To Heel strike or Not?
All those eighties runners we used to see, and many of the covers of running magazines now, show runners striding out, front leg straight, heel about to strike the ground, toes raised. This image can be very misleading – most runners do not heel strike naturally and it is believed by many sports biologists, and trainers that heel striking is unnatural and when accompanied by a straight leading leg, leads to heel, ankle and knee problems.
To understand this we have to know something of the bio-mechanics of running. Our ankles, knees and hips are all designed to absorb shock and help us rebalance when we run – if we remove that protective set of mechanisms we run the risk of jarring our bones and slamming them into each other and into the joints meant to protect them. A straight leg has no ‘give’ which means the impact of each footfall (which is your weight multiplied by your speed) drives through your bones at each step.
If we run on our midsoles and land with a bent knee, we allow the shock to be absorbed by the joints of the ankle and knee, which can revolve and rebalance us, allowing us to keep our balance better and acting as shock absorbers.
Try this experiment for yourself – put two full glasses of water on a tray. Now walk swiftly across the room with your legs straight and heels touching the ground first. How much water do you spill? Try the same test with relaxed knees and your toes touching the ground first – you will almost certainly find you spill much less water that way.
There are a few runners for whom heel-striking comes naturally – if you are one of them, don’t worry, as you are probably physically adapted to the strain of your gait, but otherwise runners should not try to develop a heel first run.
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