Not all running shoes are bad, just the shoes with heavy, excessive cushioning, especially more cushioning under the heel than the front of the shoe (shown below) because they cause the foot to intensively wrestle with the ground for an unusually prolong amount of time as compared with minimalist running shoes and running barefoot.
A study by McCallion et al., in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, examined the effects of thickly cushioned running shoes, minimalist running shoes and barefoot running on ground contact-time in competitive runners.
The researchers found that thick cushioned running shoes were too heavy to maintain good running economy, while causing the foot to grapple with the ground for too long.
In their study, ground contact-time was greater in the thickly cushioned running shoe than in minimalist footwear, which was greater than barefoot running.
- Previous studies looked at the effects of long ground contact time in runners and reported that longer ground contact time increases force production, loading and torque on the lower leg, and is therefore considered a major risk factor for injury.
- Other work has shown a strong relationship between the mass of a shoe and greater oxygen consumption, whereby the heavier the shoe, the more oxygen required, which is consequential to running economy.
The reason minimalist and barefoot running automatically engaged a shorter ground-contact time is by allowing you to feel the ground with your feet more fully, whereby increases in ground-feel translates into improvements in stride length (i.e. reduces stride length), cadence (i.e. higher cadence) and foot strike pattern, helping you avoid a force-intensive heel strike and instead land with a forefoot strike, all of which are the necessary corrections that lead to lighter, softer, quicker foot-steps tied to less net impact.
This is why many injured runners are looking to barefoot and minimalist running for its fast-changing effects on improving stride parameters (ground contact time being one) and is one of the most reliable, sustainable sources of injury prevention.
Lastly, ground-contact time is not the only stride parament improved with barefoot and minimalist running. These running conditions also protect your knees from osteoarthritis, improves the shape and functional strength of your foot, while making your forefoot strike more effective when you run and your balance unshakable. Read more here!
References:
McCallion et al., Acute differences in foot strike and spatiotemporal variables for shod, barefoot or minimalist male runners. J Sports Sci Med, 2014; 2(13).
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