The Running Technique That Can Reduce Your Risk of Injury

The secret to staying pain-free may lie in the length of your steps.
June 3, 2014

Every running fiend shares the same fear: getting sidelined with an injury—for months. A new University of Wisconsin study review shows there may be an easy way to avoid having to unlace your sneaks: shortening your stride.

After analyzing 10 previous studies, the researchers concluded that running with a shorter stride may reduce your odds of injury by reducing the impact of each step, how much your body shifts up and down as you run, and the amount of energy your hips, knees, and ankles absorb.


"All of these variables have been linked to various injuries, so reducing them may be protective against injury," says Reed Ferber, Ph.D., an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Calgary and director of the Running Injury Clinic.

So should we all aim to shrink our steps, ASAP? Not so fast: Running with a shorter stride increases the number of steps you take per mile, which can lead to more wear and tear on your body. "The average runner takes about 32,000 steps to run a marathon," says Ferber. "If you shorten your stride length, even just by five to seven centimeters, then you need to take 1,200 to 1,500 more steps to complete the marathon." 

The result: You're sending more shockwaves through your body, potentially priming you for pain. He adds that even subtle changes in your normal gait can predispose you to injury if you haven't strengthened the muscles being recruited in order to shorten your stride. 

That said, if you're chronically injured anyway—and physical therapy hasn't relieved your aches and pains—you may want to try tinkering with the biomechanics of how you run. How? "If you increase your stride frequency, that will decrease your stride length naturally," says Ferber. Follow these step-by-step instructions to do so safely:

Determine Your Current Stride Rate
To do this, run with your natural rhythm, and count the number of steps you take in 60 seconds, says Ferber. (You can make this easier by only counting the number of times your right foot hits the ground, then multiplying that number by two.) What's normal? Most people run at a rate of about 160 steps per minute, says Ross Miller, Ph.D., an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Maryland. 

Calculate Your Ideal Stride Rate
Take your normal step rate (steps/minute), and multiply that by 1.1. "This is your new 'target' step rate," says Mill. "Runners can benefit from taking slightly shorter/quicker steps than what feels naturally comfortable—and 'slightly' means in the ballpark of five to 10 percent shorter than their preferred step length." Find a song with a tempo that matches your target rate to listen to while you run. Or simply download a metronome app on your phone, and use that to set your step rate. (Ross recommends Pro Metronome.) If you're using a metronome, set the treadmill to your usual running speed, and establish your normal step rate. Then set the metronome app to your target step rate, and try to match the timing of your foot-strikes to the beat, says Ross.

One word of caution: Don't try to maintain your new gait the entire time you run. For a week, devote just 10 percent of your workout to running with a shorter stride. Each week after that, increase the time spent doing so by another 10 percent. "This is a very gradual process," says Ferber. "It should be done incrementally." You should also try these exercises indoors only for about a month since focusing on them outdoors can pose a safety issue.

Build Up Your Strength and Flexibility
At the same time, you should be working the muscles that stabilize your hips since you’re taking more steps each time you exercise—and therefore increasing the side-to-side motion of your hips, which could lead to injury, says Ferber. (Check out his go-to hip-strengthening exercises.) And make sure you're regularly stretching your hamstrings and hip flexors, too. If you decrease your stride length, "these muscles are going to be working within a shorter range of motion," says Ferber. "Over time, they'll begin to naturally shorten up. That could lead to an injury." Yoga or Pilates should do the trick, he says.

MORE: How to be a Faster and Happier Runner

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