ReviewJournal of sport and health science2017
Is changing footstrike pattern beneficial to runners?
Review in Journal of sport and health science, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Running economy and lower extremity stiffness in endurance runners: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Foot Strike Patterns During Overground Distance Running: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2021Pooled it
- The Heel-Strike Fallacy and Cadence Beliefs in Distance Running: A Narrative Review.Sports medicine - open · 2026Review
- Mind to Move: A Narrative Review of Individualized Running Biomechanics Beyond the Spring-Mass Model.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Article
- In-shoe plantar temperature, normal and shear stress relationships during gait and rest periods for people living with and without diabetes.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Running-Centred Injury Prevention Support: A Scoping Review on Current Injury Risk Reduction Practices for Runners.Translational sports medicine · 2025Review
- Instrumenting Parkrun: Usefulness and Validity of Inertial Sensors.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Influence of Sudden Changes in Foot Strikes on Loading Rate Variability in Runners.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Influence of running on femoroacetabular joint bone-to-bone distances.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2024Article
- Predicting overstriding with wearable IMUs during treadmill and overground running.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Agreement between 2D Visual- and 3D Motion Capture-based Assessment of Foot Strike Pattern.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2024Article
- An Acute Transition from Rearfoot to Forefoot Strike does not Induce Major Changes in Plantarflexor Muscles Activation for Habitual Rearfoot Strike Runners.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2023Article
- Aetiological Factors of Running-Related Injuries: A 12 Month Prospective "Running Injury Surveillance Centre" (RISC) Study.Sports medicine - open · 2023Article
- Biomechanical adaptations during exhaustive runs at 90 to 120% of peak aerobic speed.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Duty factor and foot-strike pattern do not represent similar running pattern at the individual level.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Insight into the hierarchical control governing leg stiffness during the stance phase of running.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- A Proposed Framework to Describe Movement Variability within Sporting Tasks: A Scoping Review.Sports medicine - open · 2022Article
- Estimation of Fine-Grained Foot Strike Patterns with Wearable Smartwatch Devices.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Validity and reliability of inertial measurement units measurements for running kinematics in different foot strike pattern runners.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Some researchers, running instructors, and coaches have suggested that the "optimal" footstrike pattern to improve performance and reduce running injuries is to land using a mid- or forefoot strike. Thus, it has been recommended that runners who use a rearfoot strike would benefit by changing their footstrike although there is little scientific evidence for suggesting such a change. The rearfoot strike is clearly more prevalent. The major reasons often given for changing to a mid- or forefoot strike are (1) it is more economical; (2) there is a reduction in the impact peak and loading rate of the vertical component of the ground reaction force; and (3) there is a reduction in the risk of a running-related injuries. In this paper, we critique these 3 suggestions and provide alternate explanations that may provide contradictory evidence for altering one's footstrike pattern. We have concluded, based on examining the research literature, that changing to a mid- or forefoot strike does not improve running economy, does not eliminate an impact at the foot-ground contact, and does not reduce the risk of running-related injuries.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.