In this article:
- how to improve your running technique
- how to reduce your injury risk and run pain-free
- how to implement barefoot running for technique practice without risking injury
What’s the best way you can prevent running injuries?
The verdict may be inconclusive, but there is one thing that doubles your risk according to scientific studies.
How Your Foot Hits the Ground!
Does your heel or your forefoot hit the ground first? If your heel hits the ground first, you’re a heel striker. Heel strikers have double the risk of injury compared to their forefoot striking counterparts according to a recent study. (see references)
Here is a quick demonstration of the practical biomechanics of heel striking versus forefoot striking:
But changing your entire running technique can be risky if you do too much too soon! Here are 3 ways to ease into it.
1. Do some barefoot technique practice.
When you run with shoes, you take away much of the feedback that your nervous system gives you. This feedback is called proprioception and it tells your body how to move with greatest efficiency and least effort. It also keeps you from repetitively doing movements that will injure you.
Try this: Take off your shoes and start to hop up and down a few times. Then all of a sudden, land on your heels. If you really tried this, there is a good chance that your body just told you, “Don’t do that ever again.”
But don’t start doing all your running barefoot! You’re probably not an aborigine who grew up barefoot with a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. If you’re like most of us, you’ve probably worn shoes your whole life. Your feet are weak and you will most likely injure yourself if you decide to go barefoot entirely.
Strengthen your feet by doing as much of your warm up and mobility/flexibility work barefoot. Yoga is a great way to do this. Also do your low impact strength training without shoes.
Run barefoot 100 meters at a time at first. On your first practice, just do 2-100 meter runs with a short rest period between them. Focus on how your body feels and how it differs from your normal stride. Most people will automatically switch to a forefoot striking gate when barefoot.
Practice this way 3 times a week at first. Use it as a warm up for a regular run. Try to carry the body feel of your barefoot technique into your run. Gradually increase your barefoot running from here.
2. Open your stride to the rear.
When you start a run, your stride length is short at first and increases as you accelerate. Your stride opens. You can open your stride in two ways: to the front and to the rear.
If you open your stride to the front, you will tend to heel strike. Also you will place your foot in front of your center of gravity which will have a braking effect and slow you down and waste energy.
If your open your stride to the rear, you will tend to add propulsion to your stride. You will go faster with less effort. You will also be more likely to forefoot strike.
You may have trouble opening your stride to the rear because of tight hip flexors. If you spend several hours a day driving or sitting at a desk, then you very likely have tight hip flexors. Here is a great stretch:
Try the above stretch at least once daily for 5 breaths each side.
3. Focus your attention on how instead of how much.
In most sports, athletes spend as much time, effort, and attention on practicing technique as they do on conditioning. But long distance runners, because of the extreme conditioning demands we face, tend to focus much more on conditioning. We focus on quantity.
“How far did you run?”
“How fast?”
“What was your time?”
These are questions your will overhear if you listen to a conversation among runners.
You almost never hear the following:
“Did you forefoot or heel strike?”
“Did you open your strides to the front or rear?”
So the third way to improve your running and move away form heel striking is to simply pay attention to how you run! Feel how your foot hits the ground. How does it feel when your speed up or slow down? Do you speed up by moving faster or pounding harder?
Mind/body exercise disciplines such as yoga, Pilates, tai chi, and qigong are a great way to cross train and improve your ability to focus, concentrate, and tune into your body.
References:
Foot strike and injury rates in endurance runners: a retrospective study.
Author: Nick Ortego is a health coach specializing in biohacking for runners. He integrates modern methods with the ancient wisdom of yoga to help runners get the most out of every aspect of life. He is the owner of N 2 Action, a wellness studio in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, offering personal training, health coaching, yoga, and fascial stretch therapy.
Also check out the Nick Ortego Fitness Youtube channel.
