Running Mechanics – Part 4

On my last post I finished by discussing a few common postural faults in running technique that may be caused by tightness and weakness around the hip. I finished by discussing the importance of leaning forward over the ankles in mid-stance to draw on the power of the glutes and hamstrings. There may be several different reasons why running in this position is difficult. Perhaps your body is compensating for tight hip flexors by leaning forward at the hip. Maybe your body is compensating for weakness in the glutes by leaning forward at the hip. Another possibility is that you have a lack of ankle mobility which makes it impossible to lean forward over the ankles and instead it becomes necessary to shift the body position forward at the hips. Perhaps you have adequate strength and mobility at the start of the race but you simply do not have the endurance to sustain this over the entire distance. Or, it’s possible that your strength and mobility are excellent but you simply have not learned the technique yet, and your body has not yet learned this motor skill.

Regardless of the reason it is important to have full range of ankle dorsiflexion so that compensations do not occur above and below the ankle. As I spoke about previously, ankle dorsiflexion is highest in the mid-stance of gait where it is approximately twenty degrees. It maintains about ten degrees during the swing phase and upon initial contact. At toe-off the ankle is pointed (plantar flexed) approximately twenty-five degrees. A great drill to check if you have adequate ankle and toe mobility is to simply sit on a chair with your knees bent ninety degrees. From here slowly inch forward along the chair until you can go no further without your heels lifting off the floor. Measure yourself at the point where you can go the furthest while still staying firmly planted with the heel on the ground. At this point the top of your knee should be roughly ten centimeters (four inches) beyond your big toe if you have adequate ankle mobility. In this position you should be able to form a twenty degree angle between the floor and your shin. On a side note you should also be able to lift the big toe off the ground in this position to an angle of twenty degrees. An inability to lift the toe may indicate tightness in the flexor hallucis longus muscle, the plantar fascia or in the joint capsule itself. Runners with hallux valgus (bunions) or hallux rigidus will find this especially difficult.

If we do not have adequate ankle mobility the next thing we need to do is figure out is what is causing it. Perhaps your ankle is no longer moving properly because an old ankle sprain has created a restriction in joint motion due to disuse or weakness at the ankle joint. Or perhaps we are prone to tightness in the calf muscles because they are being over used to compensate for a lack of hamstring strength. Or perhaps the calf tension is simply masking an underlying sciatic nerve irritation due to an old nagging back injury. These are all possibilities that need to be assessed for and differentiated between in order to determine the best treatment options for correction.