To drop or not to drop...That is the question...

Like to run in Zero Drop shoes? Good... we do too... but look at this:

"Barefoot running induced higher loading rates during overground running than the highest drop condition, while it was the opposite during treadmill running. Ankle plantar flexion and knee flexion angles at touchdown were higher during treadmill than overground running for all conditions, except for barefoot which did not show any difference between the tasks."

So, if you want to reduce vertical loading rates, run barefoot on a treadmill.

Does this mean if we want to decrease vertical loading rates when running overground (NOT on a treadmill) we should run in shoes with a large drop?

It seems, according to this study, that kinematics are the same with barefoot but not with shoes.

Which is best for you? You decide...

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00421-014-3072-x