Is Heel Striking Really So Bad for Runners?

If you’ve ever spent an inordinate sum of money after running a race to buy pictures of yourself taken on the course, you’ve probably noticed shots of yourself landing heel first, ankle barely flexed as your foot approaches the bottom.

That’s, a minimum of, for those who’re certainly one of the over 90 percent of all runners (including a good portion of elite runners!) who heel strike.

As common because it is, heel striking gets a nasty rap. Proponents of barefoot running and fans of Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run book and philosophy often argue that landing heel first puts runners at greater risk of injury, and that it’s less efficient. This concept has made its way onto runfluencer social media, where switching from a heel strike to a mid or forefoot strike is typically presented as being so simple as just flipping a switch. (Spoiler alert: It’s not.) There are even shoes that claim to advertise forefoot striking.

But can something that comes naturally to greater than 90 percent of all runners really be that bad?

Why we heel strike

The difference between a heel-striker and a forefoot-striker isn’t just which a part of the foot touches the bottom first. Where you land in your foot actually determines how you’re dissipating ground response forces, and what muscle groups you’re using, says Kimberly Melvan, DPT, SCS, CSCS, a physical therapist and running coach. Heel strikers, for instance, use more muscles across the knee in addition to the tibialis anterior muscle that runs along the shin, whereas forefoot strikers use more muscles within the ankle and the foot.

Normally, how we strike the bottom is only a matter of habit, and what feels most natural to us, says Heather Milton, MS, RCEP, CSCS, an exercise physiologist at NYU Langone’s Sports Performance Center. The rise of highly-cushioned trainers has likely only made heel striking much more common, though, says Dr. Melvan, since all that cushion within the heel makes it easier for that a part of the foot to land first because it absorbs the shock.

Is heel striking really so bad?

Forefoot-striking evangelists claim that it’s each more efficient and safer than landing on the heel. While experts are divided about whether anyone foot strike causes more injuries than one other, it’s true that landing on the forefoot generally results in a more powerful stride than landing on the heel.

That’s because heel striking will likely be linked to overstriding, or stepping too far out in front of your body. “You’ve got to expend a lot energy to then get your body over your center of mass,” says Dr. Melvan. “The vertical loading rates—those up-and-down movements—are also higher whenever you heel strike, so it’s just not as energy-efficient.” Each heel striking and overstriding often also include a lower, less efficient cadence, or turnover.

There are some catches, though. While forefoot striking is more efficient than heel striking, all else being equal, running in a way that doesn’t feel natural to you and that your muscles aren’t accustomed to isn’t going to feel efficient in any respect—actually, attempting to forefoot strike whenever you typically heel strike will likely mean your legs will tire way more quickly than usual. Plus, on days whenever you’re attempting to run slow (and yes, it’s best to have nowadays!), it will probably be difficult to keep up a forefoot strike while keeping your pace easy.

And none of this implies you can’t run fast while heel striking. Some elite runners heel strike, and much more transition to heel striking at the top of an extended race like a marathon. “You’ll be able to still maintain pretty high paces for those who’re a heel striker,” says Milton, “so long as you don’t have high braking forces” (meaning, so long as you’re not overstriding an excessive amount of).

There are potential injury risks that include heel striking, especially when runners are also landing with a straight leg. “That doesn’t allow the muscles to soak up the increased force from the heel strike and the overstriding, and which means the joints are absorbing that force,” says Milton. Possible issues include stress fractures, IT band syndrome, anterior knee pain, and shin splints.

But running injuries are almost at all times multifactorial, says Milton, and even for those who could magically change your footstrike overnight, it wouldn’t necessarily mean that nagging pain would just go away. Plus, forefoot striking can include its own set of injury risks, like Achilles overuse and metatarsalgia.

know in case your foot strike is an issue

Unless you see an image of yourself running, it’s possible you’ll not even notice whether or not you heel strike. If seeing a running coach or a physical therapist aren’t options, listed below are just a few easy ways to inform on your personal: Take a look at the wear and tear pattern on the underside of your shoes to see if the heel is more worn down, or have a friend take a video of you running from the side, and watch it back in slow motion. Dr. Melvan recommends the apps Dartfish and Ochy that can assist analyze your running form from a video.

While it’s good to concentrate on your footstrike, there’s probably no must try to vary it unless it appears to be causing you pain. “It’s that old adage: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” says Dr. Melvan. In the event you are having pain—especially shin splints or knee issues—it might be related to the way you’re landing, and it’s best to hunt expert help. But even then, it’s probably not only a matter of learning to land on the front of your foot, says Dr. Melvan, as there might be other issues at play, and trying to vary your form prematurely without proper strengthening could lead on to much more muscle imbalance and pain. “The general goal isn’t to repair it, it’s to repair the opposite things that together would result in more risk for injury,” says Milton.

Having big running goals and a serious commitment to getting faster is one other good reason to contemplate working on making your form more efficient, but again, it’s not only a matter of deciding to forefoot strike. As an alternative, says Dr. Melvan, a runner would likely work on increasing their cadence, allowing the foot strike to evolve naturally.

“If you should be faster, possibly it’s something you should consider,” says Dr. Melvan. “But for those who’re someone who just likes to placed on your shoes and exit for a run, who cares? In the event you enjoy it, you’re having fun, you’re not getting hurt, I don’t think it matters what your [foot] strike pattern is.”