Hallelujah! Finally some research looking into the benefits of Running Technique Retraining for managing lower limb injuries.
I recently read an article in the Sports Health, Sports Medicine Australia, publication written by Physio Dr Christian Barton on how incorporating running retraining (ie. Running technique) in the management of running related injuries is gaining popularity.
The idea that improving running technique is essential for managing run-related injuries and also for reducing the risk of injury occurrence is one that I have held for a number of years. This thought was the instigator for why I began to run our Gold Coast Physio & Sports Health practical Running Technique clinics (see here for more details).
I was pleasantly surprised to read this recent article by Dr Barton. In his article, Christian states “rarely is running assessed adequately or running retraining (altering running technique through cures) employed as part of the patient’s management plan” after injury. Like Christian, I am always surprised by the number of athletes (both recreational, age-level competitive and elite) that present to me with an injury from running (or an injury that is aggravated by running) that have seen other Health Professionals, and these professionals have not viewed (either video or live footage) that athletes’ run technique.
Running is a skill. Just like we would not expect to be able to pitch a baseball pitch without correct technique lessons, we also should not expect to just put on our running shoes, and head out the door to run easily or efficiently or with less injury risk without sound technique.
When you run efficiently, running feels easy. Efficient running is learning to do the least amount of work possible to run fast and light. Efficient running is about learning how to manage the forces from the ground so that they help propel you in a forward direction. And efficient running is about managing the ground reaction forces to minimise the impact on your tissues, which reduces your risk of injury.
To run faster, more efficiently and injury-free for endurance running below I have summarised the seven main principles I focus on:
- Your pelvis is the centre of the universe! Your pelvis must be stable in space with no twisting, dropping or rotating. This will allow your torso and legs to generate forces from a stable base. Having your pelvis stable when you run is easier said than done. You may need to get a Sports Physio who understands running to assess you and give you exercises specific to improve this.
- Your running posture needs to result in a forwards lean. This allows you to use gravity to help you progress in the direction you want to go.
- Your Feet, Achilles and Calves need to be strong and stiff. Your feet act as the point between which the forces generated at your hips/pelvis for propulsion are transferred to the ground. A stiff spring rebounds from the ground with less effort to generate force than a soft, slinky spring.
- Arm carry (ie how you hold your arms and how you move them). Your arms can be used to help you reach a good cadence (steps per minute) so you need to focus on bent elbows to make your arms into a short lever and then driving your arm carry behind the line of your body.
- Good hip flexor and abdominal strength to assist leg drive in front of your body. If your legs spend extra time in swing phase (ie. in the air) behind your hips, this does not help you progress forwards across the ground (and is only useful as wind-up if you are about to kick a ball).
- Foot strike. This is the biggest key to reducing decelerating forces from the ground and therefore improving speed. It is also important for reducing the magnitude of the force that the ground pushes back at you with when your foot hits the ground so is significant for injury prevention. Your foot needs to strike the ground ideally directly beneath your hip and with your leg travelling backwards in space as you strike. This strike pattern is often about leg awareness in space (proprioception) and correct running postures.
- Cadence. A higher cadence in combination with the above tips can help reduce over-striding (ie putting your foot down for footstrike in front of your body). Over-striding will lead to increased deceleration forces from the ground which means increased effort to run, a slower pace and increased risk of injury due to increased ground reaction forces.
If you are a runner (in any form: road runner, triathlete, trail runner, cross-fit, treadmill or personal training group), when you attend Gold Coast Physio & Sports Health you can expect to have your running technique discussed, reviewed and run-specific exercises given. You may even need to join me for one of our Running technique clinics.
In our Running Technique Clinic I teach the seven principles through running-specific exercises and basic running drills and I provide individual feedback to each participant. Any runner at any level is welcome. Click here for more on what I teach on perfect running technique
Running Technique Drills from Gold Coast Physio Sports Health on Vimeo.
Our website (www.mygcphysio.com.au) has a short video on some basic drills and exercises that I commonly use during our Run Technique clinic (watch video here). The drills viewed here as by no means extensive ( I have lots of tricks up my sleeve depending on what you do when you run!) and serve as much more useful when performed with technique feedback at the time, and an explanation of how the drill relates directly to running performance.
So if you want to know how to run faster and with fewer injuries, come join me on the first Saturday of each month. For full details of our Run Technique clinic, click here.
Happy, enjoyable running!
Britt Caling,
APA Titled Sports Physio
Consultant Sports Physio to Triathlon Australia since 2002, Australian Institute of Sport, and personal Physio to Sally Pearson since 2005.