Improving Running Technique?

“Is it crazy to think we try to improve guys running technique?” It’s actually a great question since some of us spend so much time dealing with running technique and, sometimes, we don’t seem to see the changes in form or improvements that we expect with the amount of time that we put into the endeavor. So, before we start to deal with the issue, let’s start with the basic question of why do we run the way we do?

Gait is like a fingerprint, everyone has their own movement pattern. Some of it is structural, ranging from small things like toe length, tendon length, the way a femur sits in the hip socket, to bigger issues like tibial torsion to everything in between will have an impact on how we move and may create limitations. For example, asking an athlete with a tibial torsion to get to the big toe or inside edge of the foot would be quite difficult to do based on the fact that the shin is rotating the foot out. 

Working with the structure, the neural system finds the safest way to move, which is not always the most powerful or efficient. The brain’s goal is to keep the body safe and will find ways to move that don’t put questionable muscles or systems at risk which can include not using glutes or hamstrings. When muscles that are supposed to work don’t, it creates a compensation pattern which is a different way to move.

There are many ways to move. The brain records all of the bad things that have happened in the past and does it’s best to not go down that path again unless the movement demands it. (Both of these ideas can help to explain recurring injuries from ankles to shoulders). Once the brain finds a safe solution to movement, it will stay with that pattern until it is given a reason to change.

Once a safe recruitment is in place, the vestibular system starts to navigate. The brain will find a target and the vestibular system will guide you there as safely as possible, alerting and avoiding danger, keeping a horizon so it is easier to balance and move. The problem is that sometimes the vestibular system can act as a brake. Watch someone who is asked to jump off a tall box. They will  squat down closer to the ground so the vestibular system will accept the demand. Or, watch someone who gets a grain of sand in their eye suddenly slow down. The fastest young athletes usually have great vision. If vision is poor, the brain wants to keep us safe by slowing us down.

This is a gross simplification of the incredibly complex Gait Cycle and there is more that we don’t even know about yet. But what we do know is that body is trying to be safe based on its history. Safety becomes a problem in most sports because we want power and speed for as long as possible. The safety of the compensation patterns will often result in a lower ceiling of performance and an eventual injury. As diligent coaches, we watch video of top performers and try to get our athletes to “look the part”.

However there may be a few hurdles in the path towards perfection. 

How can we prime the body to raise the ceiling and run faster?

Before we get to the drills and exercises, we can help the body get ready by checking our reflexes. Various reflexes can be inhibited and create a compensation. For example, a Bubiinsky reflex could be off and create a completely different strike pattern so the reflex can be bypassed and the muscle-tendon system can absorb the force and act like a reflex. However, while one system compensates for another, the effect will be a foot that does not respond as effectively as if the reflex were working.

Let’s say that the reflexes are all good. When the foot hits the ground, joints that are intolerant of the load will start the compensation cascade well before the muscle systems do their job. For example, if a glute medius is not working well, the body will cross a leg mid-line, so the outer quad and iliotibial band can dampen the force. While there is limited return on the energy transferring up and down the chain, a runner can compensate by leaning forward to allow momentum to create propulsion with a nice push from the leg on the ground. The added lean would create a natural break with the foot hitting out in front of the center of mass. If a body can’t properly absorb and transfer the force of the limb hitting the ground, the body will dampen the force up the chain to prevent the runner’s horizon from being affected. As mentioned above, how fast can you run if the world is bouncing. If you don’t believe in the horizon concept, take a bench press and set it up diagonally from the ceiling tiles and watch people get weaker. 

To make sure muscles engage, I use Reflexive Performance Reset. Using RPR creates an added layer of security for properly functioning muscles and has a connection to the neural system. We have seen some dramatic pre and post gait changes just by using RPR to prime the whole system.

Which leaves us to the question, is it crazy to try to change gait? If you have followed the article this far, (my son says no one reads my articles because I have no shares and they are too long), you can see by some very primitive changes, we may have already changed gait. But, can we use exercises and drills to make the change? We can if you take Frans Bosch’s quote, “We have to make the body give a damn.”

Before we challenge the body by creating a scenario to fail, we need to make sure we have acquired the skill. Once the skill is mastered, we want to build endurance for the skill and then strengthen the skill, which is the Dr. Shawn Allen progression (The Gait Guys) . Once we have that, we can challenge the skill by making it give a damn. 

Very tricky stuff. So, what does this look like? Let’s start with just running gait. We need an exercise that challenges the ankle complex with the timing of the hip complex. For this, I like the Swiss Ball Hip Hike. 

Once we get basic gait down, we can start pinpointing other movements using the same format. 

I think we get in trouble as coaches when we use drills to improve some movement but we never increase the complexity of the drill. The instability of the ball on the wall is a challenge for every rep. But like every drill, hopefully we phase it out and move on to something that continues to challenge the athlete.

A caveat: while the effectiveness of drills are limited by factors mentioned above, we can make some differences that will improve performances and reduce injury.