Different types of running shoes directly influence running form and impact production. In the research on impact mechanics, it’s more immediately apparent that running shoes with more cushioning under the heel than the front of the shoe is the worst type of running shoe as compared with more leveled cushioned running shoes, or even flat barefoot-like (minimalist shoes). Here was the confirmation:
Running shoes with excessive cushioning under the heel relative to the front of the shoe, a design known as a large heel-to-toe offset (shown below), was found to complicate your running form by altering your entire body posture and raising your center of mass too high, making you even more mechanically unstable.
In that light, here are 3 injurious risk factors directly caused by running shoes with a significant large heel-to-toe offset:
1. Impairs Entire Posture
Several investigations found heeled running shoes increased ankle dorsiflexion (heel is kept higher than the front of the foot), anterior pelvic tilt, trunk extension, and neck and shoulder posture were altered as well.
To compensate for this, greater neuromuscular strategies for the postural alterations are needed, and therefore, more energy is expended.
2. Alters Center of Mass
Another downfall to running in heeled running shoes is the vertical position of the center of mass (COM) becomes too elevated, resulting in greater gait instability. What does this mean?
The higher your COM from the ground when running impedes the energy-saving spring-effect of the leg, which requires more muscular output to compensate for the loss of elastic work from the lower leg. The problem with increases in muscular work when running is that its a type of energy that is more expensive than spring energy. (Read more here on that)
3. Heavier Foot Strike Intensity
Consistent with the research, thick under-heel cushioning causes a heavier foot strike with a greater downward force, and increases overall impact pressures on the foot. Over time, repetitive exposure to high foot pressure while running has deleterious effects on foot health such a causing a metatarsal stress fracture.
Why Minimalist and Barefoot Running is Best
A pivotal moment in the history of running research was the inception of minimalist shoes, which are barefoot-like shoes that are flat, wide and fully flexible.
The science is settled that barefoot shoes are the antidote for bad running form by improving overall posture. This is because minimalist shoes are flat with no extra padding under the heels, which helps you move away from landing too hard on your heels, and encourages you to land with a forefoot strike (landing on the balls of the foot, not high upon the toes), which lightens the load on the entire body, even the feet.
Minimalist shoes have been successfully used to improve running form, correcting a heel strike to a forefoot strike because the flat sole provides the perfect leverage to do so. Studies consistently point to the importance of avoiding heel strike, and instead, land with a forefoot strike because there’s less net forces acting across the foot and the entire body as forefoot striking automatically cuts down on the braking rate, while improving the shock absorbing characters of the foot and the leg. (Read more on that here!)
Running in minimalist shoes, especially with a forefoot strike, also gives you the energy to support as many miles as you want to go. This is because the zero-drop construction of a minimalist shoe lowers the COM, which increases energy-saving spring-compression in the lower leg, allowing greater storage and release of elastic energy. The economical value of this is it leads to less muscular energy to move the body forward through each step because the stride is more spring-enabled via enhanced energy-saving elastic energy storage of the Achilles and arch.
Minimalist shoes also improves muscle control since the COM during running is lower, reduces neuromuscular strategies as being closer to the ground allows for greater stability during running.
Minimalist shoes are significantly more flexible than most cushioned heeled running shoes of which shoe flexibility is absolutely critical and essential for maintaining intrinsic foot strength and improving load redistribution to the toes. The importance of this too, is that flexible shoes allow mechanical stimuli to surge whereby increased muscle strength reflects the heightened mechanical stimuli. But the benefits of minimalist shoes does just stop here. Here are all the evidence-backed reason minimalist shoes are better in every way than standard running shoes.