Does running technique matter for injury prevention?

If you get injured working out, the first thing people think is that they "lifted wrong" and they lost their technique.

Similarly, with running, we often look to our gait or running patterns to fix issues with pain. Maybe we're over-pronating our feet, or we're striking too much with the heel.

I distinctly remember not too long ago the world record marathon time being broken (it was done in under 2 hours, which is insane), and a bunch of people jumped on social media to critique the guy's form.

He just broke the world record. Literally nobody in the world did what he just did. Yet people decided to argue that he could've gone even faster if he had fixed his form.

Thankfully, we've got some recent research that gives us a clear picture.

A 2024 systematic review found that biomechanical factors (running form) showed weak and inconsistent associations with injury risk. The key takeaway from the study is that injury risk is driven far more by training load than by fixing your form.

And when you look at high-level runners, you see this in action. There are many runners whose form looks honestly terrible. Yet, they've found a stride that works for them, and they're clearly able to leverage it effectively.

There's a good lesson for both lifting and running here. Form doesn't matter in the way you think it does. Because we're all built differently and have different leverages, we all need to find our own way, so to speak, to perform best and protect ourselves from injury.

Both of the above pictures are Olympic-level runners, and most people would say that her shoulders are too shrugged and he's not using his arms properly. Yet both of them can stay relatively pain-free and perform at the highest level.

You don't need to be an Olympian, but it's important to understand that their training regimen and their ability to rest and recover are far more important than their technique in staying healthy.

To your good health,

Coach Stephen

References:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38697289/ - Risk factors for running-related injuries. A systematic review

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