Published September 22, 2026 01:08PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In Greek mythology, one of the heroes of the Trojan War was Achilles, whose mother dipped him as a baby into the river Styx to make him impervious to enemy attacks. But he had one weak link: when his mother plunged him into the magic waters, she held him by the heel, failing to provide it with the same protection. Eventually, he would be felled by an arrow to the tendon now named in his honor.<\/p>\n
This ancient story offers many lessons, but for runners, the most interesting is that one of Achilles\u2019s great strengths was his running prowess. Back during the Trojan War, the ancient Greeks apparently already knew that the great tendon behind the heel is a potential weak link for runners.<\/p>\n
Achilles Tendon Injuries Are the Most Common Type of Injury in Runners<\/h2>\n
Achilles tendon problems, in fact, are one of the most common<\/a> injuries in distance running, and, according to a recent Czech study<\/a>, the more you run (beyond 25 miles or 40 kilometers per week), the more problematic they become.<\/p>\n But recently, we may be seeing a plague not only of Achilles problems, but of slow-to-resolve calf problems (related to Achilles problems because the calf muscles connect to the Achilles tendon and are subject to the same biomechanical forces).<\/p>\n I first noticed it early this year, when problems to which I\u2019d normally have said \u201ctake a few days off and go easy for a week or two\u201d took months to resolve, not just in one runner in my group, but in more than one. Matt Klein, an assistant professor of physical therapy at George Fox University, Newberg, Oregon, has seen the same thing. \u201cRecurrent calf strains have become a more frequent problem in the last couple of years,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n The causes are unclear, but one prospect is modern trends in shoe design<\/a>. There are a few design features that may cause issues. We get into them below.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s happening in the running industry right now,\u201d Klein says, is that \u201cfootwear has gotten way stiffer. Even though not every shoe has a carbon plate<\/a>, they have really increased the stiffness of a lot of shoes.\u201d That\u2019s an issue for calves and Achilles tendons, he says, because the stiffer the shoe, the harder your calves need to work to overcome it.<\/p>\n Another potential problem, Klein says, is that modern super-cushy foams may work against you, especially if you are a heel striker (and research<\/a> shows that many of us are, even if we don\u2019t think we are). The issue, Klein says, is that shoe specifications for things like drop and stack height are based on static measurements that may not apply when running. If you land hard on a soft, cushy heel, and it compresses substantially, then that shoe\u2019s functional heel-to-toe drop is reduced by the amount of the compression.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, a lot of people that run in zero-drop shoes [who are] heel strikers are going to be running in a negative-drop shoe,\u201d Klein says, \u201cand when you put the ankle in an aggressively dorsiflexed (toe up) position, that is actually the maximum force the calf is required to produce.\u201d<\/p>\n If you try to compensate by forefoot striking, he says, all it does is create \u201ca different issue,\u201d in which you are landing on an unstable surface, forcing your muscles to work harder not just to create propulsion, but to stabilize your foot. \u201cSo, [you] kind of don\u2019t win when you have aggressively soft shoes,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Super shoes address this problem by using a curved base, called a rocker, that allows your foot to roll forward during each stride, like a rocking chair. This comes with its own drawbacks<\/a>, but if it is properly tailored for your foot\/stride, it means you don\u2019t need to flex the shoe or battle against excessive cushion to toe off into the next stride. The shoe simply rolls you into it.<\/p>\n But if that doesn\u2019t work for you, alternative options are limited. All of the shoes in my own closet are extremely inflexible by the standards of a few years ago. More flexible minimalist footwear still exists, but semi-minimalist? Happy hunting.<\/p>\n Not that any of this proves that modern shoe designs are causing calf\/Achilles problems. All that can really be said, says Daniel Jandacka, a kinesiologist at the University of Ostrava, Czech Republic, is that it\u2019s a hypothesis \u201ccertainly worthy\u201d of more rigorous investigation. To the extent his own team has investigated it, he adds, they have not identified footwear as a major risk factor, though he adds, \u201cthis does not prove that footwear has no effect.\u201d<\/p>\n Most likely, he says, the inability of studies<\/a> like his to find an association is because Achilles tendon problems (and calf problems) are multifactorial. \u201cFootwear may play a role,\u201d he says, \u201cbut training load, recovery, tissue capacity, running biomechanics, and individual adaptation are also likely important contributors.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, there are occasions when shoes can play major roles. For me, the first sign that my running shoes were getting overly worn was often knee pain. And I once had a pair of shoes that gave me a crippling case of iliotibial band syndrome the first time I tried them out, even though it was only for a two-mile run.<\/p>\n But that doesn\u2019t mean that a new pair of shoes will fix your calf or Achilles issues. Instead of relying solely on shoes to take the impact load off of vulnerable portions of your body (like the calves\/Achilles), says Jay Dicharry, a professor at Oregon State University\u2014Cascades and author of\u00a0Running Rewired: Reinvent Your Run for Stability, Strength, and Speed<\/i>,<\/a> you should also work on improving how your feet function when you are running. \u201cShoes do affect where the load goes, but they don\u2019t fix your problems,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n How best to do this is a major part of his book, but one way to start, Dicharry says, is with \u201cthe hardest easy exercise in the whole world.\u201d<\/p>\n At first, you\u2019ll think it\u2019s ridiculously easy\u2026then you won\u2019t. When it does become easier, start tossing the water bottle from one hand to the other, or progress to something heavier such as a kettlebell. If you are having balance problems, touch the other foot down lightly to stabilize yourself. That won\u2019t ruin the exercise and will give you confidence.<\/p>\n Or, he says, you can buy a device he himself invented, called the MOBO board<\/a>, and try several exercises designed for it. Either way, the point is to strengthen the muscles of your feet while doing activities akin to what your feet should be doing while running.<\/p>\n Want more <\/b>Outside<\/i><\/b> health stories? <\/b>Sign up for the Bodywork newsletter<\/b><\/a>. And for tips on how to train, fuel, and recover better, <\/b>sign up for the Sweat Science 101 newsletter<\/b>.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\nModern Shoe Design Can Be Contributing to Calf and Ankle Pain<\/b><\/h2>\n
1. Stiff Footwear<\/b><\/h3>\n
2. Foam Tech in Shoes<\/b><\/h3>\n
3. A Curved Base in Super Shoes<\/b><\/h3>\n
What the Latest Research Says<\/b><\/h2>\n
The One Foot Strengthening Exercise You Should Be Doing<\/b><\/h2>\n
A Calf and Ankle Exercise to Prevent Injury and Ease Pain<\/b><\/h3>\n
Equipment Needed:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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How to Do It:<\/h4>\n
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