Kinematic Characteristics of Male Runners With a History of Recurrent Calf Muscle Strain Injury.
Christopher Bramah, Stephen J Preece, Niamh Gill and 1 others
PMID 34123526WHAT IT FOUND
Male runners with recurrent calf strains showed altered hip and pelvis movement, not ankle or knee differences.
They exhibited an over-stride pattern with greater forward heel placement and pelvic drop. These proximal kinematics may increase calf demand, suggesting rehabilitation should target hip control.
Key findings
01Runners with a history of recurrent calf strain showed no significant differences in knee or ankle kinematics compared to controls, contradicting the hypothesis that distal joint angles drive injury.
02The injured group demonstrated significant proximal differences, including greater hip flexion and anterior pelvic tilt at initial contact, and increased contralateral pelvic drop at mid-stance.
03Injured runners exhibited an over-stride pattern, characterized by a longer stance time and greater distance between the heel and center of mass at initial contact.
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What it does not show
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot determine if the kinematic differences caused the injuries or resulted from them. Participants were restricted to male rearfoot strikers, limiting generalizability to female runners or those with different foot strike patterns. The injured group had significantly lower running volume and frequency than controls, which could independently affect tissue function and biomechanics. All participants ran at a fixed speed of 3.2 m/s, which may not reflect their preferred training paces. The study did not measure muscle activation or strength, so the underlying neuromuscular causes of the kinematic differences remain unknown.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources are declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that correcting ankle dorsiflexion or knee flexion angles will resolve recurrent calf strains, as this study found no significant differences in these distal joints between injured and healthy runners.