Running Analysis

Running Analysis

 

At Castlereagh Physio we are loving doing our video analysis of our runners.

With video analysis, we can see:

  1. Foot Strike

Whether you are a forefoot or rearfoot striker will place strain on different parts of your body and may be the reason for overload and therefore symptoms eg. Forefoot strike – tends to load the calf and Achilles tendon more.

Conversely if you are a heel striker, this can load the Anterior structures of shin and knee and if coupled with over-striding may be part of the overload occurring in medial shin pain.

 

  1. Stride Length

Over-striding is important to assess for.  This is when the point of contact of the foot is far in front of the centre of mass.  The tibia (shin bone) is noted to be at an angle and not vertical.  This is usually associated with increased dorsiflexion and heel strike which increases forces through front shin muscles, hip and knees.

 

Denise’s stride length here is okay. Her heel contact is almost in-line with her body.

 

 

 

 

  1. Stride Width

If a runner has a very narrow stride width the foot is often placed in a supinated (inward and arched) position.  They therefore land on the outer edge of the foot.  This may cause foot pain and overuse of the muscles in the shin to control the over-pronation.  This often leads to the pelvis tilting and hip internally rotating on the weight bearing side possibly causing ITB and hip symptoms.

A simple “cue” to not let the knees touch or widen the stride may be enough to change this pattern and reduce the symptoms.

 

 

Other areas to analyse are:

  1. Knees – how much knee bend

A straighter knee at mid stance can put more force through knee, hip or even lower back. A very bent run can cause problems at the front of the knee and requires more ankle range.

  1. Knee window

This is the gap between the knees as the legs move past each other. The most common problem is that the knees come too close to each other usually due to weakness in the gluteal muscles of the weight bearing leg. A tilt of the pelvis on the weight bearing (stance) phase is usually seen.

 

Here Denise is tilting through the pelvis, internally rotating and adducting the hip and has a very small knee window.

 

 

 

 

  1. Hips

The amount of hip (extension) backward movement at the start of push off phase is important to assess. Too little and your stride is usually quite short and the level of propulsion is more upward, losing some power in forward propulsion, possibly causing the pelvis to tilt forwards and increase stress through lower back and upper hamstrings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Trunk

Uneven rotation and side flexion, excessive arm swing are usually signs of instability and compensation.

Once we have identified non-optimal movements or patterns, we can design cues to help change these patterns. Also, a program of strength and control exercises to balance your muscles and regain optimal dynamic control is progressed through.

Your physio will also treat your painful knee, hip, ankle to hasten recovery with muscle releases, relevant mobilisation of stiff joints and sports taping to enhance neural input.

 

Once your pain has settled it may be that you can return to your old running style. It all depends on symptoms.

 

Cues may be:

Land softer

Increase step rate

Run taller

Land more on midfoot.