Long-term reliance on running shoes with excessive underfoot cushioning was found to reduce nerve supply in the feet, which contributes to frail, functionally weak feet as well as poor balance as compared with barefoot-inspired shoes, which were found to improve nerve communication efficiency. This in turn lead to greater muscle tone which promotes stronger muscles and soft tissues 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).
Running in barefoot sandals was found to do a better job at promoting foot health, especially strengthening the foot’s arch, while preventing a force-intensive heel strike and over-striding during, and instead, facilitated a low-impact, more stable forefoot strike landing.
One of the best strategies to avoid heel strike when running is to wear minimalist running shoes. This is because the flat, fully flexible and thin sole helps you feel the ground more clearly, while aligning the foot in a better postion of which taken together helps you mobilize a more targeted forefoot strike that generates less braking with no burst in high collisional impact.
Contrary to popular belief, more cushioning, especially under the heel, in a running shoe was alarmingly found to increase joint loading on the hips, knees and ankles to the degree of enabling arthritic conditions to potentially develop as compared to runners who run barefoot or in barefoot-type footwear.
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