Running is fun and a great way to exercise. Some persons even think of running as a way to meditate or to release stress. For some others, it can be a good workout for fat burning or losing weight. Regardless of the purpose behind, running is one of the simplest and easiest forms of exercise. Almost everybody can run!
When you run, several systems of your body work together (muscular, nervous, circulatory, respiratory, etc). Running is a gait, a set of different patterns of movement of your body where legs, feet and arms move in harmony. However, when running, some organs and body parts work under load and, if you don’t take some precautions, there may be a risk to get injured. Some factors like stride length, how your feet hit the ground and how weight is distributed along the movement are important and could be related to the risk. Fatigue, temperature, shoes, road type (pavement, trail, running track), running form and your fitness level are important too and could also be factors of the injury risk.
With some basic knowledge and good practices you can minimize the risk.
Foot anatomy and how running works
A very well-known saying that I love is: “Information is power”. The more you know, the better your decisions will be. Therefore, I have prepared for you easy information about your feet and how they “roll” when you run. You will also find some videos from youtube. And for those who are interested to learn a little bit more, I added the links to some of my sources of information.
The human foot is a complex structure formed by of 26 bones, 33 joints and different muscles, tendons and ligaments.
- Bones. The bones give form and shape to the feet and can be grouped in three sections:
- Rearfoot (Hindfoot): Composed by the Talus (ankle bone) and Calcaneus (heel bone). The talus is connected to the lower leg bones (Tibia and Fibula) to form the ankle. The calcaneus is cushioned underneath by a layer of fat.
- Midfoot: Consist of 5 irregular bones which form the arches (two longitudinal and one transverse) of the foot and works as shock absorber.
- Forefoot: Is composed by 5 toes and the corresponding long bones forming the metatarsus.
- Ligaments and tendons. Ligaments are soft tissues that attach bones to bones. Tendons are also soft tissues but attach muscles to bones. The Achilles tendon is the longest and most important tendon for walking, running and jumping. It attaches the calf muscles to the heel bone to allow us to rise up on our toes. The posterior tibial tendon attaches one of the smaller muscles of the calf to the underside of the foot. This tendon helps support the arch and allows us to turn the foot inward. There are many other tendons and ligaments that allow along with the muscles to move the joints and bones of the foot in different directions.
- Muscles. Most of the movement of the foot is caused by the strong muscles in the lower leg whose tendons connect to the foot. Contraction of the muscles in the leg is the main way that we move our feet to stand, walk, run and jump.
Gait is the ability to move from place to place achieved through the movement of the body limbs. Human gaits are the various ways in which your body can move.
The gait cycle (for walking/running) describes the motion caused by movement of your body considered only once from the beginning and to the end. In the case of walking a cycle could be, for example, the movement for two-steps. The cycle starts with the right foot striking the floor and ends when the right foot is about to strike the floor for the second time. So, the cycle has two phases, the single support and double support meaning the moment when one foot or both touch the ground.
Pronation is the part of the gait of walking (or running) made by the foot from the moment it strikes the ground and until it moves into the air. I think of it as the transition of the double support to single support which also extends until the next transition to double support, when the body weight is transferred to the opposite foot. It is the rolling movement of the foot and refers to how the body weight is distributed along the process.
In some web pages like “Runner’sWorld“, pronation is described as the inward movement of the foot as it rolls to optimally distribute the force of impact on the ground as you run.
Pronation can be split in three categories depending on how the foot behaves:
- Neutral pronation. This is the normal pronation as described above. A person who neutrally pronates, strikes first the ground with the lateral side of the heel. As the weight transfers from the heel to the metatarsus, the foot will roll in a medial direction (towards the middle axis of your body or the inner part of the foot), such that the weight is evenly distributed across the metatarsus.
- Overpronation. An overpronator, strikes initially on the lateral side of the heel but the foot will roll too far in medial direction and the weight will be unevenly distributed across the metatarsus with excessive weight transported to the hallux (big toe). An overpronator does not absorb shock efficiently. The arches of the foot collapse or the ankles roll inwards (or both) throughout the pattern of the movements. The shoe of this person tends to get worn down on the medial side of the shoe towards the big toe area.
- Underpronation or supination. An individual who underpronates, strikes the ground on the lateral side of the heel but when the weight is transferred from the heel to the metatarsus, the foot will not roll in a medial direction, the weight will not be evenly distributed across the metatarsus with excessive weight on the external side of the foot. An underpronator doesn’t absorb shock efficiently because the arches or ankles do not experience much motion as the movement is executed. The shoes of this person tend to be worn down on the lateral side (outside) of the shoe towards the rearfoot, at the heel area.
Now, let’s see a video about pronation. This is a video from my foot clinic.
How to avoid injuries
Now, let’s see how we can prevent injuries:
- Warm up. A warming up prepares your heart, circulation and muscles for exercise. By slowly raising your heart rate and breathing as your body “calls for”, your blood vessels will dilate ensuring that your muscles are supplied with enough blood and oxygen. It is called “warming up” because your body temperature will increase in this process while your joints and muscles are getting prepared. Your brain gets “connected” too as you mentally get ready for the workout. The warmup should target especially the muscles that will be used in the up-coming workout. It usually consists of low-intensity movements (like walking, slowly jumping, rotating the arms and neck, etc) and dynamic stretching (light extensions only targeting a normal range of motion without reaching limits). Time and type of warm up may vary depending on your sport, age, condition, workout type, etc. It can gradually increase the intensity to smooth the transition to the workout’s beginning.
- Cool down. Stopping suddenly from an intense training can cause dizziness or make you feel as you might faint. Take a walk or gradually reduce the training load until you normalize your heart rate.
- Use adequate running shoes. Nowadays there are many options for shoes including those called “bare-foot” (bare-foot will be discussed in a different article). While some people may opt for brand, high tech shoes, some other will prefer minimalistic designs or normal street sneakers. It is difficult to say what shoe is the right for you from a technical point of view. However, you must feel comfortable when running but also consider your foot structure, this means, how you pronate. We will see some more details on “how to choose the right running shoe” in other articles.
- Use the right equipment or gear. Clothes and any other gadgets you use should be adequate for you and the activity you perform.
- Perform workouts for your fitness level. If you go far beyond your limits, an injury can be the consequence.
- Follow a training plan. In one of the previous articles I described one of my injuries when training for a 10K race. There is always a possibility to get good advice to prepare your training plan. It must be challenging but realistic and include rest days. Overtraining can lead to injuries. Avoid improper or poor training practices. Alternate intensities and training for different muscle groups.
- Include in your plan stretching workouts, yoga, balance exercises, etc. can help you gain mobility and flexibility. Try to avoid stretching as warming up exercise but, you can stretch as part of the cooling down exercises.
- Listen to your body. Rest when you are tired, avoid training if you are in pain. Don’t be afraid of skipping your training once in a while if you need some rest and/or recovery. Your fitness level will not go away. As a matter of fact, the right rest promotes muscle grow and, avoiding training when you are hurt is a good preventive measure against major injuries.
Happy training!
Miguel