1

Can high cadence running cause foot injury? (Read 131 times)

    Undoubtedly the answer to this question is yes, but I thought I'd be okay and I still got foot pain.

     

    I've run for several months at 'easy' pace with a metronome set at 180. At first I suffered from a little calf soreness but nothing too bad and then I got used to the cadence and I never suffered from soreness thereafter. But only this week I ran, first, a 20 minute tempo run, and then a few days later a 5 mile road race, both at 180 spm. A couple of hours after each of these runs I found that the sole of my left foot was quite sore, on the arch but nearer my heel than the ball of my foot.

     

    Has the increase in speed while maintaining the 180 spm cadence resulted in an injury?

    Never been to the Americas, but how many of you guys have ever been to Derby?

     

    Wing


    Joggaholic

      Undoubtedly the answer to this question is yes

       

      Why?

       

      But only this week I ran, first, a 20 minute tempo run, and then a few days later a 5 mile road race, both at 180 spm. A couple of hours after each of these runs I found that the sole of my left foot was quite sore, on the arch but nearer my heel than the ball of my foot.

       

      I get various soreness after racing hard, isn't that normal for pushing a high effort? I don't think it's an injury if the soreness goes away after a day or two.

        Thanks for replying, Wing.

         

        I didn't mean to suggest that high cadence running will always cause injuries. What I meant was that for some runners (like me) high cadence running represents a break from normal practice (I think my 'normal' cadence - when my brain is switched off - is around 150). I upped my cadence a while back in order to shorten my stride length and thereby avoid possible knee injuries that come with over-striding. But my suggestion was that any change to the running pattern 'can' lead to injuries if the change isn't managed right.

         

        And the problem is - the pain didn't go away. After the first incidence I rested for 5 day. The pain faded somewhat during that time, but then came bouncing back a couple of hours after the next time I ran. It's not a normal part of the aches and pains you get after an all-out run. This one feels like an 'injury'.

         

        My thoughts are that the muscles/tendons that reach from the ball of the foot, round the heel, through your Achilles and up your calf, are all stretched when you land on your forefoot (which you are more prone to do at higher cadences). And so I have somehow stretched the tendons in the sole of my foot like I stretched the muscles in my calf when I first started high cadence running. But I'm no bio-mechanical expert so I'm stabbing in the dark.

         

        Friends who have suffered from plantar fasciitis have told me that they experience a very sharp pain when they first put weight on the foot. But mine isn't that bad. I would just describe it as 'sore'.

        Never been to the Americas, but how many of you guys have ever been to Derby?

         

        HermosaBoy


          How are your shoes?

           

          Whenever I feel a pain like you are describing -- I wonder if I need to replace my shoes...

          And you can quote me as saying I was mis-quoted. Groucho Marx

           

          Rob

            (I think my 'normal' cadence - when my brain is switched off - is around 150)

             

            I kind of doubt it's that low.

             

            But to answer the question, anything new can cause injuries. And running in general can cause injuries. What you are describing sounds like a mild case of PF. Probably more than half of the runners on this board are dealing with or have dealt with that injury at some point. I doubt it has much to do with cadence.

            Runners run

            djtaylor


              Sounds like it's time you start doing some towel pulls and pickups with your feet before it turns into PF.

              emmbee


              queen of headlamps

                Don't know, but if it's the only thing you've changed, it's plausible that running at 180 isn't ideal for you.  Some of what I've read suggests increasing your cadence by only 5-10%; 180 is average, but if 170 is where your fitness allows you to run without injury, who cares about the average?

                  This sounds like it has more to do with your shoe choice and footstrike than your cadence. That on top of the fact that you were doing higher intensity workouts. Most of your recent runs have been workouts or races and you've worn a variety of shoes. It doesn't look like you've done much bread and butter easy running in the last week. I wouldn't be quick to isolate cadence when there are so many other factors in play.

                    If you are keeping the same cadence of 180 but increasing your running speed that probably means your stride length is increasing.  An increased stride length can cause soreness or injury in different places (especially if running downhill.) Remember it could just be an overuse/excessive training injury like PF.  Don't over do it and consider the cushioning of your shoes and terrain when training.