Foot Strikes

This video helps in visually understanding the different types of foot strikes while running. Foot strike has a bearing on how the foot loads ( & dissipates) the ground reaction forces when the foot strikes the ground. Foot strike also has a bearing on efficient barefoot running technique and better dissipation of these forces through the body. There seems to be a recent spurt of articles about barefoot running but without any attention drawn to this aspect or explaining the dynamics of going barefoot. Some articles in the paper are alarming because they seem to imply that barefoot is all about running & one fine, glorious day you can simply kick off your shoes & start running barefoot because that’s what some athelets are doing! They forgot to mention that these atheletes have been trained do so. Even though this particular video shows running with shoes on, it is helpful in noticing how the foot contact (strike) loads the body with impact. If you look closely, you can guage the kind of forces rippling through the foot all the way up. And, add to this the fact that during running the forces on the body are 3-4 times the body weight, one needs to pay attention!