🦵Don’t Let Elevation Take Your Knees Downhill!🏔️
One often overlooked factor in running injuries, particularly knee pain 🦵, is elevation 🏔️.
In addition to sudden increases in training volume 📈, large week-to-week changes in elevation ⬆️⬇️ can place significantly more load on the knees.
Downhill running 🏃♂️⛰️ involves a longer flight phase ✈️ and a straighter knee at landing, which increases reliance on eccentric strength 💪, particularly in the quadriceps. This movement pattern can result in substantially greater stress on the patellofemoral joint.
To better understand injury patterns 🔍, we recommend reviewing training loads in the 4–6 weeks leading up to the onset of pain. There’s often a lag between a loading error—such as a sharp increase in elevation—and the appearance of symptoms. This analysis can be performed through the Garmin/Suunto/Coros app 📱 or via Strava Desktop 🖥️.
For conditions like ITB syndrome, patellar tendinopathy, and patellofemoral pain, don’t overlook changes in elevation when analyzing training patterns! 🚵♀️📊
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🤓Health professionals, to learn more about treating runners, check our upcoming Online & Face to Face “MAT Assessing the Runner” courses.
📚References
Gottschall, J. S. and R. Kram (2005). "Ground reaction forces during downhill and uphill running." J Biomech 38(3): 445-452.
Matijevich, E. S., et al. (2019). "Ground reaction force metrics are not strongly correlated with tibial bone load when running across speeds and slopes: Implications for science, sport and wearable tech." PLoS One 14(1): e0210000.
Swanson, S. C. and G. E. Caldwell (2000). "An integrated biomechanical analysis of high speed incline and level treadmill running." Med Sci Sports Exerc 32(6): 1146-1155.
Vernillo, G., et al. (2017). "Biomechanics and Physiology of Uphill and Downhill Running." Sports Med 47(4): 615-629.