Foot strike pattern, shoe type may be associated with injuries in endurance runners
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Key takeaways:
- Accurate self-detection of foot strike pattern may reduce the risk of running-related injuries in endurance runners.
- Shoes with a lower heel-to-toe drop may be preferred to reduce the risk of injury.
Results showed self-detection of foot strike pattern may decrease the risk of running-related injuries in endurance runners. However varying characteristics in footwear may impact athletes’ ability to accurately detect foot strike patterns.
“Being aware of your own foot strike pattern and correctly identifying how foot mechanics change with retraining is important when trying to make positive changes for running form,” Heather K. Vincent, PhD, MS, FACSM, vice chair of research and director of the UF Health Sports Performance Center in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Florida, told Healio. “Adjusting foot strike pattern and running form, as well as shoe wear, are a couple of many different ways that a runner can work to reduce injury over time.”
Vincent and colleagues performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 710 endurance runners (mean age, 35.4 years). Among the cohort, 51.6% of athletes were training for competitive running events.
Vincent and colleagues polled athletes on self-reported foot strike patterns, such as rearfoot strike and midfoot or forefoot strike, as well as footwear characteristics. According to the study, Vincent and colleagues used 3D motion capture technology and high-speed filming to assess actual foot strike during a single session of running at a self-selected speed on a treadmill.
Before testing, 28.3% of athletes reported rearfoot strike, 47% reported non-rearfoot strike and 24.6% of athletes did not know their strike pattern. Overall, 42.7% of athletes accurately self-detected foot strike pattern.
Vincent and colleagues found 34% of athletes who reported rearfoot strike accurately detected rearfoot strike, while 69.5% of athletes who reported non-rearfoot strike accurately detected non-rearfoot strike. Researchers found athletes who did not know their strike pattern prior to testing had the highest rate of running-related injuries (73%) compared with athletes who self-reported rearfoot strike (58%) and non-rearfoot strike (56%).
After an analysis of footwear choices, Vincent and colleagues found athletes who wore shoes with a higher heel-to-toe drop were less likely to accurately detect their foot strike pattern (OR = 0.931) and were more likely to have a running-related injury in last 6 months (OR = 1.09). They also found a recent change in footwear was associated with an increased risk of running-related injury (OR = 2.79).
“These findings demonstrate the importance of helping patients to accurately identify foot strike pattern and recommending footwear as a factor if planning to use restraining to alter foot strike pattern,” Vincent said. “Practitioners should be aware that lower heeled, lighter, flatter-soled shoes are associated with lower impact loading rates and slightly higher leg stiffness and lower risk for recent running-related injuries. Supplementing shoe wear with foot strengthening training and overall training of the kinetic chain is a must for any running athlete — the shoe cannot do the work for the patient alone.”
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