Main Reason Heel Strike Running Causes More Injuries than Forefoot Running
Comparing the injury rates between heel strikers and forefoot strikers.
Heel Strike
Is it Bad to Run in Cushioned Shoes? YES!
3 verifiable reasons cushioned running shoes with more padding under the heel than the front of the shoe, causes extremely displaced mechanics that produce more physical stress that the body cannot handle as compared with minimalist shoes, which were found to be the most clinically meaningful for form correction and impact production.
How Heel Strike Running Causes Chronic Injuries
Heel strike running causes chronic injury because of the heel-to-toe rollover action of the foot that occurs after heel strike was found to produce the highest jolt, jarring, jerky, braking and loading forces that cannot be reducible by cushioned running shoes, but with forefoot running only.
Does Heel Striking Cause Injury to the Shin? YES!
Heel strike running was found to be a big risk factor for shin splints and fracture by causing a functional loss of impact absorption in the knee, while causing too much force-intensive stop and go (i.e. too much intense braking) as compared with forefoot running, which was found to do a better job at improving knee flexion, thereby reducing dangerous loads to the shins.
Why Heel Strike Running Causes So Many Injuries and Why Forefoot Running Doesn’t
Heel strike running was found to be produce repetitive trauma impacts and joint overloading to the knees and hips as compared with forefoot running, which was found to prevent all forms of impact from rising to injury-predisposing levels.