Stacked In Your Favour?

Is your running shoe stacked in your favour? It appears the running shoe pendulum has swung from the minimalist to the maximalist. Is there an optimum? Minimal shoes are typically flexible, lightweight, and have a low drop and stack height. Maximal counterparts are now lightweight, offer moderate flexibility, a low drop, but differ greatly with a large stack height. The load on the patellofemoral joint may decrease in a minimalist shoe, however the calf and achilles tendon may sustain higher loads (Rice & Patel, 2017; Sinclair, 2014; Sinclair, Richards & Shore, 2015) and pose greater risk of injury to the shin & calf (Ryan et al., 2014). Maximal shoes may result in a longer eversion duration, which has also been associated to injury risk (Hannigan & Pollard, 2019). 

In terms of ground reaction forces, studies have been equivocal perhaps in part due to the testing parameters, protocols, cushioning materials, running speeds & mechanics, etc. Recent study also surmises variation in ground reaction forces from past research may in fact be due to factors outside of midsole height (Hannigan & Pollard, 2020). 

When it comes to running economy, research has reported some midsole height (10mm) is better than having none, yet having double the amount wasn’t any better (Tung, Franz & Kram, 2014). 

Other considerations are terrain, i.e., should there be much turning involved in the terrain, one should likely forgo some stack height to gain more stability. 

So, how does the evidence ‘stack’ up? There is certainly no one size fits all when it comes to running footwear. Until there is more research on maximal shoes to balance that of minimal shoes, conclusions may be speculative. For now, you be the jury & let us know your thoughts!