Dr. James C. Kao, a kinesiology professor at San José State University, presented a symposium on March 1 on “The Forefoot Strike: A Walking and Running Symposium.”
A slide from Dr. James Kao’s symposium shows how many runners land on their forefoot, heel or mid foot.
Kao worked with two former College of Applied Sciences and Arts kinesiology students, Krystyna Utzig and Nicole Anceto, to present four sessions on forefoot walking and running at the symposium. He and his students presented findings that 74.9 percent of runners hit the ground on their heel, 23.7 percent hit the ground with their mid foot and only 1.4 percent hit the ground with the front of their foot. In four sessions, they presented information about:
- Forefoot running kinematics
- Forefoot running kinetics
- Forefoot walking – kinematics and kinetics
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Forefoot running and walking – metabolic cost and EMG
- Forefoot training – Is it the shoes?
- Forefoot training – how to become a forefoot running or forefoot walker
Kao and his students presented evidence that runners and walkers can train to change their foot strike to a forefront walking and running style that can decrease pain associated with running.
Slides from each of the presentations at the symposium can be reviewed online at Kao’s blog, with links to each power point document: http://realworldbiomechanics.blogspot.com/