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.

Heel Strike Running Causes Toe Injury

Heel Strike Running Causes Toe Injury

26/01/2024 Bretta Riches 2

The mechanical components engaged by heel striking when running was found to increase bending moments beyond tolerance on the toes, while plantar pressure in the forefoot raised to pain-inducing levels. Another bad outcome from this was increases in dorsal bending moments and compression strains placed additional burdens on the foot, as compared with forefoot running, which showed a net-reduction in injurious foot loading.

Does Heel Striking Cause IT Band Pain? YES!

Does Heel Striking Cause IT Band Pain? YES!

24/01/2024 Bretta Riches 1

Heel strike running dramatically increases the risk of IT band pain by encouraging crossover foot steps. The mechanical consequence of crossover foot-steps when runnng is it causes the shin to bend too far inwards, resuling in more tractional and frictional forces on the IT band, while causing the IT band to compress the knee’s outer fat pad, causing it to become painfully inflamed. These mechanical risk factors were found to be corrected with forefoot running, which automatically alignes the shin more vertically at landing, which prevents an over-stride and crossover footsteps.

2 Major Ways Heel Strike Running Causes Major Injury

2 Major Ways Heel Strike Running Causes Major Injury

22/01/2024 Bretta Riches 0

There are two mechanical components of heel strike running that were consistently found to produce an array of impacts that reach a level of an injury of which thick cushioned running shoes were also found to provide no benefit for impact reduction. In order to get more positive results in running, heel striking must be avoided altogether, and a forefoot strike must be employed because its the only method proven to reliably reduce brake and loading time, while making the entire system more energy efficient.

How Can I Run Without Injuring My Knees?

How Can I Run Without Injuring My Knees?

20/01/2024 Bretta Riches 0

What can a runner do to protect their knees? Research shows that heel striking and wearing a knee brace are the two biggest contributors to chronic knee pain and injury! As it turns out, heel strike running or running with a knee brace pushes many aspects of your stride mechanics out of neutral range, resulting in excessive impact on the shin and knee! This is why a knee brace is an imperfect solution because it comes with a heavy burden, whereas forefoot running is seen as a net positive, promoting reliable impact protection and more controlled stride mechanics necessary to preventing knee injury.


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Do Running Shoes Help Prevent Injury? NO!

Do Running Shoes Help Prevent Injury? NO!

19/01/2024 Bretta Riches 0

Thick cushioned running shoes do not pay off for injury prevention for heel strike runners because pioneering studies have found the same basic conclusion in that thick cushioned running shoes reduces the burst in collisional impact by only 10%! if cushioned running shoes can’t reduce all the impact, how can they prevent all injuries? In order to ensure low impact running, you must avoid heel striking at all costs, and instead, adopt a forefoot strike because its the only running style that results in a contact with the ground that’s so brief that certain impact variables are either not fully produced, or produced at all!

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