Wearing these shoes while running increases the risk of injury

Not so fast!

Most runners have experienced an injury or two—the blame often lies with overtraining, insufficient recovery time, bad form, or the wrong shoes.

A new study reports that not knowing how your feet hit the pavement increases the likelihood of injury and suggests the best shoe to reduce that risk.

Researchers from the University of Florida examined six years of data from 710 endurance runners who requested a gait analysis at the university’s Sports Performance Center and Running Medicine Clinic.

They studied the runners’ training regimen, make and model of running shoes, injury history, and perception of how their feet make contact with the ground (also known as their foot strike).

There were two main foot strike patterns for this study – rear foot strike occurs when the heel or back of the foot lands first, while non rear foot strike has the front half of the foot strike the ground first, e potentially followed by heel contact.

Hind legs are the dominant style among runners. In this study, many participants did not accurately report their leg shocks.

The researchers blamed their ignorance on their heavy, thick-heeled sneakers.

“The shoe stretches between the foot and the ground, and features like a steep heel-to-toe drop make it more challenging for runners to identify how they’re hitting the ground,” said lead study author Heather Vincent, UF director. Center for Health Sports Performance.

“It clouds how we retrain people or determine if someone is at risk for future injury,” Vincent added.

Heel-to-toe drop is the difference in cushioning between the heel and the forefoot of a shoe.

Vincent said runners who accurately identified their foot strike had lighter shoes with a lower heel-to-toe drop and more toe room.

The researchers say that flatter, minimal shoes are probably the best option for runners because they help improve sensitivity with the ground and promote a more controlled landing.

But before you head to a sporting goods store to grab a pair, the study authors cautioned that switching to a different shoe should be done slowly.

“I had to teach myself to get out of big high heels to something with more moderate cushioning and work on strengthening my feet,” Vincent said. “It can take up to six months for it to feel natural. It’s a process.”

The findings were published this month in the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.

Vincent’s team plans to study whether changing shoes affects runners’ ability to identify their foot strike and lowers injury rates.

“We want to translate what we find into meaningful ways to help runners modify their form to reduce the risk of injury and keep them healthy for the long term,” Vincent said.