Should I Have Someone Look At The Way I Run?

I have been running for a few months now, and my daily and weekly mileage has increased to around five a day, thirty per week. As my distance has increased I have begun feeling pain across areas of my lower legs. Someone told me I should have a "gait analysis" done to see if my feet "run funny". What is the point of having someone look at the way I run? How will that help ease my pain? - Funny Feet

Dear Funny,

Remember that old joke we heard when we were kids?

Doctor: "What seems to be the problem?"
Patient: "It hurts when I do this"
Doctor: "Then don't do that".

Seems like simple and prudent advice, but the sad truth is that the conversation would be very different if the patient, in the previous exchange, had been a runner.

Doctor: "What seems to be the problem?"
Runner: "It hurts when I run".
Doctor: "Then don't run".
Runner: "What are you, some kind of a hack?"

We runners tend to seek solutions to our injuries that permit and encourage us to keep running. This may make us more prone to self inflicted injury than mere mortals. As such, it is probably a good idea to have the instrument of our woes checked for imperfections.

And what is the instrument of our woes, you ask? It is our biomechanics: the way our bodies move through the running cycle.

A trained podiatrist, general practitioner or chiropractor will be able to look at the way you run and determine how you pronate. They will observe your weight and the way that your lower legs adjust to your running gait in order to recommend a solution to counter the destructive forces of your genetic assembly.

If, when your foot comes down, you land on the rear outside of your foot and then roll inward to push off on the ball of your feet, you are pronating normally. If you push off just under your big toe or on the outside of your foot, then you are over-pronating and might need to consider using stability shoes. If you land on the outside of your heel and fail to roll inward, pushing off on the outside of your foot (near your "little toe") then you may be an underpronator. This may require a cushioned shoe, or even custom orthotics to compensate for the lack of natural shock absorption that your gait is denying you.

Some runners may over and under pronate (or not pronate at all) and use their lower legs to pull their upper body alignment over their feet: exerting much too unnecessary stress on their legs. A trained observer will see such legs bend back or to the inside: the repetitive motion for which is most unkind to the human body.

In much the same way that you might have the wheels of your automobile aligned for improved efficiency, your running gait may need to be aligned to improve your performance and lessen the stress associated with our sport. Less stress leads to less pain, and a lessened propensity towards injury.

If you are new to running, it is worth the time and cost to have your running gait analyzed.

Run long and taper.

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