Heel strike running is the most harmful style of running for the knees. This is because landing heel-first produces the chain of mechanics that directly causes irreversible damage to the knee’s ligaments, whereas forefoot running leads to the greatest improvements in runners knees symptoms and engages the knee in a more functional, practical and sustainable manner.
One reason heel striking causes shin splints is because landing heel-first prevents the ankles from absorbing impact by causing the ankle to be unusually stiff at heel strike. The ankle stiffness was found to amplify the ground reaction force on the shins as compared with forefoot running.
The specific impacts and physical stressors in heel strike running are the single biggest contributors to most injuries, especially severe injuries as compared to forefoot running, which is well on record for preventing all the injuries caused by heel strike running.
Running shoes with a large cushioned heel was found to be a source of injury by signfiicantly increasing heel bone stress as compared with flatter running shoes.
Cushioned running shoes, even wearing heel inserts, results in a larger heel-to-toe offset which was found to encourage force-intensive mechanics straining to the Achilles tendon as compared with minimalist running shoes or running barefoot.
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