One of the things I do on a weekly
basis is assist people with their running technique. I have commented quite a
lot on running posture, foot placement and efficiency. Now I’d like to comment
on how we might go about changing those running patterns and the impact that subjective
and objective feedback has on the runner’s perception.
If you’ve been running for many
years, you’ll probably have some pretty old, inefficient patterns, whether that
is from an injury itself or otherwise. One thing is for sure it will add up in
the body to some fairly loaded areas..
The body learns through motor
patterns over a long period of time. The key word is that they are learned,
hence the nervous system adapts to these movements whether they are faulty or
not. These motor patterns are for the most part autonomous once they are
learned. Think about when you go for an easy morning run – there’s probably not
a lot of conscious thinking going on with regards to technique. You simply go
out the door and your brain says run that
motor program that means put one foot in front of the other. Beyond that,
it’s autonomous
Considering these patterns are autonomous
you can see how hard it is to change running technique especially when fatigue
sets in. What I’m getting at is you can’t simply tell someone to lean forward
from the ankles and all will be solved with their foot strike!
We know from research performed by
an Australian physio, Dr Lorimer Mosely whose focus looks at the way the
central nervous system (CNS) processes stimuli received from the body that you
cannot unlearn a motor pattern, you
can however, learn a pattern in preference to the old pattern. Once you learn
that pattern it must be reinforced time and time again for it to be the dominant
pattern.
What typically occurs to runners as
they drop into fatigue their form starts to return to their old pattern. As I
like to say “the body always goes to the path of least resistance” whether that
is functional or not. If you have learnt a pattern and hold it once fatigued
then you have learnt it in preference to your old. I guess that’s the saying
‘old habits die hard!’
So, how do we introduce concepts in
terms of running technique? Firstly you will need objective feedback from
someone who you trust or understands basic running biomechanics. Subjectivity
doesn’t work when it comes to running technique – your perception of how you
look will be skewed by years of running in a certain way. Secondly you will need
to use that objective feedback and integrate that into your perception. Put
simply, once you have a got a technique point or cue – how does that feel to you, what are your perceptions
of that cue? Once you have got that feeling, go over and over. You need to give
yourself little reminders as to how that feels as you won’t always have that
objective feedback on say, a morning run.
Perceptual Load
Once you have a certain technique in
your brain (this is where you are developing that motor pattern) it might be
helpful to compare it to your old one. A good biomechanic friend of mine refers
to this as old way versus new way. Essentially you are trying to gather
information in your brain about the difference in motor patterning of two
slightly different forms of running. You should be able to feel the difference
between the two.
Where to start
Where you start with running
technique very much depends on how you currently run and any injuries arising
from this. Having said that two key areas I like to start with are
1.
Pelvis
2.
Arms
Pelvis
As discussed in my running posture
post this is the foundation of efficient running technique and ideal foot
strike positions. If you don’t have this then the rest of the body follows.
Ideally, a neutral to slight anterior tilt gives the body good stability
through the SIJ and enough clearance to allow hip flexion to propel the body in
a horizontal plane with minimal oscillations.
How you ‘cue’ that or how you teach
that is a matter of personal preference, as long as the runner understands what
is trying to be achieved. This is their perception coming in again. After
various running distances and paces give feedback and allow them to feed back,
can they grasp the technique? Compare it to the old technique – often this
allows them to feel the difference (perception again).
All this should change your foot
strike position, your thoraco lumbar position and your stiffness/efficiency
through the pelvis.
Arms
One of the big reasons to go to the
arms is that they have more fine motor control during running than the legs. Leg
position is influenced by the pelvis and arm position as we’ll discuss. It is much easier to control the arms on the
run and something that is in our peripheral vision constantly giving us a
reminder.
If the arms take a longer route than
they have to – it will be slower. One of two things will happen; Your swing
phase prior to foot strike will be slower or you may find yourself spending
more time or loading one side more that the other. It can also encourage more
rotation than is necessary though the lower thoracic spine – this often creates
loading pain around T12.
The teaching portion is the same, so
long as the runner understands the ‘cueing’. The objective feedback allows them
to formulate an idea and process it in the CNS, again their perception plays a
large role in this. Another point to consider is how many teaching cues you
want to give? For most, in my experience, one is enough if it makes a good
change, two is saturation point – more than this and the CNS simply cannot
comprehend the adjustments required ‘on the run’
How long does it take to develop a
new motor program?
This gets into some fairly deep
territory so I’d rather let the neuroscientists be the experts here. On a
superficial level though, the more you practice a motor program the more it
will be reinforced. For most it will take a few weeks to go from a cognitive
stage to an associative stage (where the programs are being developed and
refined). The autonomous stage will take a lot longer!
In closing, make sure the technique
adjustment you make is for the better before you drive home a faulty motor
pattern – it is so much harder to change than to start correctly!
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