Is heel strike running bad? Here’s one reason why it may be. At heel strike, the knee is often unbent which creates an over-stride (landing with the feet too far in front of the hips) which in turn creates a large distance separation between initial foot strike position and the upper body, which is also the center of mass (COM). Why could this be injurious? This positional arrangement lengthens the time the COM spends behind initial foot strike position which causes the velocity pattern to change to a dead stop for a longer period of time of which more muscular effort may also be needed to accelerate the body forward as compared with forefoot strike running. Through this kind of continual braking at heel strike, the jerk force may be more pronounced which may put additional loading across the shins and knees. Read more here!
Bretta Riches
BSc Neurobiology; MSc Biomechanics candidate, ultra minimalist runner & founder of RunForefoot. I was a heel striker, always injured. I was inspired by the great Tirunesh Dibaba to try forefoot running. Now, I'm injury free. This is why I launched Run Forefoot, to advocate the health & performance benefits of forefoot running and to raise awareness on the dangers of heel striking, because the world needs to know.
Latest posts by Bretta Riches (see all)
- Does Foot Strike Really Matter in Running? YES! - 17/04/2024
- Heel Lifts Increase Injury in Runners - 16/04/2024
- Are Minimalist Shoes Good for Seniors? YES! - 14/04/2024