Faulty Running Mechanics: Over-striding

If someone were to take up golf, they would most likely consider taking golf lessons. If they join a tennis league, there would undoubtedly be instructional resources to learn the mechanics of the serve. However, since we all have been running around since the first years of our lives, we mistakenly think that we don't need to understand or learn the mechanics of efficient, injury-free running. The principles of proper running mechanics need to be understood and applied to reach your highest potential as an efficient and injury-free runner.

The human body is built to be an efficient running machine. Evolution provided the adaptations that allow us to move our bodies economically over long distances in search of food. The problem is that our sedentary lifestyle denies us the strength and flexibility to exploit the built-in adaptations that make us efficient runners; we have to re-learn how to use the evolutionary gifts. 

Problem: Over-striding is defined as taking too long of a stride - therefore, the foot lands too far in front of our body. Run gait is comprised of two distinct phases: the stance phase, and the swing phase. The stance phase is the time during which your foot is on the ground and the leg is bearing the forces of body weight. The swing phase of the running gait cycle is when your leg leaves the ground to recover from a position behind your body, to land on the ground in front of you to propel you forward again. Running differs from walking in that in the walking gait there is always at least one foot on the ground, and a period called double stance, where both feet are on the ground at the same time. This, of course, limits the amount of force coming down with each foot strike, as some of the body's weight is always supported by one leg.

Conversely, there is a time in the run gait cycle called the float stage, during which neither leg is on the ground and we are literally flying through the air. Accordingly, in running the forces absorbed by the foot and leg at each foot strike approach dangerously high levels, up to four times your body weight. Efficiency and speed in running is determined by where the foot strikes the ground in relation to the center of mass of your body. The further in front of the body that the foot hits the ground, the more inefficient we are at propelling our body mass forward. Wasted energy translates to slower speeds. Additionally, when you over-stride, the joints of your foot and leg operate from a disadvantageous position, working too hard to propel you forward and subjecting the tissues and joints to excessive and unnatural forces - which creates injuries.

  Solution: The Phase IV Video Run Gait Analysis will allow us to capture and assess the finer points of your gait and correct any deviations, making you more efficient, faster, and less likely to get injured. Call us at 310.582.8212, or email us for more information or to sign up for one of our free Running Gait lectures in Manhattan Beach, CA, at iRun MB - 1112 Manhattan Ave, Manhattan Beach.

Always stretch BEFORE and AFTER each workout to stay injury-free.