The question

Short strides, quick steps, barefoot running. Can these strategies really help me avoid injuries?

The answer

Over the past year, barefoot running has been touted as the best way to reconnect with the natural, injury-avoiding stride pattern that our ancestors evolved over millennia of hunting. Everyone is talking about it – but far fewer are actually ready to bare their soles on the asphalt.

Now, a forthcoming study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin suggests that many of the benefits promised by barefoot running, including a reduction of the forces acting on knees and hips, can be obtained simply by taking shorter, quicker steps.

“We found very similar loading patterns,” says Bryan Heiderscheit, the senior author of the study, which will appear in a forthcoming issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, “and you don’t have to go all the way to the extreme of getting rid of your shoes.”

The idea for the study came from Dr. Heiderscheit’s observations of patients he encountered as director of the university’s Runners Clinic. He found that, while veteran runners tend to take short, quick strides, less-experienced runners were overwhelmingly prone to “overstriding” – reaching forward too far with each step so that the heel comes crashing down well in front of the body.

“As they make the transition from fast-walking to slow-running, they tend to keep the long stride and low step rate,” he says.