Biomechanics

Not my favorite subject, HOWEVER, it taught me a lot. I have found out how it contributes to discrepancies in our every day lives.

Where it hit me the hardest was in my shins - shin splints.

There are two factors to this: tight calves & the biomechanics of the foot strike during running. Foot strike is not something that the average person would consider when causing themselves minor injury such as heel spurs, plantar fasciitis & splints.

While I am not great at math (like, at all)...I can follow a diagram pretty heckin' easily.

There's the front foot strike, mid foot strike and heel strike.

There are so many factors that play into it such as gait analysis (stance phase, swing phase, etc), angular kinematics, joint angles, force application & ground reaction force.

When in a static standing position your weight is not distributed evenly on the feet. There is about 60% in the heel, 28% in the fore foot, 8% in the mid foot and 4% in the toes. The center of pressure is constantly moving, causing slight ranges in these percentages.

In walking, most increase both stride length & speed to increase speed. However, in running most add speed by stride length only. When walking your hips are at the highest point during mid stance but when running, hips are at the lowest point during mid stance. The ankle is where the power is produced while the knees are absorbing that power.

Every part of the body is involved in running. The body is connected like a chain link, when one link has a kink the others will too.

For me, the most comfortable strike during running is the heel strike but it could be because my body has adapted to that way of running causing lots of compensation (such as anterior pelvic tilt).

Studies have shown that mid foot striking is most beneficial for runners & causes less pain in the front of the lower leg.