Over the years, there have been many studies that conclude that most running injuries stem from mechanical strain caused by inefficient movement patterns. This raises the question about why running barefoot is better, and how it can address these inefficiencies and pave the way for improved health and performance?
Before we delve into the studies and the related details, it is important that you first get some context. Over the past 50 years, the sports footwear industry has transformed from a niche market to a global giant, offering a vast array of stylish and innovative designs. By 2026, it is projected to reach a staggering market value of US$140 billion (Approx. INR 12 Lakh Crores).
Though the industry has become both popular and profitable, running-related injuries have become fairly common. Studies reveal that up to 79% of recreational runners experience an injury within just one year of training.
Compared to weightlifting, which averages 2.4 to 3.3 injuries per thousand hours, or powerlifting, at 1 to 4.4 injuries per thousand hours; running results in 7.7 to 17.8 injuries per thousand hours! This makes running nearly four times more likely to cause injury than other high-intensity sports.
There’s another study that highlights an important point: Most running injuries stem from mechanical strain caused by inefficient movement patterns. Now that you’ve got the context, it is time to find out why barefoot running is better, and how it can address the inefficiencies in movement patterns for improved health and performance.
Why Running Barefoot is Better Than With Shoes?
When the body doesn’t move optimally, it becomes more vulnerable to injury. Modern footwear, while designed for comfort and protection, has unintentionally disrupted our natural running mechanics.
According to this study, runners who go barefoot or use minimalist shoes are up to 6.8% more energy efficient than their counterparts in conventional running shoes. To give you some perspective, a barefoot runner in a marathon could cover an additional 2.9 kms compared to a runner in traditional footwear—all while using the same amount of energy.
What explains this remarkable difference? Well, there are five key factors, and let’s delve into them in detail.
Forefoot Strike
Foot strike in running is the way your foot hits the ground when you run. It’s the initial contact of your foot with the surface, and how you distribute the stress of your running stride.
Barefoot runners naturally strike the ground with their forefoot, directly beneath their center of mass. This angle of impact efficiently converts vertical forces into rotational forces, propelling the runner forward.
In contrast, most runners in modern shoes tend to heel strike. This occurs when the foot collides with the ground ahead of the body’s center of mass. The resulting angle of impact generates braking forces that work against the forward momentum, requiring extra effort to keep moving.
To better understand this concept, imagine someone giving you a hard push from behind, forcing you to resist by placing one leg ahead of your hips to avoid falling.
Now consider a scenario where you decide to move forward voluntarily. What happens? Your weight shifts from your heels to your forefoot. This shift enables you to lean forward until gravity takes over, propelling you naturally.
The key to efficient running lies in embracing this forward momentum rather than fighting it. By landing on the forefoot directly beneath the body’s center of mass, you conserve energy and maintain smooth forward motion.
Although not all runners in modern shoes heel strike, research shows that those wearing thick, padded sports shoes are significantly more likely to do so. Elevated heels in most running shoes cause the heel to contact the ground first.
Additionally, cushioned soles dull the impact sensations that would otherwise prompt a shift to a less jarring, more efficient running style.
Modern running shoes, with their foam midsoles and thick cushioning, further disadvantage runners mechanically. They dampen natural feedback from the ground and increase energy costs, making them less efficient than barefoot running.
Let’s explore how this mechanical disadvantage impacts runners and why barefoot running offers a superior alternative.
High Cadence and Low Vertical Oscillation
Running cadence is the number of steps a runner takes per minute. It’s also known as stride rate, foot turnover, or step frequency
Cadence is a measure of how efficient and quick a runner’s stride is. A higher cadence can lead to better performance and a reduced risk of injury. It is one of the two factors that make up a runner’s speed, along with stride length.
Vertical oscillation is the amount of up-and-down movement of your body with each step while running. It’s also known as vertical displacement or stride height.
Lower vertical oscillation is generally more efficient because it means less energy is wasted. Vertical oscillation affects how much oxygen you need while running. Striking the ground too hard can increase the risk of injury.
A critical advantage of barefoot running is the enhanced connection it provides to the ground. The more tactile feedback we receive from the surfaces we run on, the faster we can react to them. This heightened sense of ground contact is one reason barefoot runners tend to have a higher step rate, also known as cadence.
Another study published in the International Journal of Exercise Science highlights a clear relationship between shoe sole thickness and ground contact time. The findings show that as shoe soles become thicker, ground contact time increases and cadence decreases.
In simple terms, the thicker the sole, the less we feel the ground and the slower our reaction time. But why is minimizing ground contact time and increasing cadence so important? Research indicates that a higher cadence significantly reduces vertical motion, or vertical oscillation, during each stride.
Excessive upward movement wastes energy, as it doesn’t contribute to forward momentum—the ultimate goal of running. This is why faster runners exhibit less vertical oscillation compared to slower runners. The optimal cadence for long-distance runners is around 180 steps per minute or higher.
However, novice runners—especially those wearing padded shoes and relying on a heel-strike pattern—often have significantly lower step rates.
Barefoot running encourages a natural increase in cadence by preserving sensory feedback from the ground. This not only improves reaction time but also enhances running efficiency by minimizing wasted energy and focusing motion where it matters most: forward propulsion.
Strong Foot Arches
One key reason barefoot runners are more energy efficient than those wearing conventional running shoes lies in the mechanics of the foot arch. Well-functioning, compliant arches are capable of conserving nearly 20% of the mechanical energy generated while running.
When running barefoot, the arches compress and flatten upon impact, triggering the four layers of muscles beneath each foot to recoil like springs. This spring-like action propels the leg off the ground and into the next stride. It’s a natural energy-saving mechanism, activated by sensors in the soles of the feet that detect ground contact and stimulate the muscles to support the arch.
Now, let’s consider what happens when you wear conventional running shoes. These shoes typically feature built-in arch support—rigid structures that fill the natural dome-shaped gap of the arch. As a result, the foot’s spring-like function is bypassed. Instead of compressing and recoiling, the foot rolls passively from heel to toe, leaving the arches relatively inactive.
Moreover, the thick soles of traditional shoes dull the sensory feedback from the ground. Without this stimulation, the muscles that maintain the arch weaken over time, leading to what’s commonly referred to as flat feet.
The arch of the foot isn’t just there for aesthetics—it’s a critical structure for natural movement and energy conservation. Wearing thick-soled shoes with arch support prevents these vital mechanisms from functioning as intended, ultimately diminishing running efficiency.
Responsive Achilles Tendons
The Achilles tendon is a thick band of tissue that connects the calf muscles to the heel bone. It is important for walking, running and jumping, as it allows you to push off the ground and go up on your toes.
An increased step rate brings additional benefits, particularly by enhancing the stretch reflex of the Achilles tendons and other connective tissues. This reflex works much like a slingshot: for optimal efficiency, these elastic fibers need to be quickly loaded and released. When this cycle is delayed, the muscles take over to assist in the movement.
While muscles are undoubtedly vital for locomotion, they are metabolically expensive, consuming significant amounts of energy to generate force. Connective tissues like the Achilles tendon, on the other hand, store and release elastic energy without expending energy themselves.
By shifting more of the load to these tissues, barefoot runners can move more efficiently, conserving energy that would otherwise be used by the muscles.
To illustrate this, think of a well-tuned spring. When compressed and released quickly, it generates force effortlessly. Similarly, the Achilles tendon stores kinetic energy as it stretches during each stride and releases it to propel the body forward.
According to this study by the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, a faster cadence ensures that this energy is captured and utilized effectively, reducing reliance on the muscles and improving overall running efficiency.
This benefit is especially pronounced in barefoot or minimalist runners because they tend to adopt a forefoot or mid-foot strike, which naturally engages the Achilles tendon more actively compared to a heel strike. Traditional running shoes with thick soles often diminish this effect, as they encourage heel striking, which places less strain on the Achilles and more on the muscles.
By embracing barefoot running and focusing on a quicker step rate, runners can unlock the full potential of their Achilles tendons, leading to greater energy efficiency and improved performance.
Less Ground Reactive Forces
Ground reaction force (GRF) is the force the ground exerts on a runner’s feet with each step. It is considered as a key metric in biomechanical research and can be used to calculate the power of the joints. It can also be used to monitor training load.
A faster step rate offers another significant benefit: it reduces the cumulative ground reaction forces acting on the body. Let’s break this concept down for better understanding:
Imagine two runners—one wearing conventional shoes and the other running barefoot. When we analyze the ground reaction forces during each step, both runners might experience similar peak forces. However, the differences lie in the time it takes to reach this peak and the total time the foot remains in contact with the ground.
For the shoe runner, the process of:
- heel striking,
- reaching peak force to lift the body and accelerate forward, and
- lifting the foot off the ground takes longer.
In contrast, with quicker sensory feedback and a forefoot strike, a barefoot runner completes this sequence faster.
The key to understanding the impact of these forces lies in the area under the force-time curve, which represents the total accumulative force experienced during each step. The barefoot runner, by minimizing ground contact time, experiences less total ground reaction force compared to the shoe runner.
To draw an analogy, think of lifting weights. If you want to make your muscles work harder, you can prolong the negative (eccentric) portion of a repetition, increasing the “time under tension” and the cumulative load on the muscle.
While this technique is beneficial in the gym for stimulating muscle growth, it’s not ideal for running. Prolonged time under tension during each step would increase inefficiency and elevate the risk of injury over long distances.
Barefoot running naturally reduces this “time under tension” by decreasing ground contact time and relying on quicker, lighter steps. This not only improves efficiency but also helps to protect the body from the long-term strain associated with prolonged exposure to ground reaction forces.
Conclusion
Barefoot running offers numerous advantages over running in conventional shoes, primarily by promoting more natural and efficient biomechanics. Key benefits include forefoot striking, which minimizes braking forces and conserves forward momentum, and the activation of strong foot arches, which store and release energy for better propulsion.
Barefoot running also encourages a higher cadence and reduced vertical oscillation, optimizing energy use while enhancing running efficiency. Additionally, it strengthens the Achilles tendons by engaging their elastic properties and reduces cumulative ground reaction forces, lessening strain on the body and mitigating injury risks.
Overall, the reason why running barefoot is better is because it is healthier and a more efficient way to run, fostering better performance and long-term benefits for runners.