Quite often I hear comments like "I’m going to try minimalist running shoes", as if such a change were a easy task like changing socks. Unless the people who make these comments change their expectations, I’m afraid they will be disappointed with their new shoes. Minimalist running shoes are for people who use a forefoot landing in their running technique. People who use a heel strike landing, which includes most people who are switching from a traditional running shoe, will consider running in a minimalist running shoe uncomfortable. Their heel landing will be jarring, because the heel of their shoe is not as cushioned. When their foot rolls from heel to toe the relatively flat shoe sole will tend to slap the ground. People who make such comments should first ask themselves "Am I willing to switch to the forefoot landing style of running?"

Injury Prevention-Two Methods

The risk of injury while running is high. Continually pounding the pavement with all your weight concentrated on your relatively rigid heel is a significant reason. Since injuries caused by this repetitive impact tend to be long lasting if not permanent, runners need a way of reducing this risk.

1. Heel Cushioning

Running shoe manufacturers traditionally reduced this risk by adding cushioning to the soles of their shoes, especially in the heel to cushion the heel strike. This differential cushioning causes a condition called heel-to-toe-drop or "offset". When standing on the floor in bare feet, your heel and forefoot are level. You have no offset. When standing on the floor in traditional running shoes with a well cushioned heel, your heel is several millimeters higher than your forefoot. The difference in height is offset. High offset shoes not only make the heel strike more comfortable, but they also make it difficult to run using any other technique.

2. Forefoot Landing

The other way people have reduced this risk of injury is to return to the natural barefoot method of running with its forefoot landing. By landing on your forefoot instead of your heel, your toes, tendons and muscles, with their natural springiness, absorb the impact. If the only shoes available have high offset, the only way to use a forefoot landing would be to run with no shoes. Although running barefoot significantly reduces the risk of the permanent injuries mentioned above, it also introduces the possibility of other minor injuries.

• Muscle strains - Switching from heel strike to forefoot landing does not eliminate the impact forces that cause injuries. It merely transfers the impact to parts of your body that can better absorb it, namely your Achilles tendons and calf muscles. The problem is that when you switch that transfer is made all at once. Regardless of your conditioning as a runner using the heel strike method, your calf muscles will have to be strengthened to handle the forefoot landing. Do it slowly. Start with five minutes a day and work your way up. If you don’t, cramps and muscle strains are quite likely which means you will have to start again after a lengthy convalescence.

• Abrasions, Lacerations, Contusions - Running barefoot increases the risk of scrapes, cuts and bruises on the soles of your feet. If you run barefoot anyway, nature will eventually respond by providing natural soles of toughened skin on the bottoms of you feet. You can reduce the risk still further by wearing shoes designed for the forefoot landing that is minimalist running shoes.

Types of Minimalist Running Shoes

The forefoot landing is the most popular and practical reason for running barefoot, but it is not the only reason. Other reasons are more intuitive than that. For example, running barefoot is a way to experience nature, to become one with the environment, to feel the ground or to experience freedom. Consequently, minimalist running shoes, which came about as alternatives to running barefoot, are as varied as those reasons.

• Purely minimal - Running in these shoes are as close to running barefoot as possible and still be wearing shoes. They have low offset, thin soles, light weight, minimal uppers, high flexibility and ample toe room. Shoes in this category include shoes for racing and training.

• Comfortable minimal - Not all users of minimalist shoes approach the shoe from a barefoot perspective. Some like the low offset so that they can do the forefoot landing, but do not want to give up the comfort of cushioning. Shoes that fit into this category have less ground feel, less flexibility and more weight due to thicker soles.

• Controlled minimal - Some runners cannot go barefoot. They need arch support and/or pronation control devises. These people can find minimalist running shoes to accommodate so that they can still do the forefoot landing. Again, shoes that fit into this category have less ground feel, less flexibility and more weight due to thicker soles.

• Trail minimal - Some runners run on rough terrain. The purely minimal shoes designed for road running may not hold up exceptionally well in such harsh conditions. These runners need minimalist shoes that are tougher than that. Again, shoes that fit into this category have less ground feel, less flexibility and more weight due to thicker soles and more durable uppers.

• Amphibious minimal - Some sports call for shoes that can be submerged in water. Examples are steeple chase, triathlons, kayaking and angling.

• Light Weight Shoes - Some people want aspects of minimalist running shoes but still want to use the heel strike method of running. With the use of high tech materials and techniques, manufacturers can make shoes with a cushioned heel and a high offset that are still flexible and are light weight and are called minimalist by their manufacturer.

As you can see, the decision to wear minimalist running shoes is a tricky one. Before you buy ask yourself.

• Why you want to change.

• What aspects of Traditional Running Shoes, if any, do you want to keep.

• Am I willing to switch to a forefoot landing method of running?