One of the hallmark traits of injured runners may be the inability to stabilize in the frontal plane.
A new study compared 36 healthy runners with 72 injured runners who were suffering from either
patellofemoral pain, iliotibial band syndrome, medial tibial stress syndrome, or Achilles tendinopathy. The researchers analyzed their gait and found that the injured runners exhibited markedly increased contralateral pelvic drop compared to the healthy runners. In fact, for every
1° increase in pelvic drop, the likelihood of being classified as injured increased by 80%.
Conclusions
Exercises that help stabilize in the frontal plane, such as side planks and hip abduction variations, could be key for preventing lower body injury.
References
Bramah, C., Preece, S. J., Gill, N., & Herrington, L. (2018). Is there a pathological gait associated with common soft tissue running injuries?. The American journal of sports medicine, 46(12), 3023-3031.