normal all-around impact levels.

Heel Strike Running is Bad For Your Foot's Arch vs Forefoot Running

Heel Strike Running is Bad For Your Foot’s Arch vs Forefoot Running

12/02/2024 Bretta Riches 0

The hard impact from heel striking was found to overload the arch, resulting in forces acting on the arch that are stronger than the forces acting on the arch in forefoot running. At the same time, the burst in high impact that always occurs at heel strike forces the foot into extreme positions (hyper-pronation), resulting in more bending and twisting strain rippling onto the leg and into the knee! What’s worse, there’s little indication that shoe cushioning is a quick fix for this. The best course of action is to adopt a forefoot strike landing because it was also proven to make it easier for the arch to store more energy-saving elastic power, which is what the arch was designed for.


Heel Strike vs Forefoot Strike Running: Which One’s More Injurious?

Heel Strike vs Forefoot Strike Running: Which One’s More Injurious?

09/02/2024 Bretta Riches 0

Over the last decade, study after study has found heel strike runners are 2.6 times more likely to have mild injuries, 2.4 times more likely to have moderate injuries and have an overall injury rate nearly 2 times higher than forefoot strike runners. The big reason heel strike runners have higher levels of injury is because all-around impact levels are often much more in heel strike running than forefoot running, and running shoes, despite thick cushioning, actually amplifies the already higher-than-normal impacts of heel strike running.

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