I’ve been doing a return to running program since being laid up with calf and shin pains for a while.

The physio noticed that I had poor running form as I was wheel striking which was effectively slowing me down.

So he has gradually been trying to transform me into forefoot striking.

I’ve been slowly building up but it is really pulling on the muscle connected to my Achilles between the two calf muscles.

Do you think this is down to my legs getting used to the different running style.

If I switch to heel striking mid run the pain goes straight away ?

Anyone else suffer with this sort of thing ?

My physio told me not to worry about heel/toe stuff. It’s a red herring. Engage the core, make sure you don’t land the foot in front of the knee.

Really issue for me was gluten medius. Needed to strength those to balance my running.

Slow down a bit, invest in well-fitting shoes.

Tannoy>Molgrips and Surfer to the forum

I would have thought if you weren’t a natural forefoot striker you would be putting massive pressure on parts you do t normally use and heading for shin splints or other injuries! I’m naturally a forefoot runner…..NB I only ever run if I have to nowadays not by choice ever!

you have two options

1. slow down, the transition to forefoot striking takes loads of time, and patience, and new shoes and maybe a complete re-think about how and why you run

2. Sack your physio as he is talking shite, as long as you’re running pain free, fill yer boots, and run how ever you feel is correct.

how do you strike the floor

Very Woughly?

Loose the wheels and wear running shoes, you’ll do much better 😉

Very Woughly?

*applauds*

Heel strike here, get some decent shoes, asiics work for me, 3 pairs rotated round, dont try to go too far to fast

It will take 3 – 6 months for your calves to strengthen up.

During the transition phase just run “normally” and introduce a few 100m of forefoot/midfoot at the end of your run. After a week or two of this increase the forefoot distance. Keep doing this gradually until you are running the whole distance forefoot.

Try not to think too much about how your foot lands, but take shorter quicker steps.

I’ve settled into a midfoot run and no longer suffer from the shin splints that kept me sidelined for weeks at a time.

Try upping your cadence but without consciously trying to change anything else.

Try upping your cadence but without consciously trying to change anything else.

This is good advice. Anything over 170 is good running pace (I think)…assuming you don’t want to be like a gazelle running 63 minute HMs. 🙂

This. There’s nothing inherently “poor form” about heel striking – you might have poor form, but don’t need to be forefoot striking to solve that.

Whilst far from definitive, this is a decent article to give you some idea of the debate http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2014/oct/09/is-heel-striking-the-enemy-of-good-running-form

Personally my foot strike depends on how fast I’m running, and whilst I’ve thought about trying to adapt to forefoot striking even when going slow, decided it wasn’t likely to be worth the effort. As mentioned in that article, the most prevalent fault people have IMHO is overstriding rather than foot strike. High cadence as mentioned above tends to prevent overstriding.

When I moved to forefoot running it took about 2-3 months before my Achilles stopped aching afterwards, however all my other running back and leg aches disappeared. Take it as a good sign as you are finally using your Achilles for its intended purpose- its your KERS system so when you finally get used to the new style you’re going to be faster.

I disagree with Mary Hinge. Don’t try and mix the new style in with the old but move completely to forefoot striking just start short and slow and increase gradually. Thin soled shoes will encourage forefoot striking.

I really like the movement towards forefoot striking while jogging/running slowly. I find the sight of all these folk prancing around at low speed quite funny. 😀

Do you think this is down to my legs getting used to the different running style.

Yes.

I switched to fore then midfoot striking, and ran VASTLY better as a result.

The heel strike thing – well the real problem imo is heel striking *too far in front* which is what I was doing. This may be what you were doing – sticking your leg out, striking with your heel and rolling onto your foot like you do when you walk. This is bad form because your leg is braking your forward motion all the time.

If your foot is landing underneath your body then you’ll be fine. Personally I think midfoot striking is an easy way to do this, and it didn’t take me long to convert completely. Running now the old way feels awful.

the most prevalent fault people have IMHO is overstriding rather than foot strike

Or, what he said. However overstriding and heel striking are related.

SOME people also find that using thin flat shoes helps – because heel striking in front of your body becomes very difficult, so you end up not doing it. In the same way that you can’t really do it if you were to run barefoot.

Plenty of youtube videos about running style.

What Edukator said.

Most people who are giving out advice are good runners, and they’ve always naturally done it right.

Whilst I am not a great runner, I feel somewhat qualified in this situation because I used to be utterly terrible and hated it so much I hardly ever did it. Then I sorted my gait out by thinking about it and my comfort, enjoyment, endurance and speed were transformed.

So all those who say ‘don’t think just do’ – that doesn’t always give good results or any enjoyment!

I’m a heel striker. What’s better (or indeed if it makes any difference at all) is debatable though.

Avoid heelstrike
Don’t worry about midfoot or forefoot – largely a red herring
Concentrate as mol put it on position of foot in relation to the body ie, in-line not in front
Have a pair of shoes that allow you to feel the difference (Ascis DS trainer or racer – no need to go extreme)

Worry when Physio starts down the orthotics route….he saw you coming.

Simple activity running, made unnecessarily complicated.

If you are wheel striking, get off the bike!!

People always used to just go out and run.

Now people go out and run and are told they are doing it wrong, odly they are told this whilst parting with cash to the said person.

I’m naturally a midfoot striker. It works for me. Your biomechanics may well differ. Don’t listen to physios who argue that there is only black and white. The human body is way too complex for that.

Up your cadence (ie take shorter strides for a given distance) and lean very slightly forward when running, and you’ll stop heel striking.

Cheers for all the helpful replies.

My running posture used to be terrible. I used to lean back and push my chest out and then would suffer with very sore calfs and shins due to heal striking.

When running previously I was very aware of the fact that I was making the most noise on the treadmill due to heavy landing.

I’ve been switching over to forefoot running for a couple of months now and can notice the difference already. I really feel lighter on my feet and its just the niggly pain I’m getting now. It’s about just below halfway between the back of my knee and my ankle however not on my Achilles if that makes sense. Just a bit further up.

People always used to just go out and run.

Some did. Others tried it and thought “my god this is awful” and gave up. Some of those people had poor gait which made them hate running. Fixing their gait could help them enjoy it.

Plenty of fit active people out there who try distance running and don’t like it. Maybe they are doing it wrong?

I was somewhat surprised when I realised I was one of these – have never really had to try to run with good technique and seem to manage OK (still don’t enjoy running all that much, unless it’s up in the mountains!) I heel strike when running slower. It’s possible to do so and still be a good runner – as mentioned in the article I linked, some far better runners than me heel strike. Anybody saying heel striking is wrong is wrong.

Running technique: The Footstrike

Here’s a photo of me heelstriking on my way to running 2h35m at London Marathon last year:

Don’t strike! Brush the ground with your feet 🙂

Mostly agree with that’s been said. I don’t think where you land is the issue, it’s more about the over-striding that leads to a jarring heel strike. Upping the cadence is good advice as it tends to lead to less over-striding.

I used to have problems with tired feet and angles, and discomfort, when using flat minimal shoes, then I realised I was using the ‘trail’ version of that shoe. I bought the ‘road’ version with slightly softer padding and I’ve been fine. I find myself landing on the outside of my midfoot and rolling to my toes. My feet are pretty comfortable now (except the odd blister if I don’t run often) and I don’t have any injuries or pain. Then again, I don’t run very far (max 10k) and I’m pretty robust. Then again again, I am 89kg.

I’d try and stay light on your feet, keep your cadence up. Anybody who says there’s only one way to do it is wrong. Including me. This fella is doing it wrong in some people’s books…

Enjoy, don’t think too hard if you’ve got rid of your old injury.

No advice, really, but when I got back into running in 2011 (with a Janathon – running every single day in January) my gait changed without any concious effort. I went from a ‘normal’ heel-strike to a mid/forefoot strike without thinking about it or forcing myself to change – the only concious part was thinking “this doesn’t hurt as much as it used to”.

I’m of the opinion that that ‘natural’ change made it easier and less injurious than trying to force myself to run a certain way. As aracer put it, there’s nothing inherently “poor form” about heel striking, but you may find that you adapt as you go on.

stever – Member
This fella is doing it wrong in some people’s books…

he’s sprinting, and after about 400m of running like that he’ll need a bloody good sit-down.

there’s a knack/technique of running ‘forefoot’ in such a way that you can run for miles without over-loading your calf muscles/achilles.

summary: (very) shortly after the ball of your foot ‘lands’, your heel makes a soft contact with the ground. you can practise this by running on the spot, on a hard surface, with your shoes off.

Michael Johnson isn’t doing that, or at least, he’s trying not to.

some of us seem happy heel-striking, and that’s great. But some of us find it bloody awful.

renton – Member

I’ve been doing a return to running program since being laid up with calf and shin pains for a while.

The physio noticed that I had poor running form as I was wheel striking which was effectively slowing me down.

With regards to this – I think it can often be caused by over-striding. Have you tried shortening your stride?

It’s not the length of the stride so much as how far in front of you it starts. Simply shortening it but still over-reaching doesn’t help – at least it didn’t help me.

It’s very difficult to mid- or forefoot strike out in front, so in focusing on that I ended up with my strike in the correct place under my body automatically.

there’s a good article here

http://chrisgordonsportsphysio.co.uk/blog/