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.
Emerging research raises new questions and concerns about the efficacy of orthotics as findings show that runners actually suffer under wearing orthotics. Orthotics were found to do nothing to reduce foot strain or impact, and failed to keep the foot steady. Instead, orthotics were found to force the feet into extreme positions, especially in heel strike runners, which over-strained the plantar fascia and arch, The good news is however, changing your foot strike from heel strike to forefoot strike is the best, sustainable solution in maintaining foot step stability and low impact production!
Unlike cushioned running shoes which were consistently found to cause more rigid heel strike landings and inappropriate joint loading, especially at the knee, the sensory input when you run barefoot translates into more fast-changing improvements, allowing you to use your leg swing and forefoot strike mechanics as functionally and safely as possible, while helping the feet build more strength and resilience against tough training. This is why barefoot running should be done in the first instance because the ground-feel is the only way to enhance the motor commands for low impact running.
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).
Minimalist running shoes are intended for landing with a forefoot strike, not a heel strike, because forefoot striking, whether in conventional cushioned shoes or barefoot-inspired minimalist shoes does significantly more to reduce injury to the knee, shins, hips and lower back by breaking the flow of high impacts and driving better footstep stability.
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