Alterations in Running Biomechanics after 12 Week Gait Retraining with Minimalist Shoes.

Minimalist shoes are sometimes promoted as a way to shift runners toward a forefoot strike pattern and reduce the impact forces linked to running injury, but simply changing footwear does not always change how someone actually runs. This trial asked whether adding a 12 week gait retraining program to minimalist shoe use would change impact forces, joint mechanics, and lower limb stiffness more than wearing minimalist shoes alone. Thirty male recreational runners were randomised to gait retraining plus minimalist shoes or minimalist shoes only, though just 17 completed the full program.

Both groups showed reduced loading rate after the intervention, but the group that also received gait retraining showed a lower loading rate than the shoe only group, along with a shift from rearfoot to forefoot striking in most participants who completed training. The main limitation is the very small completed sample, with notable dropout, which limits how confidently these findings can be generalised.

If you run recreationally, you may have heard that minimalist shoes can encourage a forefoot landing pattern instead of landing hard on the heel, which some believe lowers impact-related injury risk. This study tested whether simply wearing minimalist shoes achieves that change, or whether runners also need coaching on how to alter their running form.

Thirty male recreational runners were split into two groups, one wearing minimalist shoes alone and one combining the shoes with 12 weeks of gait retraining coaching. Both groups showed a reduction in the loading rate, which is a measure related to how abruptly force builds up in the leg during landing. However, the group that received actual coaching on their running form showed a bigger reduction than the shoe-only group, and most of those who finished the coaching program shifted from landing on their heel to landing more toward the front of the foot. Only 17 of the original 30 runners completed the study, and all participants were male recreational runners, so these results are preliminary and cannot be assumed to apply broadly.

The findings suggest that footwear alone may have limited effects on running mechanics without added training.

This is a summary of research, not medical advice. Talk to your own healthcare provider about anything affecting your care.

This randomised trial compared two approaches in male recreational runners: minimalist shoes alone (n=15 allocated) versus minimalist shoes combined with 12 weeks of structured gait retraining (n=15 allocated). Only 17 participants completed the protocol (9 gait retraining, 8 minimalist-only), representing a substantial attrition rate that limits statistical power and generalisability of the between-group comparison. Both groups showed a significant within-group decrease in loading rate post-intervention, but the gait retraining group demonstrated a significantly lower loading rate than the minimalist-only group, indicating an added effect of active retraining beyond footwear change alone.

Foot strike angle decreased significantly only in the gait retraining group, with 7 of 9 completers converting from rearfoot to forefoot striking, an conversion rate the authors report as 78%. Plantarflexion angle and hip extension angular velocity increased in both groups, ankle joint moment increased specifically in the gait retraining group, and vertical lower limb stiffness improved significantly in both groups. Given the small completed sample, single-sex cohort, and lack of long-term injury outcome data, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary evidence that combining gait retraining with minimalist footwear may more effectively reduce loading rate than footwear alone, without establishing a direct link to reduced injury incidence.