foot strike, injuries and performance

[MichaelMc]

Interesting results from this large study on the effect of what part of the foot you land on with regard to injury rate and running peformance. In short, the injury rate for the 13% of runners who land forefoot and "mid foot" (whole foot) is the same as the 87% who land heel first. http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-prev ... l-strikers

Not a shock to me, but probably hard to explain for the advocates of changing landings to improve performance. Good posture, good form, let your feet land as they feel right!

[Dr. S]

Interesting results from this large study on the effect of what part of the foot you land on with regard to injury rate and running peformance. In short, the injury rate for the 13% of runners who land forefoot and "mid foot" (whole foot) is the same as the 87% who land heel first. http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-prev ... l-strikers

Not a shock to me, but probably hard to explain for the advocates of changing landings to improve performance. Good posture, good form, let your feet land as they feel right!

Intresting, I thought to some point that being a heel striker caused me most of my injuries. And it's a very hard thing to change. Maybe worth it to take more notice on my form then! Well that is when I can run again .... !

[mas_runner]

Intresting, I thought to some point that being a heel striker caused me most of my injuries. And it's a very hard thing to change. Maybe worth it to take more notice on my form then! Well that is when I can run again .... !

Get the book Chi Running, skip the first 4 or 5 chapters of mumbo-jumbo and general back-slapping. Follow the instructions for posture (forward lean from the ankles etc etc). Start slow, build up, will become second nature.

Transformed my running.

[MichaelMc]

I like the basic posture of Chi Running, and have used some of the "imagery" to get people to improve.

Basically good running posture is simply good athletic posture: strong back position, chest open, shoulders back and down. After that if you land almost under your center of mass with your knees slightly bent (not fully extended) then simply running a lot will make everything else fall into place.
The "forward lean" idea seems to help some people but mess others up. If you stride forward strongly then you pretty much HAVE to lean slightly forward to stay upright, adding that directive seems to make some people exaggerate it while it helps others 'get it'.

Chi running and the Pose method have managed to turn simple into "money making", and both play fast and loose with physics trying to justify why running their way is the most efficient.

[ian]

I agree that the details of foot striking should be a consequence of productive refinements to running form rather than the other way around. Based on my experiences, I would probably rate "slow cadence" as the most prevalent cause for poor form. When I first started fixing this in my own running, it produced a more balanced footstrike (less pronation, less of a heel strike) and improved my endurance (less wasted vertical motion). If, on a group run with an intermediate runner, I mention "quicker steps", I can usually count on seeing a second wind arrive before the end of the block.

[MichaelMc]

I agree that the details of foot striking should be a consequence of productive refinements to running form rather than the other way around. Based on my experiences, I would probably rate "slow cadence" as the most prevalent cause for poor form. When I first started fixing this in my own running, it produced a more balanced footstrike (less pronation, less of a heel strike) and improved my endurance (less wasted vertical motion). If, on a group run with an intermediate runner, I mention "quicker steps", I can usually count on seeing a second wind arrive before the end of the block.

Slow cadence certainly ranks right up there with bad posture, and there is some overlap (cause/effect). "Quick steps" helps a lot of folks, but slow cadence sometimes comes from too much UP, sometimes from trying to "reach" too far each step. I see quite a few people whose stride completely falls apart trying to hit the "magic" 180. "Shorten your stride" sometimes turns into a disasterous bouncy gait! I guess that is the thing about teaching: it isn't just presenting the "facts" it is giving them in a way that reaches the individual.