Ankle and Foot

Help Me I Cannot Find My Mid-foot Strike!

Details

Published on Thursday, 05 January 2012 15:55

Written by Bruce R. Wilk, P.T., O.C.S.

As a running coach and physical therapist, my confused runners frequently ask me “How do I strike on my mid-foot?” The confusion begins with it being anatomically impossible. Shoe manufactures continue the confusion by claiming that their shoes will stimulate barefoot running by promoting mid-foot striking. Claims that heel striking primarily causes running injuries and mid-foot striking is the cure for all running pains further magnify the confusion.

What is a mid foot or flat foot strike?

The answer is that the term “mid-foot striking” is new to running, but the concept has been known as flat foot striking for quite some time. A flat foot strike is when your foot hits the ground in a position that your ankle is neither flexed up or down. When the ankle is flexed upward a runner will heel strike. On a downward strike, the runner strikes on their forefoot. One can heel strike, mid-foot or forefoot strike in any running shoe or no shoe at all. You are in control of how you position your ankle for your foot to strike the ground.

Running coaches alter strike zones to help promote fitness and enhance performance

I teach flat-foot strike for warm ups and cool downs during workouts, for recovery, and for distance training. By having my runners concentrate on striking in a neutral position, I often use it as a technique to slow them down.

Most runners naturally strike in the other positions, so the shift requires more concentration. A flat-foot strike can also be useful during triathlons. When I first started participating in triathlons, my coach taught me to use a flat foot strike during the swim-to-bike transition. This made sense since the barefoot run during the transition could be a half mile on asphalt. Twenty years ago, outdoor carpet runways were unheard of.. A neutral ankle foot strike would be easier on my foot, and it would make it easier to avoid hazards during the run.

The claim that heel striking is the primary cause of running injuries is unfounded

Running injuries are common, and heel striking is a common way runners strike. There is no correlation between the two.

A 2007 studies of elite runners during the halfway point of a half marathon found that 70 percent of the runners were heel striking at that moment, 29 percent mid-foot striking and 1 percent forefoot striking. Since these were uninjured elite athletes competing in a road race, it is safe to assume that heel striking was working for these athletes. Their foot strike had no effect on finish on times. In fact, there are great distance runners that heel strike in their barefoot-stimulating shoes that promote mid-foot striking.

Each of us has unique innate running capabilities that can be improved with proper training. Purposely changing your strike zone for training proposes can be done safely in a well-fitted, properly designed, manufactured running shoe.