Following up
Study shows hip and knee alignments are of key importance in preventing running injuries.
Story by Karen Thomas/Photo by Trudie Lee
Dr. Reed Ferber is all about how people move. That’s why he’s built the world’s largest database of three-dimensional (3D) gait analysis and a series of Canadian clinics focused on one thing: how to prevent and fix running injuries. “Three to four million Canadians suffer knee-related injuries because of running each year,” says Dr. Ferber. “Our number one goal is to prevent injuries. We also treat hundreds of injured runners who need our help and advice to heal up and get back out there.”
His team published a study in the March–April 2011 edition of the Journal of Athletic Training, measuring whether runners with knee pain benefit from an intensive hip-strengthening program. “We gave injured runners a series of exercises to strengthen their hip muscles, and within three weeks we found those runners had less pain, less stride-to-stride variability in their movement, and more strength to help them run safely,” says Dr. Ferber.
The 25 runners taking part in the study visited the Running Injury Clinic in Calgary to do a treadmill test as well as a series of measurements to assess their strength and flexibility. The clinic’s 3D motion capture system is designed so that the research team can analyse the runners’ gait and the relationship between their knee, hip, and ankle joints.
“The fact is, every runner is on the verge of becoming injured. But if you are a runner whose knees and hips vary considerably with each step you take, you are much more prone to injure your knees,” says Dr. Ferber. “This study is great news for runners who suffer with chronic knee pain—we’ve shown that strengthening those critical hip muscles helps runners restore a more consistent, predictable pattern of movement, reduce knee pain, and stay on the roster for that next race.”