His knee pain was coming from his arms…

A couple weeks ago I evaluated a patient who was having knee pain while running

During the running gait analysis, it was apparent to me that what he was doing with his HANDS was contributing to his knee pain

Yes you read that correctly

Focusing on his lower body, when looking at his running form, it was obvious that he was getting TOO HIGH off the ground

The vertical height of each of his strides was large

Which causes higher impact forces once he contacts the ground

The main method for improving his knee pain was going to come from decreasing the vertical height of his running

One of the things I did to achieve this was look at what his hands were doing

His hands were repeatedly going ABOVE his clavicle as he was swinging his arms

When your hands go above your clavicle, it contributes to UPWARDS momentum resulting in greater vertical height

This got me going on explaining what he should be doing with his hands in general

There are 2 important landmarks when thinking about what to do with your hands while running: the clavicle and the sternum (pictured below)

 

Your hands should stay below your clavicle and not cross your sternum

As I’m swinging my arms, I like to imagine like my hands are staying within 2 separate boxes. Underneath the clavicle and within the sternum

If your arms cross midline (crossing the sternum), it contributes to heavily too side-to-side motion

If your arms cross your clavicle, it contributes too heavily to upwards motion

If you weren’t sure what to do with your hands while running, now you know

If you’re not sure what to do with your running injury, I’m here to help.

Schedule a free discovery phone call with me to get the ball rolling on your recovery

Over the phone we’ll talk about your specific issue, get you scheduled an initial evaluation, and establish a treatment plan for you to get you all patched up and enjoying running again

Your best is yet to come