Why Your Running Injury Keeps Coming Back

Every runner has heard some version of the same advice: get new shoes, stretch more, cut your mileage, foam roll. You've probably tried all of it. And if the pain keeps coming back anyway, the problem was never really about your shoes — it's about how you actually move when you run. We see the same handful of patterns in Spokane runners training for local races like Bloomsday or the half marathon and that's where our gait analysis and biomechanics testing come in.

At The Movement Clinic in Spokane, our biomechanics testing for runners, which includes gait analysis, is one of the most valuable tools we have for figuring out why a running injury keeps coming back — not just where it hurts, but what's actually driving it.

What Is Gait Analysis?

Gait analysis is a detailed look at how your body moves through each phase of your running stride — from the moment your foot hits the ground, through midstance, to toe-off. Instead of guessing based on where it hurts, we film you running and break the footage down frame by frame to see what's actually happening at your hips, knees, ankles, and pelvis.

The goal isn't to force you into a "perfect" running form. Every runner's mechanics are a little different. The goal is to find the specific patterns in your stride that are overloading the area that hurts — the same way we look at swing mechanics for golfers, just applied to running.

How We Do It

• Video capture from multiple angles — rear view and side view — while you run at your normal training pace on a treadmill

• Frame-by-frame breakdown of the gait cycle: initial contact, midstance, and toe-off

• Paired with our biomechanics testing, which includes a hands-on mobility, stability, strength, power assessment, since what shows up on video usually traces back to a physical limitation somewhere in the chain

Common Movement Patterns We See in Spokane Runners

When we run gait analysis during our biomechanics testing on injured runners, a handful of patterns show up again and again.

1. Overstriding

This happens when your foot lands too far in front of your body's center of mass. It increases braking forces with every step, which sends extra impact straight up through the shins, knees, and hips. Overstriding is one of the most common contributors to shin splints and runner's knee.

2. Hip Drop (Contralateral Pelvic Drop)

Watch a runner from behind, and you'll sometimes see one hip dip noticeably lower than the other with each stride. This usually points to weakness in the glute medius — the muscle responsible for keeping your pelvis level while you're on one leg. Over time, this pattern is a major driver of IT band syndrome and knee pain. It's also a common source of hip pain on its own — the glute medius is working overtime with every stride just to keep your pelvis level.

3. Crossover Gait

This is when your feet land across your body's midline instead of landing under your hips, so from behind it looks like you're running on a tightrope. Crossover gait increases stress on the IT band and the outside of the hip and knee with every single stride.

4. Excessive Vertical Oscillation

Some runners bounce more than they move forward. Extra up-and-down movement wastes energy and increases the impact your joints absorb on every landing — it's inefficient and it adds up over the miles.

5. Limited Ankle Mobility

When the ankle can't move through its full range, the body compensates further up the chain — often at the knee or hip. Restricted ankle mobility is a common, and often overlooked, contributor to plantar fasciitis and shin pain.

How Gait Analysis Changes Running Injury Treatment

Most running injury treatment starts and stops at the site of pain — rest the knee, ice the shin, stretch the calf. That approach can quiet symptoms temporarily, but if the underlying movement pattern that caused the problem is still there, the injury usually comes back once training ramps back up.

Gait analysis lets us build a plan around the actual cause instead of just the symptom. That typically includes:

• Targeted chiropractic adjustments to restore motion where it's been lost

• Mobility work for any joint restrictions, especially at the ankle and hip

• Strength work aimed at any weak areas the testing exposes — most often the glutes, hips, and calves

• Simple, specific cues to improve coordination and adjust the movement pattern itself, not a full form overhaul

• Plyometric work to improve power and elastic control

This biomechanics testing is part of our Rock Your Run recovery program — paired with our signature Movement Assessment and a specific plan to work with one of our sports chiropractors.

Results You Can Expect

Runners who go through our Rock Your Run Recovery program typically see:

• Less pain during and after runs

• Fewer repeat flare-ups of the same injury

• Better running efficiency — some runners notice their pace improves once wasted movement is cleaned up

• A specific, individualized plan instead of generic "just stretch more" advice

Case Example

A runner training for a fall half marathon came to us with recurring left-sided knee pain. His knee pain had already sidelined his training twice that year. He was about to give up and resign to the idea that he was just getting ‘too old’ for running.

After our Movement Assessment, his basic mobility and stability looked mostly healthy. During our biomechanics testing, we noticed the problem. We measured his broad jump off of his right and left legs and noticed that he could jump twice as far with his right leg as he could his left. The problem he experienced when he ran was that his significantly more powerful right leg would launch him into the air, but his relatively weaker left leg would have to land and dissipate all of the force his right leg generated. Gait analysis showed a clear pattern: his left knee would buckle under the pressure, leading to what is known in health care as runner’s knee. His knee wasn’t really the problem—it was his asymmetric leg power. His plan combined chiropractic care to restore ankle mobility with targeted left-leg strengthening to close the power gap between his right and left legs. After a couple of months, he had improved to the point that he was able to finish his half marathon pain-free.

Do You Need to Be Injured to Get a Gait Analysis?

No — and that's often when it's most valuable.

More and more of the runners we see for gait analysis and biomechanics testing aren't currently injured. They're ramping up mileage for an upcoming race and want to catch a problem before it sidelines their training block. If you're increasing your weekly mileage, training for your first half or full marathon, or you've had the same injury come back more than once, that's a good time to get assessed — not after the pain shows up again.

Final Thoughts

Running pain is rarely random, and it's rarely just about your shoes. It's almost always about how your body is actually moving, stride after stride, mile after mile. Movement assessments and Gait analysis as part of our biomechanics testing gives us an objective look at what is actually driving a runner’s problems instead of guessing — and that's what makes the treatment plan that follows actually work.

If you're a runner in Spokane dealing with an injury that keeps coming back — or you want to get ahead of one before your next race — the team at The Movement Clinic can help you understand where your problems are and what to do about them.

Schedule your assessment today!

More about the Author

Dr. Byers has practiced chiropractic for 13 years and is the founder of The Movement Clinic in Spokane. He earned his Bachelor's in Nutritional Science from Brigham Young University and his Doctor of Chiropractic from Parker University in Dallas. He holds certifications as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Medical and Power Level 3 provider, a Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA) Level 2 specialist, an Active Release Techniques (ART) Full Body provider, a Functional Movement Systems (FMS) Level 2 specialist, and a Fundamental Capacity Screen (FCS) provider. He works with runners, golfers, and everyday athletes, and believes getting you out of pain and moving better should always go hand in hand.