your foot strike is not that important when running

A hot topic in the running world especially when you are new to running and/or working with a coach. Now, the reasoning makes sense as physics dictates that if you heel-strike you are “stopping” motion rather than encouraging forward momentum. During a run we are literally constantly falling when looked at from a physics lens.

Now from a functional lens:

If you are new to running or if you run a significant distance I can guarantee that you will use all foot strike patterns: heel strike, mid foot strike, and forefoot strike. The reason for this is based on terrain, fatigue, and training/experience.

The mid-foot strike pattern is encouraged when running for distance due to the fact that with heel-striking there is a rotational force introduced at the lower leg rather than vertical. This could potentially increase injury risk just not statistically significant. The research does not even support the theory of increased injury risk with heel-strike pattern.

The body will naturally change foot strike patterns based on speed and training. As seen with the difference between long distance runners and sprinters. There is an obvious change from heel/mid-foot striking to forefoot striking.

Unfortunately we can’t stop at just discussing foot strike patterns without talking about foot pronation. Another buzz word and said to increase injury risk with running.

Let’s first define foot pronation: this is where from “neutral” to a more “flat foot”. Before you panic about flat feet — all feet are developed the way that they are used during development (first 4 years and beyond). Pronation is a ability the foot has to adapt to the environment; therefore, this is something we should allow to happen. The only time that I would be concerned about foot pronation during running is when sprinting or if this was a compensation from an injury.

As a general rule of thumb; natural movements are better if we allow them to do their job. The body adapts to what demands are placed on it. Now, this is also why compensation patterns come about. Abnormal or a change in movement patterns is a different story and not the focus of this blog post. If you’d like to dive into this topic more please let us know!

Short post on this today due to this being a very nuanced topic and specific to you. If you’d like to learn more about what you can do to improve your runs schedule a free discovery call today!