When runner do you want to be? 2 photos

Who do you want to be ? The guy loading his head over his foot
(narrow step width), or the gal loading the head and COM inside the foot (less narrow step width) ?

It is not hard to suspect who is gonna be faster and more powerful from these photos. This however does not mean on is more durable, more or less injured, more or less efficient but logical debates and thought experiments can be made here.

The lady is stacking the knee over the foot, the hip over the knee and stabilizing the hip and pelvis sufficiently and durably to keep the pelvis level for the next powerful loading step, and the other is flexion collapsing into the stance phase knee, insufficiently loading the hip and thus dropping the opposite side pelvis. He is not stacking the joints, there is a pending cross over (look at the swing leg knee approaching midline with barely any knee spacing, thus guaranteeing a cross over step or at the very least a very narrow step width.)
Sure, some one is going to say one is a distance runner and the other is a sprinter. Yes, and our point is that the sprinter is not head-over-foot, the one with all the highly suspect flaws is head over foot ! Wider step width means more glutes. Go ahead, walk around right now with a very narrow step width and see how little efficient glute contraction you get, then walk with a notably wider step width, and you will see wider means more glutes. Keep your COM moving forward, not oscillating back and forth sideways over each stance foot, that is a power leak.

The distance runner appears to be demonstrating less optimal in technique, appears is the key word here. Say what you want, but a decent argument might be made as to one of these runners being weak and very likely at greater risk for injury, the other is suspect to be strong and durable, and likely at less risk for injury.
If you ask us, but what do we know . . . . it is all a thought experiment, but based on some pretty decent ideas.
So, again, was ask . . . . which one do you want to be ?

Stacking of the joints. A Runner's dilemma ?

You've heard us say it again and again, do not coach out arm swing dislikes if you have not addressed the problems in the lower limbs (including pelvis, hips knees etc). Look at this photo, clearly left hip frontal plane sway, and right arm swing frontal plane sway. It is not a coincidence. Those 2 limbs are neurologically paired. The arm is acting like a ballast in the opposite frontal plane to help her stay centered. She is failing, compensating, but at least not falling over. Focusing on the cause(s) of the left frontal pelvis-hip drift would be our direction, not coaching out the arm swing. We rarely, if ever, coach changes to arm swing. We have posted articles in the past that confirm that arm swing is more passive, and subservient to leg swing motor pathways.
Read on . . .

https://thegaitguys.tumblr.com/post/75606947998/stacking-of-the-joints-and-something-that-can-go

How relaxed, or shall we say “sloppy” is your gait ?

Look at this picture, the blurred left swing leg tells you this client has been photographed during gait motion. 

Now, visualize a line up from that right foot through the spine. You will see that it is clearly under the center/middle of the pelvis. But of course, it is easier to stand on one leg (as gait is merely transferring from one single leg stance to the other repeatedly) when your body mass is directly over the foot.  To do this the pelvis has to drift laterally over the stance leg side.  Sadly though, you should be able to have enough gluteal and abdominal cylinder strength to stack the foot and knee over the hip. This would mean that the pelvis plumb line should always fall between the feet, which is clearly not the case here.  This is sloppy weak lazy gait. It is likely an engrained habit in most people, but that does not make it right. It is pathology, in time something will likely have to give. 

This is the cross over gait we have beaten to a pulp here at The Gait Guys over and over … . . and over.   This gait this gait, this single photo, means this client is engaging movement into the frontal plane too much, they have drifted to the right. We call it frontal plane drift. To prevent it, it means you have to have an extra bit more of lateral line strength in the gluteus medius and lateral abdominal sling to fend off pathology. You have to be able to find functional stability in the stacked posture, and this can take some training and time.  Make no mistake, this is a faulty movement pattern, even if there is not pain, this is not efficient motor patterning and something will have to give. Whether that is lateral foot pain from more supination strategizing, more tone in the ITB perhaps causing lateral knee or hip pain, a compensation in arms swing or thoracic spine rotation or head tilt  … … something has to give, something has to compensate. 

So, how sloppy is your gait ? 

Do you kick or scuff the inside of your opposite shoe ? Can you hear your pants rub together ? Just clues. You must test the patterns, make no assumptions, please.

Shawn Allen, one of the gait guys