Running is not as simple an action as you might first believe. It requires the musculoskeletal and nervous systems to work together to propel you forwards and in biomechanical terms, putting one foot in front of the other at speed is rather complicated.
As a result, the understanding of running injuries and running performance is also complex. Running injuries are multi-factorial. This means that they are caused by a combination of extrinsic (e.g. training, foot-wear) and intrinsic (e.g. muscle strength, joint range of motion, running style) factors, which we refer to as risk-factors.
When you become injured, correctly identifying your individual risk-factors is essential for creating a successful treatment plan. Understanding the root-cause of the problem is fundamental to a long-term solution to your running-related injury. The same principle applies to injury prevention.
From a performance perspective, running speed is calculated quite simply as step-length multiplied by cadence. Unfortunately, the reality of fast running is somewhat more complex but suffice to say that your biomechanics play a fairly important role!
Understanding the way that you run (your biomechanics) is fundamental to preventing and treating injuries and improving performance.
In a world where we are constantly striving for a quick-fix, it is far easier to hope that a new pair of running shoes and some tape will solve your injury woes and make you run faster!
Sadly, this is rarely the best answer and if you are serious about your running then investing in proper advice and treatment early will certainly save you money in the long-run.
Why Your Running Biomechanics are Important and How Run3D Can Help
Every time your foot strikes the ground when your run, a force approximately equal to 2.5 times your body-weight is transmitted upwards through the bones, joints and soft-tissue structures of your body. This force causes a small amount of damage to occur, which we refer to as micro-damage. It takes approximately 1500 steps to complete a mile. A runner running 20 miles per week will therefore take 1.5 million steps each year! If the body is not given sufficient time to adapt and recover, then the micro-damage from each step accumulates, the tissue breaks down and an injury occurs.
The way that you run (your biomechanics) plays an important role in how the load (the ground reaction force) is distributed through your body as you run. As a result and as we have discussed above, understanding your biomechanics is fundamental to preventing and treating injuries, improving performance and at its most basic, defining what type of shoes you should wear.
Whilst there are huge variations in running form, we know from decades of running related
research the biomechanical factors that are related to injury and those that are related to
performance.
The body moves in three anatomical planes of motion – the sagittal plane (looking at you from the side), the frontal plane (looking at you from the front) and the transverse plane (looking at you from the top-down). Biomechanical factors for both injury and performance exist in all three planes and it is therefore essential to measure motion in all three planes, something which is impossible to achieve using traditional video-based techniques.
Run3D uses exactly the same infrared technology that is used in research to measure biomechanical factors of your running style in the sagittal, frontal and transverse planes. Our team of Physiotherapists, Podiatrists, Orthopaedic Surgeons and Rehabilitation Specialists then uses this information to make evidence-based recommendations to help prevent injury, treat existing injuries and improve performance.
There are many gimmicks in the running world claiming to help you run faster and stay injury free. Run3D is not one of them. We are a company from Oxford University and everything we do is grounded in science. Our clinical partners are experts in 3D gait biomechanics and our academic partners use the Run3D system for teaching and research purposes.
Run3D At National Running Show
For the third year running, Run3D will be at the National Running show offering our services to runners! This year we are going to be bigger and better than ever offering 3D gait analysis, musculoskeletal testing, rehabilitation classes and exclusive treatment to those booked-in for a 3D analysis.
We highly recommend pre-booking your slot to avoid disappointment as we sold out in our
first day last year! Click HERE for the booking link.
