aeronode

Competitive cross country runners on a college team incur high injury rates, but runners who habitually rearfoot strike have significantly higher rates of repetitive stress injury than those who mostly forefoot strike. This study does not test the causal bases for this general difference.

The barefoot shoe company Vivobarefoot is saying this study proves barefoot running is best. I haven’t read the paper, but the excerpt above seems to counter that. It doesn’t test a causal basis for the difference in injury rates. Forefoot striking requires a deliberate change from usual sneaker running; maybe such runners just stride more carefully? It also says nothing about which shoes were worn. You can forefoot strike in sneakers.