Can the Toe-To-Heel Trend Help You Reduce the Risk of Injury?

Can the Toe-To-Heel Trend Help You Reduce the Risk of Injury?
SHARE

There’s new research from La Trobe University, which shows that there is not a piece of evidence that can change a runner’s strike pattern, and which can prevent him or her from injuries, or which can give them a speed boost.

A runner’s worst nightmare is getting sore knees, or shin splints, or any kind of injury. In order to avoid them, runners rely on a toe-to-heel trend, which makes them run on the balls of their feet. This is encouraged by health professionals and coaches. But there’s research out there led by Dr. Christian Barton, which suggests that running on the front of your feet does not reduce the risk of injury. It does not improve performance, either.

They have analyzed about 53 studies that have taken a look at the impact of the forefoot, flatfoot, and rearfoot running patterns when it comes to injuries and running biomechanics.

How the Toe-To-Heel Trend Helps Lowering the Risks of Injury

Dr. Barton stated that, if someone is running on the ball of their foot, and not on the heel, it does not make him or her run more efficiently – not in the short or in the long there. There is also not a piece of evidence that running on the balls of your feet will help you in reducing the risk of injury. Also, switching your running style can change loads of the body, but it does not make them disappear.

Running toe-heel can help with the injuries at the knee, where, of course, the loads are reduced. But it may cause other injuries to the ankle, where the loads are increased.

There’s a saying, and runners should take it into account: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The entire research has been led by the La Trobe Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Centre, together with La Trobe’s School of Podiatry.


SHARE

I am a pop culture and social media expert. Aside from writing about the latest news health, I also enjoy pop culture and Yoga. I have BA in American Cultural Studies and currently enrolled in a Mass-Media MA program. I like to spend my spring breaks volunteering overseas.

Post Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.