By Anna Trnka, Physiotherapist
Optimising Running Biomechanics
Humans are designed to run but we all have our own running styles, some prettier than others! There are lots of people who preach different styles of running, whilst some have increased efficiency, there is no perfect technique that has been proven to prevent injury. Not everyone needs to run smoothly and beautifully like Olympic Gold Medalists (and some olympic gold medalists don’t run very smoothly!). However some movement patterns may be placing extra stress on particular muscles, tendons and joints. Small adjustments can off load theses areas allowing you to run pain free and more efficiently.
With expertise in biomechanics and injury pathology, physiotherapists are primed to analyse your running technique. We look at the trunk, hip, knee and ankle to assess slight movement pattern deviations and their impact on your body. With small technique prompts and practicing some running drills we can subtly change your running style to offload the injured area and potentially prevent reoccurence.
How to reduce pain and run more efficiently with better running technique?
Your physiotherapist might instruct you to focus on a particular aspect of your running and adjust it slightly. Common examples are changing from a forefoot strike to a mid foot strike for someone with achilles pain or improving a crossover foot pattern in someone with ITB/hip pain. If these are effective in reducing your pain, your physiotherapist can then design individually tailored drills for you to practise. Running drills to address both the stance and swing phase of running are great for improving running efficiency and reducing impact absorbed through the body.
A skip link
B skip link
Arm swing link
How Physiotherapy can help?
When you book in for a sports physiotherapy consultation to manage your running injury, your physiotherapist will:
-
Assess and accurately diagnose your injury
-
Provide treatments to reduce pain immediately
-
Assess the underlying cause of your injury: training errors, muscle weakness or poor technique
-
Provide treatment to address the cause by: assisting you with a return to running program that manages your load appropriately, a strength and conditioning program to target your weaknesses and any technique tips or drills to improve your running efficiency.
Remember: Prevention is better than the cure! If you want to take your running to the next level, book in and have an injury prevention screening. You will be able to run further, faster more frequently and best of all, pain free!
If you have sustained an injury from playing tennis or are just keen on a targeted, individualised injury prevention program book in with one of our Physiotherapists today!
Melbourne Sports Physiotherapy
Melbourne Sports Physio has a range of qualified and experienced professionals who can help provide ongoing support and treatment. Our friendly team are located in across Melbourne in Essendon, North Melbourne and Blackburn South, and appointments can be made by calling or booking online.