Forefoot running is the most important step in preventing plantar fasciitis because landing forefoot-first was found to prevent strain and instantaneous rates of loading from rising to pain-inducing levels on the plantar fascia as compared with heel strike running, which was found to produce the mechanics that makes it possible to keep fueling plantar fasciitis.
Even at slower running speeds, heel striking was found to increase cumulative loads and average loading rates beyond pain and injury predisposing levels on the knee-joint as compared with forefoot running, which was found to be most clinically effective at reducing net impacts to the knee.
Heel strike running was found to be incredibly damaging to the knees. In fact, heel strike running was found to change the cartilage structure in the knee joint, and these changes relate to osteoarthritic knees across time as compared with forefoot running, which was found to be a literal cure for knee pain and injury.
Because it offers a more natural connection with the ground, running in barefoot shoes does a better job at improving the coordination of a proper forefoot strike, while discouraging a high impact heel strike. However, always make sure you never heel strike when you run, not just in a barefoot shoe, but even in a cushioned shoes as this landing pattern increases the risk of a boney fracture in the foot.
Contrary to popular belief that the thicker the cushioning of your running shoe, the less chance you have of getting injured, pioneering studies have discovered the standard running shoe with a large cushioned heel was an inadequate shock absorbent, reducing impact by only 10% in a heel strike landing. However, not all cushioned running shoes causes injury, only running shoes with more padding under the heel relative to the front of the shoe was found to push the heel too far in front of the hips at landing, causing a heel strike that is tied to a burst of collisional impact implicated in severe injuries, like long bone fractrure, knee ligament problems and even lower back disc degeneration as compared with zero-drop running shoes (running shoes with equal padding under the heel and the toe-box).
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