Running feels like the most natural thing in the world—because it is. But here’s the thing: most of us do it wrong. In fact, up to 79% of runners get injured every year (PubMed). That statistic isn’t just about overtraining—it’s often rooted in poor running biomechanics.
As a physiotherapist, I’ve seen firsthand how improper form and movement patterns contribute to chronic pain and recurring setbacks. The good news? Understanding running biomechanics for injury prevention can make a real difference.
👉 If you haven’t already, check out our recent post on how to brace your spine safely — because your core stability plays a key role in running form and injury risk.
Let’s break down what’s really happening when you run—and how to fix it.
🧠 Understanding Running Biomechanics
Running might seem like a natural movement we all know how to do, but very few people are actually running in a way that supports their long-term health. Biomechanics is the science of how our body moves—and when it comes to running, understanding even the basics can help reduce pain, improve performance, and prevent injuries.
Here’s what that means in practice:
Foot Strike: Where You Land Matters
When your foot hits the ground, how and where it lands can make a huge difference in the forces going through your body.
- Many people are “heel strikers,” meaning the heel touches the ground first. While common, this creates a braking effect—your foot slows you down with each step, sending a jarring shock through your ankle, knee, and hip.
- A better alternative is a midfoot or forefoot strike. That means landing closer to the ball of your foot, which helps your body absorb shock more naturally, using muscles and tendons like springs. This method is linked to lower injury rates and improved energy efficiency. 📚 Backed by: Lieberman et al. (2010), Nature
Cadence: How Many Steps You Take Per Minute
Cadence refers to how many steps you take in one minute of running. Most experts suggest an optimal cadence is between 170–180 steps per minute.
- If your cadence is too low, it usually means your strides are too long, which increases the impact on your joints.
- A higher cadence means quicker, shorter steps that keep your feet under your center of mass. This results in less forceful impacts and more efficient running.
📚 Backed by: Heiderscheit et al. (2011), Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy
Posture: It’s Not About Standing Tall
Good running posture doesn’t mean being stiff or overly upright. It means:
- A slight forward lean from the ankles, not the waist.
- Keeping your head over your shoulders, and your shoulders over your hips.
- Engaging your core muscles to stabilize your body with every step.
This posture helps your body stay aligned and lets gravity assist your forward motion. Slouching or leaning too far forward or backward throws everything off—creating imbalance, wasted energy, and often pain.
Hip Extension: The Hidden Power Generator
Your hips are one of your body’s most powerful areas, and they play a huge role in how effectively you run. But many people, especially those who sit a lot, have tight hip flexors.
This limits hip extension, or how far your leg can travel behind you after pushing off. Without good extension, your body starts compensating:
- You might over-arch your lower back.
- Or your knees might take on more strain than they’re built for.
Improving hip mobility through stretching, strength training, and technique work is often the missing link in helping runners unlock better speed, form, and resilience.
📚 Backed by: Kelly Starrett, Becoming a Supple Leopard
⚠️ Common Mistakes Runners Make
Running may seem simple, but most people make small errors that add up over time — leading to pain, poor performance, or even long-term injury. As a physiotherapist, I see these patterns daily. Let’s break them down in a way that’s easy to understand and even easier to fix.
Overstriding: Reaching Too Far, Paying the Price
When you run, it might feel natural to extend your leg out far in front of you — almost like you’re trying to take giant leaps. That’s called overstriding, and it’s one of the most common causes of running-related injuries.
Here’s why: When your foot lands far ahead of your body, it acts like a brake instead of a spring. It increases the impact forces on your joints, especially your knees. Instead of flowing forward, your body has to absorb a shock with every step.
What to do instead: Aim to land with your foot closer to your center of mass. This promotes better shock absorption and keeps you moving forward efficiently.
Weak Foot Muscles: The Forgotten Foundation
Most modern shoes are stiff, narrow, and heavily cushioned — which sounds comfortable, but actually limits natural foot movement. Over time, this causes the small muscles in your feet to weaken.
Weak foot muscles mean poor stability, balance issues, and a chain reaction of compensations up the body. Think of your feet like the foundation of a house — if it’s unstable, the whole structure is at risk.
What to do instead: Go barefoot at home, explore minimalist footwear, and start working on foot-strengthening exercises like toe spreads, towel scrunches, and short foot drills.
Lack of Strength: You Can’t Run on Cardio Alone
Many runners focus only on distance and pace — but forget that running is a strength-demanding activity. Your glutes, core, and hamstrings need to be strong to maintain good form, absorb impact, and prevent injuries.
Without strength, especially in the posterior chain, your body has to cheat: knees collapse, hips wobble, or your back takes on strain it was never meant to handle.
What to do instead: Incorporate strength training at least 1–2 times a week. Focus on squats, deadlifts, lunges, glute bridges, and core work. You don’t need a gym — just consistency.
Poor Mobility: Tightness That Travels
Tight hips, locked ankles, and a stiff upper back (thoracic spine) can drastically change the way you move. When one joint lacks mobility, the body adapts — often in harmful ways.
Example: If your hips can’t extend, your lower back might over-arch to compensate. Or if your ankle doesn’t flex properly, you might overuse your knees or toes.
What to do instead: Start a mobility routine that includes dynamic warmups, hip flexor stretches, ankle dorsiflexion drills, and thoracic rotations. Mobility is not optional — it’s maintenance for your movement.
Ignoring Recovery: You Can’t Just Push Every Day
More isn’t always better. Many runners feel guilty resting, or they try to “run through the pain.” But the truth is: most injuries come from ignoring recovery — not from running itself.
Without enough rest, tissues don’t heal, inflammation builds up, and chronic problems like tendinopathy, shin splints, or plantar fasciitis show up.
What to do instead: Schedule recovery like you would training. Include sleep, stretching, foam rolling, active recovery days, and deload weeks. Rest is not a setback — it’s how your body grows stronger.
How to Fix It: Practical Strategies That Actually Work
If you’ve spotted yourself in the mistakes above — don’t panic. The good news is that small, consistent changes can transform the way you run. As a physiotherapist, here are the five essential strategies I recommend to nearly every runner who walks through my door.
Strengthen Your Posterior Chain
Your glutes, hamstrings, and calves are the engine of your running stride — but most people are quad-dominant and underuse this entire system. When your posterior chain is weak, your stride becomes inefficient, and your joints absorb more force than your muscles. That’s when pain creeps in.
What to do:
- Add deadlifts, lunges, single-leg glute bridges, and step-ups to your weekly training.
- Focus on slow, controlled movement and proper form — quality matters more than load.
- Just 2 sessions a week can significantly improve your running mechanics and reduce injury risk.
📚 Reference: Fredericson & Moore (2005). Core stabilization training improves functional movement in runners.
Improve Your Mobility Where It Matters
Mobility isn’t about being able to do the splits — it’s about having the range of motion your body needs to move well and avoid compensations. Most runners are tight in their calves, hip flexors, and thoracic spine — three areas that restrict healthy movement patterns.
What to do:
- Foam roll your calves and quads before runs to release tension.
- Do 90/90 hip mobility drills and dynamic lunges to open up your hips.
- Add thoracic rotations to counteract the stiffness from sitting and screen time.
📚 Reference: Schache et al. (2000). Hip joint range of motion correlates with stride mechanics in runners.
Fix Your Footwear: Let Your Feet Function
Most running shoes are too narrow and too stiff — and they don’t allow your foot to splay naturally. This reduces balance, weakens foot muscles, and disrupts the foundation of your stride. A wide toe box shoe mimics barefoot mechanics, allowing the toes to spread and stabilize the body properly. But switching too fast can cause problems.
What to do:
- Gradually transition to shoes with a wider toe box and less heel-to-toe drop.
- Try walking barefoot at home and strengthening your feet first.
- Look for minimalist models like Vivobarefoot or Altra, but make sure they suit your unique anatomy.
📚 Reference: Lieberman et al. (2010). Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners.
📚 Also recommended: “Becoming a Supple Leopard” by Starrett & Cordoza (2013).
Increase Your Cadence
Cadence refers to how many steps you take per minute. Many recreational runners have a cadence below 160 — which often correlates with overstriding and increased joint load. Raising your cadence to around 175–180 steps per minute helps shorten your stride and reduce braking forces.
What to do:
- Download a metronome app or find playlists designed for 175–180 BPM.
- Practice matching your steps to the beat.
- Start with 30-second intervals and build up over time — your body will adapt.
📚 Reference: Heiderscheit et al. (2011). Increasing running cadence reduces loading and improves mechanics.
Run Mindfully: Posture and Awareness Matter
Running isn’t just a physical activity — it’s a neuromuscular skill. If your form breaks down, your body starts compensating, and injuries follow.
Good running posture includes:
- A slight forward lean from the ankles (not the waist)
- A tall spine and neutral head position
- A strong, engaged core that supports your pelvis
- Relaxed arms and soft shoulders
What to do:
- During your run, check in with yourself every few minutes: “Is my core engaged?” “Am I leaning from my ankles?” “Are my steps light and quick?”
- The more often you think about it, the more automatic good posture becomes.
📚 Reference: Anderson (1996). Biomechanics and running efficiency.
Final Thoughts: Running Smarter, Not Just Harder
Running isn’t just about clocking miles—it’s about how you move through every single step.
Whether you’re a seasoned marathoner or just starting out, understanding and respecting your biomechanics is non-negotiable if you want to stay injury-free, efficient, and pain-free. Most chronic running issues don’t come from running itself—they come from how we run, how we recover, and how we train the rest of the body to support that motion.
By addressing common movement faults, prioritizing strength and mobility, and choosing footwear that supports—not restricts—your natural mechanics, you’re setting up your body for long-term success.
This isn’t just performance optimization. It’s injury prevention. It’s about reclaiming control over how your body moves, step by step. And when you understand how to move well, you don’t just run better—you live better.
So take this knowledge and start applying it. Your future knees, spine, and energy levels will thank you.
📚 References
- Lieberman, D. E., et al. (2010) Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners. Nature, 463(7280), 531–535. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08723
- Heiderscheit, B. C., et al. (2011) Effects of step rate manipulation on joint mechanics during running. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(2), 296–302. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181ebedf4
- Starrett, K., & Cordoza, G. (2013) Becoming a Supple Leopard: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance. Victory Belt Publishing. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808472-becoming-a-supple-leopard
- Bramah, C., et al. (2018) Biomechanical injury risk factors in distance runners: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 52(18), 1189–1195. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2017-098991
- Cheung, R. T. H., & Davis, I. S. (2011) Landing pattern modification to improve running economy and performance. Sports Medicine, 41(9), 713–724. https://doi.org/10.2165/11589170-000000000-00000
- Ferber, R., et al. (2009) Strengthening of the hip abductor muscles in distance runners with iliotibial band syndrome: A case series. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 40(2), 112–117. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2010.3050
- Nigg, B. M., et al. (2015) Running shoes and running injuries: Mythbusting and a proposal for two new paradigms: “Preferred movement path” and “comfort filter.” British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49(20), 1290–1294. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095054