I recently suffered a metatarsal stress fracture. I have read that the usual cause of these is a steep increase in activity, but I hadn't increased the frequency, speed or length of my runs, or started any new activity. I've also read that overstriding increases the risk of this kind of injury. I had actually just started making a conscious effort to avoid overstriding, and I'm wondering if that could have caused the fracture.
Various sources tell me that overstriding is a common problem that reduces efficiency and increases risk of injuries. It's said that you should land with your foot just the shortest distance possible ahead of your centre of mass, and reduce the amount of time your foot is in contact with the ground compared to the time you spend airborne.
However, reducing contact time inevitably increases contact force, which presumably may increase risk of injury. So can trying to avoid overstriding increase the risk of stress fractures in particular? Is there a safer way to do it? Is there such a thing as understriding?
It'll be a few weeks before I can start running again, but when I do, how can I minimise the risk of another injury?
Various sources tell me that overstriding is a common problem that reduces efficiency and increases risk of injuries. It's said that you should land with your foot just the shortest distance possible ahead of your centre of mass, and reduce the amount of time your foot is in contact with the ground compared to the time you spend airborne.
However, reducing contact time inevitably increases contact force, which presumably may increase risk of injury. So can trying to avoid overstriding increase the risk of stress fractures in particular? Is there a safer way to do it? Is there such a thing as understriding?
It'll be a few weeks before I can start running again, but when I do, how can I minimise the risk of another injury?
