Running Mechanics – Part 2

In my last post I starting speaking about the two main phases of gait which are the stance and swing phases. In this post I’ll discuss the different phases of the stance phase to give a reference as to what is going on with regards to the foot, ankle, knee, and hip.

The stance phase begins with the initial contact of the foot. In this phase the quadriceps, calves, hamstrings, and glutes are all lengthening while contracting to absorb the impact (working eccentrically). Depending on your running style the initial contact is with the heel, mid-foot, toe, or somewhere in between. This phase may be referred to as the absorption phase as the energy from the weight and momentum of your entire body is being transferred and absorbed by the foot, leg and hip. Upon initial contact your ankle and knee are in a flexed position in order to absorb the impact of the body as the weight is transferred to the stance leg. The first point of contact should be directly under the body’s centre of gravity to avoid any unnecessary braking forces and wasted energy. For an example of this check out Dr. Mark Cucuzella’s demonstration of using a scooter as a prop to practice landing directly under the centre of gravity. Find this and other resources on his website at www.trtreads.org. If you land with the foot too far in front of your centre of gravity much of your forward momentum will be dissipated by this breaking force. Instead try to store this momentum and use it to carry the body forward. You can think of running in this way as “controlled falling” with the foot making initial contact below the body’s centre of gravity and your momentum being transferred into forward propulsion.

The mid-stance of the running phase is when the knee and ankle are at their maximum flexion angles. From this point onwards the hip, knee, and ankle extend to propel the body forward and upwards until toe off at which point the foot leaves the ground. During the propulsion phase the calves and glutes are working to propel the body forward using much of the elastic energy that is stored in the muscles and tendons through the absorption phase and used to carry the body forward.