Collapsing

In our last post, we discussed the idea of a collapsing runner. This is someone who either shows a Trendelenberg in the stance phase of gait, or collapses inward at the knee through hip internal rotation and adduction. This is common with runners experiencing knee pain.

Many times we find the typical initial prescription is hip strengthening. It makes perfect sense. The hip abductors and external rotators do not possess enough strength to control the collapse. Many runners will see improved pain levels with this plan, but it is also important to realize that many runners may have a reoccurrence of the pain at a later time. Is it possible that one of the reasons your runner improved is partially due to the time they likely spent reducing their running volume while in rehab?

Here’s the thing. Just because you improve a runner’s hip strength does not mean his/her running gait will change.²  If running brought on the pain and we’re not fixing the...