The Monday Shakeout: Breaking Down Low vs. High Heel Drops
By Matt Klein
A question we often get is about heel-to-toe drops. What does a low drop shoe do? What does a high heel drop shoe do? What's the best drop for me? It can be further confused when including things like rockers to the shoe. In this edition of the Monday Shakeout, we rounded up our editorials on drops to help you better understand the effects that each have on runners.
Differences in Lower Extremity Load with Drop Variation
As the maximalist era of the footwear industry stabilizes and we are
seeing less minimal footwear, heel-toe drop in shoes seems to be
stabilizing. 20 years ago almost every running shoe had a 10-12 mm drop
whereas now those are less common. 6-10mm seems to be the norm now with a
larger number of shoes with lower heel drop and an extremely small
number above. This is not necessarily a good or bad thing as individual
needs vary greatly. It does mean things are different in regards to what
tissues are loaded during running gait.
Lower drop shoes tend to load the Achilles tendon, calf and ankle. We
have repeatedly said that transitioning to a lower drop, minimal shoe
requires adequate calf strength and ankle mobility. However, while a
rocker can unload these areas somewhat in a higher stack, low drop shoe,
some of those same requirements still apply. If you land first at your
heel in a zero drop maximal shoe, you compress the rearfoot more than
the forefoot, creating a negative drop shoe. This requires a large
amount of appropriate ankle mobility and calf strength to control and
progress forward. There are a few true negative drop shoes on the market
now, so those requirements are even higher. Regardless of where you
land in a lower drop shoe, more motion is required at the ankle
(especially at the talocrural joint). This requires a great deal more
dorsiflexion, which initially stretches the calf muscles and Achilles
tendon. These muscles must tolerate a larger range of motion during
running gait, which requires more eccentric and concentric control at
this muscle group. Thus, having adequate range of motion and strength
are extremely important at the ankle with this shoe type. This can be
beneficial to move some stress away from the knee and hip given the
shock absorption that occurs early at the ankle. It is imperative to
remember this doesn't always happen and when it does, forces/loads are
not decreased, they are simply moved.
Higher drop shoes tend to load the knee and hip more. They require less
range of motion at the calf and Achilles tendon to progress forward.
These can be beneficial for those who have extremely limited
dorsiflexion range of motion either from the ankle joint (talocrural) or
the muscles around it (calf, posterior tib, etc). However, they do
require more range of motion and shock absoprtion/load at the knee and
hip. The position of the foot in a high drop shoe naturally puts the
knee in a more forward position. This naturally creates more stress at
the anterior knee, which requires higher levels of quad strength to
control. The additional forward motion at the knee naturally requires
the hip to also flex more, requiring higher levels of glute strength to
help with shock absorption during landing. A higher drop shoe can also
allow for more hip extension during the terminal stance at terminal
stance due to the calves not being a limiting factor, which can also
require more range of motion from the hip flexors.
These are not good or bad things, instead depending on the individual
mechanics, strength and tissue tolerances of each individual. If you
have stiff ankles and are interested in a higher drop shoe, then you
should be working on the strength/range of motion of your knee and hip.
If you want to try a lower drop shoe because it may reduce stress at
your knee/hip, know that you will need to spend extra time
maintaining/working on your ankle motion/strength. Heel drop is single
aspect of footwear that is dynamic (it does change depending on where
you land and midsole compliance) but is one of the many parts of a shoe
that will impact different runners differently.
Drop in Max Cushion Shoes
The majority of max cushion shoes on the market, particularly trail
shoes, tend to have a lower heel drop. This is often done from a
stability standpoint, as a higher heel drop combined with a higher stack
creates the possibility for more frontal plane torque at the ankle.
Lower heel drop typically have more inherent stability, however this is
only if you have adequate calf/ankle range of motion. For those with
limited motion, there bodies may compensate with the joints directly
below the talocrural (ankle) joint, including the subtalar and midfoot
joints. As these have joint axis in the frontal plane, those with
limited ankle mobility may compensate with excessive movement in the
frontal plane, making low drop shoes inherently more unstable for this
population. This makes sense that even the research demonstrates that
lower drop shoes put more torque through the ankle regardless of the
stack height (Richert et al., 2019). That may be good for some people
with great ankle mobility or strength, but not for others that lack it.
This does not take into account the effect from rockered soles, which
also shift the work away from the ankle (Sobhani et al., 2013). This has
been a common suggestion from us for those with Achilles tendon issues,
to consider a rockered shoe as those have been shown to unload the calf
and Achilles tendon (Sobhani et al., 2013). The ultimate combination
may be a shoe like the Craft CTM Ultra 2 that has a higher heel drop
(10mm) combined with a significant rocker. The higher heel drop and
rocker will both shift work away from the ankle and up higher, unloading
the calves and Achilles tendon in the process. The increased
flexibility up at the forefoot does not unload them completely, but does
reduce the risk of the shoe being too stiff, which can actually
increase loads into the ankle to get over it (Mcleod et al., 2020).
What about 12mm Drop Shoes?
With the onset of both the recent minimalist and maximalist footwear
trends, the running shoe industry has shifted to more moderate heel-toe
drops. 8-10mm is the most common, with far more in the 0-7mm range than
the 11-12mm range. Higher drop shoes are now rare, whereas at one point
they were the norm. With higher midsole stack heights, lower drops do
make sense for inherent stability. A tall rearfoot without a stable base
is inherently unstable, as opposed to the lower heel drop, higher stack
height but wide lasted maximal shoes we know today. These shoes often
feature rockered soles, which can reduce stress on the Achilles/calf.
However, the lower drop still requires some degree of ROM, which can be
problematic for those with limited motion or acute injuries to posterior
structures like the calf muscles or the Achilles tendon.
Higher
drops can unload irritated calves/Achilles in certain situations in a
way that a rockered sole cannot. A higher heel drop reduces the required
range of motion the calf muscles and Achilles tendon need to go through
to progress forward. This may be beneficial also to those who have
extremely limited dorsiflexion range of motion either at the talocrural
(ankle) joint or of the calf muscles.
Those who benefit from
high drop and support may include those with posterior tib strains given
that the post tib both plantarflexes and inverts the foot. So taking it
into dorsiflexion and eversion (pronation) may stress it. A similar
situation arises for those with peroneus longus strains as that muscle
plantarflexes and everts the foot. Those who need to unload a posterior
tibialis may do better in a shoe like the Wave Inspire 18 with its
medial support. Those who need to unload a peroneus longus may do better
in a shoe with medial and lateral guide rails like the Adrenaline given
the more central and guided nature.
Those asking whether there
is still a place for high drop shoes, the answer is yes. It is not
necessary to have a huge number, but having a least a few in the
industry will benefit a small population of people. The rest will likely
do better in more moderate ranges like we are seeing today.
References
McLeod,
A. R., Bruening, D., Johnson, A. W., Ward, J., & Hunter, I. (2020).
Improving running economy through altered shoe bending stiffness across
speeds. Footwear Science, 12(2), 79-89.
Richert,
F. C., Stein, T., Ringhof, S., & Stetter, B. J. (2019). The effect
of the heel-to-toe drop of standard running shoes on lower limb
biomechanics. Footwear Science, 11(3), 161-170
Sobhani,
S., Hijmans, J., Heuvel, E., Zwerver, J., Dekker, R., Postemia, K.
(2013). Biomechanics of slow running and walking with a rocker shoe. Gait & Posture: 38(4): 998-1004.
Sobhani,
S., Zwerver, J., Heuvel, E., Postema, K., Dekker, R., Hijmans, J.
(2013). Rocker shoes reduce achilles tendon load in running and
walking in patients with chronic achilles tendinopathy. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. http://dx.doi.org/10/1016/j.jsams.2014.02.008
Find more resources in our research archive.
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