I’ve been reading that a lower heel to toe drop is better for your knees as it engages the achilles and calf more. I was wondering if anyone else had any practical experience with this? Do you notice more ITBS in large heel to drop shoes? (5mm-10mm) Does it seem to bother you less (ITBS) in lower ramp shoes? (0mm-4mm)
When I went to low drop shoes I had alot of problems with my achilles, but never with my ITB. I haven’t heard of the ITB being affected by heel drop.
In my experience, a lower drop shoe that doesn’t have a ton of cushioning does make it easier to not heel strike. Because of that, you may be less likely to over-stride and I think this is better for your knees in general.
I will say that when I moved to a lower drop shoe AND shortened my stride, my ITB’s felt a lot better.
I will say that when I moved to a lower drop shoe AND shortened my stride, my ITB’s felt a lot better.
That.
I also switched to neutral shoes having been told by various shops I needed stability over the years. That, and better running form aided in part by a lower drop, saw 2 1/2 years of ITBS clear up in a couple of weeks. Never came back.
That said, it may just be that with more running I got stronger. N=1 and all that.
Yes- but as discussed in some other threads, the real key is keeping the feet under the body at a high cadence. IMO, this is most easily achieved and facilitated by a lower stack shoe.
ITBS has a variety of causes in each plane on motion. The theoretic kinematic changes “related” to less drop will place the knee in more flexion during loading and have an overall reduced excursion (total range of motion). This could potentially place the IT band posterior to the femoral epicondyle (> ~20-25 degrees of flexion) over the peak loading phase and in turn reduce irritation.
The main factor for this change is not really the shoe stack height, but as others have said the relative position of the foot under the center of mass. The angle of the tibia at initial loading is a great proxy for this change without regards to strike pattern (heel versus midfoot…). This will create a more flexed but “stiffer” knee and may help ITBS from a pure anatomic perspective in this plane. Of course this change does come at a cost.
Running workarounds for ITBS include incline treadmill running and speedwork because they often force this same knee position and allow sufferers to continue to train without pain while addressing root cause.
THM, form can be factor with ITBS, but IMHO shoe ramp is not at the top of the list for cause or cure.
Cheers!
In my experience, a lower drop shoe that doesn’t have a ton of cushioning does make it easier to not heel strike. Because of that, you may be less likely to over-stride and I think this is better for your knees in general.
Actually, you can get the best of both worlds, i.e. lower drop and cushioning. The HOKA One Ones have the low drop and a lot of cush, protecting the forefoot as well.
ITBS has a variety of causes in each plane on motion. The theoretic kinematic changes “related” to less drop will place the knee in more flexion during loading and have an overall reduced excursion (total range of motion). This could potentially place the IT band posterior to the femoral epicondyle (> ~20-25 degrees of flexion) over the peak loading phase and in turn reduce irritation.
The main factor for this change is not really the shoe stack height, but as others have said the relative position of the foot under the center of mass. The angle of the tibia at initial loading is a great proxy for this change without regards to strike pattern (heel versus midfoot…). This will create a more flexed but “stiffer” knee and may help ITBS from a pure anatomic perspective in this plane. Of course this change does come at a cost.
Running workarounds for ITBS include incline treadmill running and speedwork because they often force this same knee position and allow sufferers to continue to train without pain while addressing root cause.
THM, form can be factor with ITBS, but IMHO shoe ramp is not at the top of the list for cause or cure.
Cheers!
Very informative. Thanks!