Chi Running Mechanics For Reduced Injury Risk!

As New Year's resolutions are just around the corner and many people will be breaking out their running shoes once more, I thought it would be a great opportunity to discuss running mechanics.
Many runners consider shoe fitment to the nth degree, but have rarely considered how they move.

A couple years back I was introduced to the concept of Chi Running, and it certainly had a positive impact on my own running tolerance. Looking up in some recent research, Chi Running was noted to significantly reduce ground reaction force at both the hip and the knee*.

So how do I do it? I start my clients off with three basic principles to try:

1. Land on neutral foot. No heel or toe landing here! More surface area means more ability to dissipate the force from your body- whether trail running or running on concrete.

2. In order to make #1 happen, you need to increase your cadence (# of steps per minute) and decrease the length of your stride.

3. Listen to your feet! If you hear your steps pounding here, you have to think that that load is going somewhere negative- decreasing endurance and increasing your risk of injury to your joints! This can be difficult to achieve with ear buds in, so try running without your headphones. My key tip here is to pick a point in front of you on the horizon or 15-20 feet ahead, and pay attention to how much your head is moving. If you find your head is bobbing up and down, try to minimize that. Steps 1 and 2 will assist this.

As a side note, try not to change too many variables at once! Make these tips your own by trying them and seeing what works for you. Certainly every individual has their interpretation of how to make this work for their own body.

For more information, there is lengthy information available on this website:
http://www.chirunning.com

*The study I alluded to is available here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3022995/

Happy Holidays!