Running and Gait

If you've been paying attention to the Gait Guys' blog, you may have noticed a string of running posts lately. They have ranged in topics from injuries to examination to training techniques. Two of the posts focused on potential causes for injury. The first post discussed the issue of running only one direction on a track. Turning one direction leads to asymmetries in muscle strength and stresses placed on the body. It's not a surprise that people get injured from this! The second post was about banking your head during turns. The authors review the importance of the cervical region's role in preparing the rest of the body for movement. This further emphasizes the need to look at the entire body when we are evaluating our patients!

The third post isn't necessarily restricted to runners. It's an examination technique called the standing tripod test. The tripod is formed by the calcaneus and heads of the 1st & 5th metatarsals. As expected, the patient stands on one LE at a time, while the examiner observes the entire body for any reactions. This is a more intricate test than the standing trendelenburg test, because we should be looking at more than the hip. The authors present a case in this post that demonstrates the relationship between forearm pronation/supination and foot/ankle adjustments in maintaining balance. Very cool! The final article we wanted to include is not from the Gait Guys. Triathlete presents 5 training drills with the purpose of improving running form. While the reasoning behind them is theoretically plausible, it is by no means a scientific study. But definitely still interesting to consider and potentially a research idea!

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