Running gait biomechanics in female runners with sacroiliac joint pain.
Kristin E Whitney, Dai Sugimoto, Charles A d'Hemecourt and 2 others
PMID 35400840WHAT IT FOUND
Female runners with sacroiliac joint pain landed with stiffer mechanics, showing less knee flexion and greater overstride.
They also dropped their pelvis more on the opposite side when standing on the painful leg. This identifies specific gait flaws that might guide retraining.
Key findings
01Runners with sacroiliac joint pain demonstrated significantly less knee flexion and greater tibial overstride angles at initial contact compared to healthy controls.
02When the painful side was weight-bearing, runners with sacroiliac joint pain showed significantly greater contralateral pelvic drop during midstance.
03There were no significant differences in hip adduction or knee valgus angles between the groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study was small, with only 18 participants in the pain group. It used a retrospective design, so it cannot prove that these gait patterns caused the pain; they could be a result of it. Two-dimensional video analysis was used, which cannot capture rotational motion in the horizontal plane. The findings are based on treadmill running, which may not perfectly reflect over-ground running mechanics. The study included only female runners, so results cannot be generalized to male runners.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that correcting these gait patterns will cure the pain. This was an observational study comparing two groups, not an intervention trial. It identifies associations between mechanics and pain but does not test whether gait retraining is an effective treatment.