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 Welcome
Running Assessment and Analysis

With Christos
Begetopoulos
MSc, BSc, MAcS, NKT, KT, MCSP,
HCPC

11/29/17 @Physiocouk #sportsmassage 2

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Who are we?
Christo’sTwitter: @christosphysio

Katie’s Twitter: @KatiePhysiocouk

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Let’s connect
Website: www.physio.co.uk

Twitter: @physiocouk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/physiocouk

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 Itinerary
9.45-10.00: Arrival & Coffee
10.00-12.00: Foot anatomy : The Basics
•Foot biomechanics
•Assessment: Pronation/Supination
•The flow motion model
•Are you running efficiently
•Stride Analysis
•Chris Solinsky / Video
•The UK athletics way
•Simple Cues
12.00-12.30: Break
12:30-14:30: Practical : Let’s run!!
14:30-14.50: Common running injuries
14:50-15:00: Feedback-questions

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Theory:
Foot Anatomy

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 Foot anatomy
• One foot has 33 joints and 26 bones.

• Your spine has 33 joints and 34 bones

Since both structures harbour 33 articulating joints, isn’t the impact of

movement in each of your feet, therefore, equally as important as
movement in your spine ???????

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 Types of pronation
• Type I: dorsiflexion of the ankle , eversion and internal
rotation of the rearfoot or STJ (most common)

• Type II: plantarflexion accompanied

by eversion and internal rotation
on STJ ( this can be seen ,
for instance, when the foot
flattens whilst the knee extends)

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Types of supination
•Type I: plantar flexion –inversion
And external rotation of the
Rearfoot (most common).

•Type II: dorsi-flexion-inversion

and external rotation of the rear foot

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How to assess pronation
and supination
• Stork test
• Tripod
• Lunges
• Squat
• Running analysis

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 The flow motion
• Strike phase

• Suspension phase

• Transition phase

• Shift phase

• Propulsion phase

• Swing phase

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Rules of flow motion
phases…
•Strike phase – heel on ground, toes off
•Suspension phase – foot on ground pronating
•Transition phase – foot on ground supinating
•Shift phase – heel of ground, toes on, supinating
(stage I)
•Propulsion phase – heel off ground, toes on ,
supinating (stage II)
•Swing phase – zero point of contact with the
ground

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 Timings
• Strike phase (left) and the shift phase (right) occur together

• The suspension phase and the propulsion phase occur

together

• The transition phase and the swing phase occur together

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Are you running
efficiently ???
• Most joggers and runners are biomechanically inefficient
because their running technique is poor.

• They don't use the necessary body parts efficiently so when

they are supposed to be enjoying themselves they are instead
suffering pain

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Some of the most obvious weaknesses in
runners and joggers:

1. Bouncing up and down too much

2. Over striding
3. Not using their hamstrings/glutes enough
4. Landing on feet too heavily
5. Not using arms
6. Twist midriff side to side while running
7. The head and upper body are bent forward
8. Jogging slower than you could walk!
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 So how can you run faster, more
efficiently and avoid injury?

• The nervous, muscular, skeletal and cardiovascular systems of our

body are all involved when we run.

• They all combine to create the neuromuscular and neuromechanical

systems.

• We can improve the biomechanical movements for runners by teaching

the body and the mind the correct motor patterns.

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 So how can you run faster, more
efficiently and avoid injury?
1. The primary objective of motor learning is to train the Movement rather than
the muscle.

2. Once we have taught the movement then improving the athletic

performance of a runner is imperative in the pursuit of excellence and in injury
prevention.

3. The neuromuscular system then has to be stimulated to recruit and contract

motor units simultaneously and to increase the strength of the contraction.

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 Stride analysis
• Stride angle
• Arm angle
• Over stride angle
• Trunk angle
• Toe lift angle
• Bounce
• Crossover angle

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 Stride angle
The Maximum opening between the front and trailing leg

WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT?

You add 2% to your stride length for every degree you increase
your stride angle

Extension angle and flexion angle

Hip Extension :60 degrees
Hip Flexion : 90 degrees

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 Arm angle
• Arm angle is how far the arm is extended: 70 -80 degrees is a good amount
of extension .Increasing arm angle ( extension ) helps to increase stride angle

• Swing the opposite arms and legs in sync while running.

• the elbows should point backwards,
not outwards.
• Swing the arms from the shoulders,
not the elbows.

• Keep the elbows about 90 degrees angle

• Sprinter’s hand –chin level
distance runners’ hand – chest level

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Over stride angle
• Is the angle between the mid point of the knee and the shin when
The heel hits the floor.

• Example : increase the stride angle from 85 to 105 degrees , he reduced

the overstride angle from +20 to -7 degrees.

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 Trunk angle
• Trunk angle is the angle between the mid point of hip and torso
• Trunk angle should be between 7 to 10 degrees, less than 5 degrees - puts
a lot of pressure on back muscles
• Bigger trunk angle reduces over stride angle

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 Toe lift angle
• Toe lift angle is the angle of the foot as it swings forward

• Toe angle more than 0 degrees is inefficient, the runner is

tensing up the muscles on the lower leg, which wastes energy
and tires the legs (shin splints)

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 Heel striking V forefoot striking
• ITS UP TO YOU…..

• Landing on the heel – increase the over stride angle

• landing on the forefoot generally decrease impact strain

• Running barefoot – you would probably land on the forefoot

The most important thing is that you want your feet to land as close ( Centre of gravity)
to your body for a given pace as possible

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 Bounce
• If you bounce when you run, your head and body are moving up and down too
much, which wastes a lot of energy. More time in the air means you're going slower
than you could. Up and down motion while running is called vertical oscillation

• Excessive bounce is the result of a small extension angle

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 Cross over angle
• A line representing the resultant line of force of the quadriceps, made by connecting
a point near the ASIS to the mid-point of the Patella
• Crossover angle forces the runner to pronate the foot, this leads to leg fatigue and
injury
• Stiff left shoulder (lack of extension) forces the upper body to twist to the left, then
he has to swing the left leg to the right in order to compensate

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https://vimeo.com/76182807

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The UK athletics way
• Template they use to assess elite endurance runners

•Tall posture
•Relaxed shoulders
•Efficient backward arm swing
•Foot strike close to COM
•Knee slightly flexed on contact with vertical shin
•Min Lateral movement

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Simple Cues
Step rate and length – Metronome app, “run quietly”, quicker
steps, speed up arm swing

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Simple Cues
•Stride width – line running,
“run with an orange between your knees”

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Simple Cues
• Hip adduction - point your knee caps forwards and contract your glutes
(Noehren et al. 2011)
–Run like a train with feet and knee forwards (Will et al. 2012)

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Simple Cues
• Upright posture
– run as if a balloon is pulling you upwards
– High hips
– Squeeze buttocks

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Simple Cues
• Hip extension
– Push out the back
– Pull the floor underneath you

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Break

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Analysing the analysis

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• HD Camera with 220 fps
•Treadmill with clear background
• Software/app
• Smart camera – Technique by ubersense, coaches eye

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• 5 min warm up
• Running gear!!
• Run at their speed
• Back and side views most useful

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Let’s Run!!

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Common running injuries

• Plantar fasciitis
• Shin splints
• Patellofemoral stress syndrome
• Groin pain
• Iliotibial band syndrome

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 Plantar Fasciitis
• Plantar fasciitis is thickening of the plantar fascia,
a band of tissue running underneath the sole of the foot.

• The thickening can be due to recent

damage or injury, or can be because
of an accumulation of smaller injuries
over the years (heel strike, worn out – thin
Soles, overpronation)

• The most of the times gastrocnemius

muscle is overworking due to weakness
Further up in the kinetic chain (glutes)
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 Shin Splints
• Shin splints, also known as '‘medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS),
is defined as "pain along the inner edge of the shinbone (tibia)."
Shin splints are usually caused by repeated
trauma to the connective muscle tissue
surrounding the tibia. They are a common
injury affecting athletes who engage in
running sports.

• Increase toe lift angle / shin splints

• Anterior tibialis muscle is overworking

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 Patellofemoral stress Syndrome
• Patellofemoral stress syndrome is a term used to describe pain in the front
part of the knee (medically termed as anterior knee pain) that occurs due to
abnormal motion or pressure between the kneecap (patella) and thighbone
(femur), It is called “runner’s knee”.

• Can be caused by Increased Overstride angle

• Quite common: weak Rectus Femoris,

putting all the pressure on the knee

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 Groin pain
• The groin is an anatomically and biomechanically complex area
for runners. Groin pain in runners is challenging to diagnose and
tricky to treat.

• Can be caused by reduced stride angle

(lack of extension), increased overcross angle

• Tight hip flexors-weak extensors

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 Iliotibial band syndrome
• Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS or IT band syndrome) is an overuse injury of
the connective tissues that are located on the lateral or outer part of thigh
and knee. Iliotibial band syndrome is the most common cause of lateral knee
pain in runners
• The iliotibial band is a thick band of fascia (tissue) that begins at the iliac
crest in the pelvis, runs down the lateral or outside part of the thigh, and
crosses the knee to attach into the top part of the tibia or shinbone

• Can be caused by increased crossover angle,

overpronation and overuse

• Quite common: tensor fasciae latae muscle is

overworking – glutes are underworking

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Questions?
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Thanks for coming!
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: @physiocouk

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