Gait Analysis

The free video editing software I have only has the very basic features, so I’m not able to point things out like I wanted. (I guess that is why the software is free.) I was able to slow down the recording. Hopefully, you will be able to better see what I explain.

In a normal running gait, your heel hits on the outer side first and then rolls toward the inside. As the heel starts to lift, the foot rolls back out so that the ball of the foot is flat on the ground providing the spring necessary to propel forward.

When I wore my clearance, “running” shoes, I did not have the adequate support, so my foot remained rolled in too long. I was already starting to spring forward before it rolled back out. This put extra stress on the fibula contributing to my break. The sports medicine doctor already figured this out before the gait analysis.

There was one new thing discovered that also probably contributed to the break. There is a weakness in my hips. The weakness is shown by the way my hips dip when I run. Normally, the hips stay in a horizontal line – parallel to the ground. On this video, you can see that my hips dip down into a 45-degree angle when I run. This also places stress on the fibula. I had the perfect triangle for a break – lack of experience, wrong shoes with an overpronation, and weak hips.

What does all of this mean? First, I restarted running gradually. I used the elliptical a lot and completed just a few short runs every other day. I slowly built up to a mile. The movement of my ankle was corrected by purchasing the proper running shoes, and the physical therapist prescribed strengthening exercises for my hips. Nothing that can’t be corrected.

I am now up to fifteen miles a week, but I still keep the running to every other day. On the off days, I cross train with P90, elliptical, and water running. The cross training helps me continue to work on the cardio and work my muscles without the added stress of continuous impact.

Having the Right Doctor - Part 2 of 2

Photo by Jordan Fischer

The next part to my recovery was going to a physical therapist. In the initial consultation him to gauged the strength in my entire left leg and study how I walk. The physical therapist I went to is also a marathon runner, so he took the time to study that shoes I wore when I broke my ankle and the shoes I purchased to continue my training. He showed me how the clearance-rack, Reebok “running” shoes did not have the support I needed for my overpronation by folding them in half. He then tried to do that with my Mizuno Wave Alchemy 10 shoes. He couldn’t even make a crescent shape out of them. He explained that because of how I walk, I put stress on the outside of my ankle, and without the extra support in my shoes, running creates excessive trauma.

He then had me do several exercises to test the strength in both of my legs and core. He discovered that my right side was slightly weakened too and that I needed to strengthen my core at the sides. All of these muscles are related and each affects other. If the muscles are not strong then extra stress is placed on the bones. So running requires not only cardio training, it also requires strength training. He gave me several exercises to complete each night.

The key to making physical therapy work is to complete the exercises as often as prescribed. The exercises are not difficult nor do they require much time. The problem is that it is so easy to talk yourself into skipping one evening, but then that one evening turns into a second, and so on.

As my strength returned, the physical therapist gradually increased the frequency and distance of my runs and suggested several cross training possibilities for my non-running days (I’ve sign up for a water program for runners). He also completed a gait analysis to make sure that nothing else in my running style would contribute to further injury.

What a concept. Treat the current problem, but also look for the cause of it and take preventative measures to avoid future injuries! Who would have thunk it?

The final prognosis is I am healed and able to start my regular marathon training schedule.

The physical therapist was kind enough to provide me with a copy of my gait analysis and walk me through it. I’ll post that video and explain what he told me in a separate post. First, I have to figure out the video editing software.

Having the Right Doctor - Part 1 of 2

By lululemon athletica

I have learned an important lesson about choosing the right doctor. Though a doctor is highly professional and recommended, if he is not a runner he may not fully understand the special concerns related to training for a marathon.

The orthopedic surgeon I went to was good, but he was old school and not a runner. When he said I could start running again, I asked if I should first go to physical therapy. He said the best way for me to rebuild the strength in my leg was to get back to my normal routine as soon as possible. I took the doctor at his word and started back to my running routine. I started slow, running just over a mile at a slow pace. I restarted walking my dogs nightly. It was difficult for me to restrain myself. I wanted nothing more then the start running at a fast pace for as long as I could, but I could feel my leg was weak, so I adhered to my grandfather’s advise and I took it “easy greasy.” 

During my first Team in Training run, I kept up with everyone else. The pace felt good. I was able to talk the whole time without feeling winded. It was not until the run was over that I realized I was running at a much faster pace. Once I cooled down I started feeling some pain in my knee and the top of my foot – on the side that had the broken ankle. I rested a day and everything felt better. I tried running again, but halfway through, my knee started to feel sore again. I did not push anything. I rested, iced, wrapped, and elevated my knee. When my knee felt better, I stuck to the elliptical to minimize impact. However, my knee still hurt. It was not only affecting my run, but I was also having pain while doing everyday activities.

On the advice of a co-worker, I called a sports medicine doctor. He is also a marathon runner. First thing he said was that my left leg was noticeably weaker. He eased my mind by telling me that I would be back to normal in no time with physical therapy. I’m by no means a doctor, but this is how I understood it. Since my muscles were weakened, excessive stress was placed on my knee while I ran, which inflamed the “water balloon” that cushions the joint. It‘s called bursitis. The doctor said that runners are a special breed; they are all slightly crazy. He told me not to run and to start physical therapy. He also advised me that in the future to not run if I feel pain above a two out of ten (he gives most people a four out of ten but because I have a freakishly high tolerance for pain, he felt the need to be more strict) and if the pain affects daily life. Limping out of the doctor’s office I obeyed and immediately scheduled an appointment with a physical therapist who is also a marathon runner.

What made me feel good about this doctor’s advice was that he took that time to talk to me about my training, he looked at my shoes, he studied how I walked, and he tested my muscle strength. He explained how one weakened area affects other areas. He also said that he wanted to pursue the reason that I broke my ankle in the first place, to ensure that I don’t do it again. Because I didn’t fall or twist my ankle, he wanted to find out if how I run contributed to the break.

To be continued …