Being an avid runner himself, Dr Kubricht enjoys working with runners.  He has travelled all over the country working with some of the best running coaches.  Every couple years there is a new fad amongst runners from shock absorption shoes, to barefoot running, to forefoot strike, midfoot strike, etc.  Here we take the mentality that each person's form is going to be a little different than other peoples and there is no one right way to run, but there are some bad ways to run.  Our goal is to determine which part of your form is detrimental vs a personal style and then correct only what needs correcting.  

This individualized approach is something we pride ourselves on.  We hate it when we hear people who have been told they can't run, they run wrong, they don't have a running body type, they are a female and that is why they have injuries, or they are pigeon holed into a cookie cuter program.  This is a great article about the myths with female runners.  Click Here.

The first one is an example of forward head posture, overactive traps, and head tilt.  These improper biomechanics will cause muscles to become overused, create pain generators, and speed up fatigue.  This head posture also will decrease oxygen intake and make the heart work harder.  This leads to slower times and faster fatigue.

The second picture is an example of too much heel strike for this runner.  He kept experiencing intermittent knee and heel pain.  We helped him switch to a comfortable midfoot strike through exercises since forefoot running felt extremely uncomfortable for him.

And here is the follow up on this runner.  He ran the Boston marathon in April and set a PR for marathon time, 2:47:55.  Way to go Stephen!