The Effects of Decreased Stride Length In Runners

Were you a high-performance athlete that has since considered getting into endurance sports after retirement? This is a common decision that many athletes will make after an extended time period of high performance. Another common trend with these athletes who take up running in an attempt to accomplish a marathon, triathlon, or other high impact endurance endeavor, is knee pain!

A study published by Heiderscheit et al (2011) looked at the effects of increasing step rate while running on lower limb joint kinematics, reactive forces, and metabolic cost (energy used). Interestingly enough, they concluded that increasing step rate by 5% (meaning smaller, shorter strides) decreased the amount of energy needing to be absorbed by the knee by 20%. When increasing stride rate by 10%, the decrease in energy absorbed at the knee was 34%! Even though the rate of perceived exertion by the athletes who increased their stride rate by 5% and 10% was higher, it was shown that there was no extra metabolic (energy) cost. In these instances, there was no additional oxygen consumption or rise in heart rate.

Therefore, the increase in perceived exertion was likely due to mental focus! This study has many implications for that lifelong athlete turned endurance prodigy.

Reference : Heiderscheit BC, Chumanov ES, Michalski MP, Wille CM, Ryan MB. Effects of step rate manipulation on joint mechanics during running. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 2011 Feb;43(2):296.