HOW TO ANALYSE RUNNING

BIOMECHANICS?
HOW TO MEASURE THOSE VARIABLES?
IS 2-D ANALYSIS VALID AND RELIABLE?
HOW TO MEASURE THOSE VARIABLES?
IS 2-D ANALYSIS VALID AND RELIABLE?
 ANALYSIS SET UP

High speed camera

Views 120 fps
including zoomed-in views on the foot and ankle as well as
zoomed-out views of the entire body, can be helpful

Lateral and posterior views

Treadmill
Running velocity and inclination
Markers

Any bright colored tape

Whenever possible, tape should be applied directly to the runner’s skin

Clothes

An example (10 markers):

C7 spinous process, posterior superior iliac spines, anterior superior iliac spine,
greater trochanter, lateral knee joint line, lateral malleolus, midpoint of the calf,
superior and inferior portions of the heel shoe counter, and head of the fifth
metatarsal.
Warm-up and analysis plan

Familizarization (at least 8-10 min)

Consider the nature of symptom provocation in an injured runner (ex. pain

after 20 min)

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

To date, cut-offs for kinematics to be identified as abnormal do not exist.

Risk factors do not ensure injury

Is there a correct running technique?

KEY CONCEPT: running economy

SIDE VIEW
Fo
ot
St
r ik
eP
at
te
rn
 Foot Strike
Pattern

There is a high prevalence of RFS and

HRFS among the most recreational
distance runners
 rn
te
at
eP
rik
St
ot
Fo

…there is limited evidence that any FSP is more or less likely to cause a runner to sustain an
injury…

Runners who habitually RFS have significantly higher

rates of repetitive stress injury than those who
mostly FFS.

This study does not test the causal bases for this general difference. One hypothesis, which requires
further research, is that the absence of a marked impact peak in the GRF during FFS compared with RFS
may contribute to lower rates of injuries in habitual FFS
 g l e
A n
t i o n t
i n a t a c
n c l o n
t I a l C
F o o i t i
t I n
a

particularly important in estimating ground reaction forces and joint kinetics

during running (Wille et al)

↑foot inclination angle was found to be related to ↑ peak knee extensor

moments, ↑ knee energy absorbed, ↑ peak vertical ground reaction force, and
↑ braking impulse during running
 n g
a di
L o
a t e
g l e n s
A n p o
e s
i b ia R
T

At the moment of loading response (as the shoe begins to deform just after initial
contact).

A vertical or flexed tibia allows the runner to dissipate impact more readily though
knee flexion.
 Kn
ee
fle x
io n
du r
i ng
sta
nce

(i) the peak amount of knee

flexion
(ii) knee joint excursion
during stance (difference
in angle from IC to peak
knee flexion)
Some data exist suggesting that lower knee flexion (<40°) may be associated
with certain subgroups of patients with patellofemoral pain…

…but greater peak knee flexion implies longer CT and lower stiffness…
 Hi
pE
xt
L a e ns
te i o
St n D
an ur
ce i n
g

Compensations for reduced hip extension include

(1) Increased lumbar spine extension,
(2) Bounding, a strategy to increase float time to increase overall SL in the
absence of adequate hip extension,
(3) Overstriding, including excessive reaching during IC as a strategy to
increase SL,
(4) Increased cadence to increase running speed in the presence of a limited
hip extension.
 a n
L e
n k
Tr u

Relationship with running related injuries?

A small increase in trunk lean (higher flexion, ~7°) resulted in a significant
lowering of the stress across the patellofemoral joint without a
significant increase in ankle demand, suggesting that this strategy may
be important for runners with patellofemoral pain
 Ov
er
st
r id
i ng
Overstriding is not SL

It is a significant predictor of knee extensor moment (the sagittal plane torque across the knee
joint during stance) and braking impulse (an important contributor to shock attenuation and
running energetics) during running.

foot inclination angle at IC

Overstriding can
be evaluated tibial angle at loading response
through…
Knee flexion at IC
 Ve r
t
o f t ic a l
h e Disp
C e n l ac
te r e me
of M n t
as s

How can be measured…?

By comparing frames of video from the runner’s
highest point during float, to the lowest point
during stance

Associated to…
…Increased excursion of the center of mass vertically has been found to be
predictive of the peak knee extensor moment, the peak vertical ground
reaction force, as well as braking impulse during running, all very important
variables in running mechanics…
Cadence

STRIDE RATE: nº of right strides over a 1-minute period

STEP RATE: Multiplying this number by 2 or the nº of steps

Trend to Gait
Several recent studies have evaluated the biomechanical
Retraining consequences of manipulating cadence.

Increasing cadence by 10% can reduce center of mass vertical excursion, braking impulse,
and mechanical energy absorbed at the knee, as well as decrease peak hip adduction
angle and peak hip adduction and internal rotation moments during running.

…but, BE CAREFUL! Normally, Optimal cadence is close to Preferred cadence (3%)

POSTERIOR VIEW
 Base of Support
“cross-over sign” or “scissoring gait”

Running step width can vary as a function of running speed, but may
also be related to common running injuries

GENERAL RULE: when viewed from a posterior video, the left and right feet
should not overlap in their ground contact location

Associated to…
A narrow base of support has been linked to tibial stress fractures, iliotibial band
syndrome, and several kinematic patterns that have been associated with running
injuries, such as excessive hip adduction and overpronation.
 o n
e r si t
l Ev ffo o
e e n t o
H m p
n e o n…
o ti
a
o n
…a c pro

How can be measured…?

By placing markers at the top
and bottom of the shoe heel
counter
It is important to evaluate not only the peak magnitude of heel eversion BUT ALSO THE RATE
OF PRONATION

Associated to…
Several studies have linked excessive heel eversion to various running injuries,
such as tibial stress fractures, patellofemoral pain, and Achilles tendonopathy.
 e e l t
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Foot pronation What is it?
 Pronation and running injuries…

The main findings of the present study were that runners with a medial ground
pressure during stance sustains more injuries within 1500km of running in
neutral running shoes compared to runners with a greater Lateral-ground
pressure during stance

How to measure pronation…

static measures of pronation do not reflect the dynamic motions

a dynamic measure of foot function, such as average medio-lateral shoe-ground pressure distribution
ratio (foot balance), may display a stronger relationship with risk of injuries (Neal et al., 2014.
JFAR)
 Injuries associated to foot pronation…

internal rotation of the tibia which tends to draw the Achilles tendon medially
(Sinclair et al., 2014. CB)

risk factor for plantar fasciopathy (Chuter et al., 2012. G&P)

a greater medial pressure during the first 20% of stance has been linked to medial
tibial stress syndrome in recruits (Sharma et al., 2014. G&P)
 Nevertheless…

Therefore, is not pronation…is OVERpronation

 on
g le s s i
An gre
o
Pr
ot
Fo

is the transverse plane

position of the foot during
stance phase
Interpretation…

This usually equates to approximately 5° to 10° of toe- out

Abnormally toe-in foot progression angle may be associated with hip

internal rotation, knee internal rotation, ankle internal rotation, or some
combination of these

Excessive toe-out is also not uncommonly seen.

 s
H e e l Wh i p
How can be measured…?
by comparing the angle of the
plantar surface of the shoe at
initial contact with the plantar
surface at the point of maximum
rotation

Frequency?
data suggest that an angular
rotation of more than 5° in
either the medial (see Fig. A, B) or
lateral (see Fig. C, D) is observed in
more than one-half of
recreational runners
 Kn
ee
Wi
ndo
w
Assessment of the presence or absence
of a space bet ween the knees at all
times of the running cycle, and is a
measure of the alignment of the hip,
knee, and ankle from a posterior (or
anterior) view
Associated to…
Excessive hip adduction, excessive hip internal rotation, and excessive
knee valgus have all been implicated in running injuries.
 op
markers on the posterior superior
Dr iliac spines
ic
lv
Pe

How can be measured…?

By comparing stance limb and
swing limb marker positions, the
amount of pelvic drop can be
estimated.

Associated to…
Excessive PD during running contributes to excessive hip adduction, a variable that has been
linked to numerous running injuries.

It may serve as a surrogate measure for hip and/or core muscle weakness. Pelvic drop during
running has been reported to be significantly related to both hip abductor strength and hip
extension strength, and fatiguing of these muscles have been observed to result in excessive pelvic
drop.
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v=8qPANGm6KuQ&feature=share
 Runmatic App

Contact time

Aerial time

User interface of Runmatic, showing how

a properly recorded video should look
 t??
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Co
Is the steady-state oxygen consumption (VO2) at
a given running velocity

RE can vary by as much as 30%

among trained runners with
similar VO2max
Influencing factors VI

Running style / gait patterns: Stride length and stride rate

Submaximal VO2 increases curvilinearly as SL is either lengthened or
shortened from that self-selected by the runner

Running style / gait patterns: Vertical oscillation

Elite distance runners have slightly less vertical oscillation and had better RE than good runners.

BUT…controversial results have been found when

measuring directly: less vertical oscillation results in high
SF and higher internal work to accelerate lower limb
segments, thus increasing VO2 and reducing RE

Running style / gait patterns: Footstrike patterns

No differences in VO2 bet ween 19 habitual FF

runners and 18 habitual RR. However, when subjects
ran with the alternative FSP, VO2 increased
significantly (5.5%) with the FF but not the RR
(Gruber et al., 2013)
Influencing factors VII

ELITE Vs. AMATEURS

Lower body kinematics

Better RE was associated with:
- greater maximal angle of the thigh during hip extension,
- more extended lower leg at foot strike,
- more acute knee angles during swing and toe-off
- good runners plantar flexed an average of 10° more during toe-off than elite runners
Influencing factors VII

ELITE Vs. AMATEURS

Upper body kinematics

Limited evidence and controversial results

Less arm movement, as measured by wrist excursion during the gait cycle, tended to reduce
total upper body excursion from the body center of mass both laterally and horizontally and be
associated with better RE
Influencing factors VII

ELITE Vs. AMATEURS

Kinetics / ground reaction forces

GRF are not likely to be the determining factor that makes one runner more economical than
another, and that in fact some elite runners are economical despite low GRF

Horizontal forces can also substantially affect RE:

mass-specific horizontal forces were substantially related to RE at different velocities
 Modifiable Biomechanical Factors Affecting Running Economy
Spatiotemporal Factors
Naturally choose SF and SL are economically optimal
SF o mathematical optimal SF or SL is, on average, 3 % faster or 3 % shorter than their preferred
r SL
In a fatigued state, trained runners reduce their SF and produce a preferred SF that is similar to their
optimal SF achieved in a fatigued state

For novice runners, the difference bet ween preferred and mathematically optimal SF is greater than for trained
runners (8 vs. 3 %)
i o n
i at
l l
l o s c increasing vertical oscillation leads to increases in VO2
r t i ca Be cautious because of SF and SL
Ve
CTwith
Equivocal results regarding its association
RE. reduce the speed lost during CT is the KEY

m e
g ti The relationship bet ween all
i n
w Increasing the absolute time spent in the swing
S these aspects that should be
phase has been associated with better RE by
several researchers considered
 Modifiable Biomechanical Factors Affecting Running Economy
Lower Limb Kinematic Factors
Knee and ankle angle at TO
being beneficial for RE is a less
less plantarflexion and/or less knee
extended leg at toe-off extension as the runner pushes off
the ground

Less leg extension would reduce the

amount of flexion needed during
swing by already being partially
Less leg extension could produce
flexed and potentially reduce the
greater propulsive force (Moore
leg’s moment of inertia, lowering et al.), by potentially allowing
the energy required to flex the leg the leg extensor muscles to
during the swing phase operate at a more favorable
position on the force–length
g l e s curve

i d e an
St r
Larger stride angles appear to be beneficial
for lowering VO2 and can be achieved by
either increasing swing time or decreasing
SL