Do I need Zero Drop Running Shoes?

So what are “zero-drop” running shoes anyway? The drop is the difference in the height of the shoe in the forefoot compared to the rearfoot. Completely flat plimsolls would have “zero-drop” whereas high heeled dress shoes like Stilettos might have 5cm! Running shoes traditionally had a drop of 5-10mm. But why?

I think the drop in running shoes probably came in when cushioning first came on the scene. Since then having a drop in the shoes has just become the convention. However, after the emergence of “barefoot” and “minimalist” running shoes a few years ago we started to see zero-drop shoes all over the place. Now brands like HOKA and Altra are keeping the cushioning but removing the drop for a more “natural” running style.

But what does the evidence say? Well, until recently there wasn’t any! There have been lots of studies that compared minimalist or barefoot shoes with more traditional cushioned or motion control shoes. However, none of these studies isolated and specifically examined the drop. So in 2016 a group of researchers from Luxembourg decided to do just that. They wanted to determine if there was any connection between the drop in running shoes and injury risk. Check out my analysis in the images and we’ll try to answer the question: Do I need zero drop running shoes?

Study

• 553 recreational runners
• Divided into 3 groups and randomly assigned to zero, medium or high heel drop shoes (10 mm (D10), 6 mm (D6), or 0 mm (D0) )
• They reported their running activities and injuries over a 6 month period

Findings

• Primary Analysis
  • “Overall, shoe drop was not associated with injury risk”
    
• Secondary Analysis
  • Occasional runners got injured less using the zero and medium drop shoes
  • Regular runners got injured more in these shoes

Limitations

• This study was not powered for the secondary hypothesis – this means that this may be a false result
• So we can’t really say occasional runners got injured less in the lower drop shoes, or that the regular runners got injured more in those shoes
• All we can say is that it’s probably worth doing a dedicated study on that to see!

Runners

• The drop in your running shoes seems to have no connection to injury risk
• Your shoe selection should be based on other factors like comfort and weight

You can read the abstract here…

Influence of the Heel-to-Toe Drop of Standard Cushioned Running Shoes on Injury Risk in Leisure-Time Runners: A Randomized Controlled Trial With 6-Month Follow-up.

If you would like to read the full text please drop me an email…