To run healthily and minimize injury, it is prudent to pay attention to your body’s mechanics and overall form, while running. Running itself is a very natural motion for the human body to be able to do, so it can be frustrating to have to make “adjustments” to what is an innate movement pattern. However, our bodies can develop functional movement patterns that are not necessarily the most efficient or safest for us over time.
There are various devices and methods to help us evaluate, then learn to make adjustments to our gait.
– Real-time audio allows for running to be given audio cues while running. Examples include metronomes for step cadence, or clinician/coach verbal feedback. There are apps too, which allow for music/voice cueing for indoor and outdoor runs
– Real-time visual give runners visual cues while running. An example is treadmill running with a screen or TV in front that provides real-time force data.
– With visual training, runners are given visual cues or feedback when they have finished running and before they have started running. This can be done via a slow motion video recording of running form. Sometimes, even still photos can provide helpful feedback about stance and posture.
– Technology- assisted gait evaluative gait devices that include wearable technology or phone apps for feedback are very popular, and can include a whole host of data points that offer real time feedback or even post run feedback about recovery status.
Consider the above tools if you are interested in working on your running form! In a later post, we will explore the various aspects of run form, which are helpful to pay attention to in order to make your runs safer and more efficient!