Most common errors in the running pattern of the recreational runner
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Running is ubiquitous: it is impossible to imagine the streets without the runner. Everywhere you see people seeking new challenges and exploring their own limits. Not surprisingly, more and more people are starting to run, often with the goal of participating in a race or other sporting challenge.
However, this type of activity requires specific training, with building running volume playing an essentialële role. A higher load on the body can potentially lead to overtraining, if the body is not yet sufficiently adapted.
In addition, errors in gait can also lead to injury. A specific screening or gait analysis can help quickly identify these errors. Based on a clinical examination, video analysis, walking with a runeasi band and testing your core stability, various aspects and parameters of your running technique areïdentified, allowing potentialëerrors to be detected and addressed early.
These are THE most common errors in running:
Limb instability
A greatly underestimated and thus often missed factor in gait is trunk stability. When there are too many compensations of the trunk during running, e.g. lateroflexion or rotation, it can lead to overuse injuries to the pelvis or knee. More importantly, running efficiency is largely determined by good trunk stability. If there is good core stability here, then the energy and force transfer between the different links is optimal. Redundant compensations therefore lead to energy loss and reduced performance.
Hip drop
A second cause of a lot of overuse injuries is the hip drop, well recognized in video analysis as the Sign of Trendelenburg. This causes the typical running injuries such as ITB friction syndrome, bursitis and tendinopathyën. Insufficient activation of the Gluteus medius (gluteus muscle) or a weakness of it is often the underlying cause. We can eliminate this with targeted exercise therapy.Knees valgus
A third commonly seen error is valgus of the knee. In this, the knee falls too much inward. Functionally, there is often a lack of stability, but the cause may also be around the pelvis or foot (see other errors). This is because the knee is an important link in the connection between the foot (point of contact) and the rest of the body. Knee valgus usually leads over time to overuse injuries, such as patellar tendinopathy or patellofemoral pain.Hyperpronation foot
Finally, we can also examine the foot position. When the foot unwinds on the ground, it first falls inward and then moves back outward on repulsion. If the inward fall is excessive or uncontrolled, we speak of hyperpronation. Poor control of the intrinsic foot muscles, flat feet, a stability problem, … can be the cause. Shin inflammation or inflammation of the tendon of the posterior tibial are then possible consequences.In addition to the importance of a gait analysis, it is of course equally important to have a clinical and critical eye to place this in a broader framework. This allows us to address these issues tailored to the runner by including a customized exercise program, running cues, tips and tricks, …
Running is the sport of choice in 2024 and can be practiced at all levels. This also means that both the recreational runner and the more trained runner are prone to injury. At any level, it is important to identify the above-mentioned potential errors to avoid the risk of dropping out due to an unexpected injury.
Because let's face it, nobody wants to drop out just before their important first marathon, first 5 km run or race!
See what such a running analysis looks like here:
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