A recent article highlighted in the New York Times discussed a study published in the Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise . It looked at the incidence of injuries among runners who favor heel striking compared to forefoot striking. Apparently they indicated a two fold increase in heel strikers rates of injury when examining a group of runners from Harvard. Another researcher Dr Nicholas Romanov has developed the Pose method of running and has studied word class runners and noted only 15% adopted a heel strike pattern of motion. He surmised this was based on a greater efficiency and in turn less chance of injury.
My Main Points on Running Form and Training:
Injury prevention is a goal for any patient but adopting a a forefoot strike style of running in the absence of a consistent pattern is probably not worth it - if your running style is working for you leave it alone!
- If you are suffering from a series of chronic musculoskeletal injuries you may benefit from a injury screen from a orthopedic or sports physical therapist to rule out the influence of range of motion and strength deficits. I hope this helps all my runners from Paramus, Ridgewood and the surrounding Bergen County area. Keep running!
Apex Orthopedic Rehabilitation in Paramus, NJ provides orthopedic and sports physical therapy services for the greater Ridgewood, Paramus, and Bergen County region. This blog is intended for informational purposes only and should not be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. The views expressed here are the author’s views and should be taken as suggestions. Always consult your physician or physical therapist before engaging in a physical therapy or rehabilitative regimen.