Running injuries are incredibly common. Some estimates have found that nearly 50% of runners develop an injury each year. However, not all running injuries are the same. Some problems, such as blisters, can be easily prevented. Other issues may take time and effort to prevent recurrence. One key factor in many running injuries is your stride. Making adjustments to your stride may reduce the overall running injury risk for some runners.
Common Types of Running Injuries
Overuse injuries are generally more common than acute injuries and lead to pain and inflammation in the knees, hips, and ankles. Some of the most common running injuries include:
- Achilles tendinitis—pain or stiffness in your Achilles tendon, which connects your heel to your calf muscles
- IT (iliotibial) band syndrome—pain on the outside of your knee
- Plantar fasciitis—irritation of the tissue on the bottom of your foot that causes pain, often in the heel
- Runner’s knee—dull pain in the front of your knee from cartilage wear or tendon overuse
- Stress fractures—tiny breaks in the bone, usually in the shin or foot
- Tibial stress syndrome—or shin splints, which cause pain in your shinbone (tibia)
Acute running injuries, such as sprained ankles, may happen after a stumble or fall. Skin abrasions such as blisters and chafing are also common.
How Stride Can Lead to Injuries
Your stride can increase your risk of injuries in several ways. Your stride length and the type of stride that you have when you run affect the force that goes through your lower legs. How and where your feet hit the ground can cause different problems.
The most common stride problem is overstriding, which means that the length of your stride is longer than ideal for your body. Overstriders tend to heel strike, which results in higher impact. That force can lead to pain and problems in your shins, knees, hips and back. Overstriding can also cause problems with strain in the hamstrings.
Should You Adjust Your Stride?
Decreasing your stride length may improve injury problems for over striders. If you have a shorter stride, you’re more likely to land midfoot as opposed to your heel, reducing the impact on your joints. Research has found softer striders are more likely to have fewer injuries.
Other studies have found changing stride may be most beneficial to runners who heel-strike and already have issues with recurring injuries. For runners who do not have injury problems, the research is not settled as to whether stride adjustments help prevent injuries.
Injury Prevention Is Possible
Whether or not your stride needs changing, it is possible to prevent running injuries. Seeing a physical therapist for a gait evaluation is a great way to discover possible areas for adjustment, whether chronic overuse injuries are not an issue.
An evaluation can assess aspects of your stride that you may not know exist and identify potential risks for injuries that you don’t realize may be there. Some runners may have asymmetries in stride or posture that are causing injury, and they need someone else to evaluate how they run.
A running evaluation involves one or more 40-minute appointments, during which you run on a treadmill and undergo other tests, including:
- Assessment of your running cadence (number of steps per minute)
- Clinical orthopedic tests as needed to identify any areas of weakness and mobility limitations
- Video analysis of your running form to identify potential mechanical faults
After assessing your performance, a physical therapist will make suggestions to address your specific problems and goals. These may include:
- General training overview
- Individualized home exercise program
- Recommendations for changes in cadence/stride
- Running shoe recommendations
- Structured physical therapy program
Your evaluation may also lead to recommendations for specific medical care, use of orthotic inserts, or changes in your training regime.
Summit Orthopedics Can Improve Your Run
If you are experiencing chronic pain or injuries while running, a Summit Orthopedics sports medicine specialist can help. Our orthopedic providers can diagnose the source of your problems and recommend treatment options. Whether your running goals involve jogging in your neighborhood or an ultramarathon in the mountains, our experts are here for you.
Schedule an appointment with a Summit Orthopedics sports medicine provider.
Listen to Summit Orthopedics’ experts share some insights on the interplay of stride and injury for runners. Featuring sports medicine physicians and avid runners, Angela Voight, MD, and Kirk Scofield, MD.
