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One of the most common aspects of running form I work with our athletes on is overall running posture. Our posture (spinal position, pelvis position, location of center of mass) greatly influences the stress and efficiency of our body in running motion. Proper head to foot/ankle alignment helps translate the power of our legs into forward motion, instead of getting lost in excessive movement. There is a lot of noise around running form, and as a PT I endeavor to make things as simple as possible. So let’s break down running posture, shall we?
The basics of running posture are as follows:
Head stacked over shoulders
Shoulders relaxed away from ears
Rib cage stacked over pelvis
Leaning forward from the ankles
Landing with the foot underneath the body
It is important to note that running posture is dynamic and fluid, therefore there will be movement toward and away from these “ideals” as we take each stride. Trying to maintain “perfect posture” can result in rigidity and potentially a host of other problems. Therefore, our goal is to maintain our forward lean and ribcage/pelvis posture while remaining as relaxed as possible.
A mistake I often see runners make is over-exaggerating upright posture, causing them to lean backwards and “flare” their ribcage. This excessive extension through the lower and mid back can cause back pain, hip pain, knee pain, and foot/ankle pain (yes, basically pain everywhere) due to the way it limits our ability to use our glutes, core, and to dissipate the ground reaction force of running.
We aren’t trying to win any beauty pageants here, folks.
Good running posture also helps with efficiency: when you maintain correct posture you allow for efficient energy transfer and a smoother stride, wasting less energy and transferring more energy forward. A lot of this comes from your diaphragm’s ability to expand and moderate pressure in the abdomen. This is why it’s important to keep the rib cage and pelvis stacked throughout the gait cycle. So more “strong posture” and less “Ms. California trying to win Ms America”
So, how do we work toward ideal running posture? What cues do we use most often in the clinic?
- Keep your head up and gaze forward to maintain a neutral neck position. Keep your head stacked over your shoulders.
- Relax your shoulders away from your ears.
- Relax the points of your ribcage down and keep your pelvis underneath you.
- Lean forward from the ankles to keep your momentum moving forward and you drive from the hips.
The key to being able to incorporate this cuing is by being strong enough to hold proper posture mile after mile. This is why it’s important to incorporate core and rotational strengthening into your routine. Exercises like planks, side planks, pallof press, and unilateral exercises help with your ability to stabilize through your midsection despite the many moving parts of running gait.
Remember that this takes conscious effort and practice. It is going to take a while for the new running form and cues to stick. When I do gait training in the clinic, I usually ask my athlete to only incorporate 1 cue or focal point at a time, so don’t overthink it! (I know, a tall task to ask of this crowd). If you’re really struggling to find the right running posture for you, we at Precision would be happy to take you through our expert gait analysis and get the most targeted interventions for you!
Keep going, you got this!
Dr. Kacy Seynders, PT, DPT
PS: Keep your eyes on our instagram for a video on this later this week!
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