Please evaluate my biomechanics in relation to my injuries. (videos attached)

All of these videos are at 6:00/mi pace.

Strengthen your hips! Also is your core strong? It looks like your hips are slouched and what i mean is you arent running up straight. It is because weak hips. Also a higher knee lift would help

I admit that I have neglected my core as of recently, I've been working on abs infrequently this semester. I'm starting back up in the Myrtl routine

Your form looks fine. You should feel your muscles as you run and see if each side feels the same as the other in terms of firing (when they get hard, how they get hard, and how they relax). Put your hand over all of your hip flexors, quads, glutes, hamstrings and try to run normally and see if one side is different. Pay special attention to the areas you have injury troubles.

are those the shoes your normally train in?

other options wrote:

are those the shoes your normally train in?

No, those are Nike streaks that I wore for all my races and workouts during 2013 cross country. I currently train in Altra's.

Your major problem, and it's obvious from your videos, is that you think your leg problems stem from your legs. They do not. They stem from you spine/head, which you completely failed to include in the video.

You can't get a good biomechanics analysis looking at the extremities only.

Alternatively, if there are no problems with your left leg, maybe you ought to run with your right shoe untied as well?

Xander Tek wrote:

Your major problem, and it's obvious from your videos, is that you think your leg problems stem from your legs. They do not. They stem from you spine/head, which you completely failed to include in the video.

You can't get a good biomechanics analysis looking at the extremities only.

Alternatively, if there are no problems with your left leg, maybe you ought to run with your right shoe untied as well?

I only recorded my extremities, not because I excluded the possibility of upper body responsibility, but because at the time I was not thinking, these are the only videos I have for the purpose of this thread and I did not want to wait. I plan on recording a full body recording soon.

Xander Tek wrote:

Alternatively, if there are no problems with your left leg, maybe you ought to run with your right shoe untied as well?

Both shoes were fastened equally. Effects of the flailing portion of lace are negligible. :)

I believe it is a problem that your feet are just going forward and backward....like you are trying to stay on a line with every foot fall. I don;t know how you solve this other than being aware of it.

There's a definite crossover gait going on. It's a lot more noticeable on your right leg. From the little I can see of your hips, they look unstable with a large angle of pelvic tilt.

This would suggest that your glutes are weak on the left side and your adductors are weak on your right side. That would cause your abductors to be overactive on the right side. It may also be a case of underactive core and glutes.

Here's a good video on the crossover gait, this is part 1 of 3. Watch all 3 parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG-xLi2m5Rc

From the right-side lateral view (the video you did not link), there is an asymmetry of leg function; the right leg at contact has less knee flex than the left leg. It is, in effect, 'reaching' more. This is not a conclusion yet of whether this a contributing factor to your injuries, or a symptom of disfunction.

You might want to review this video on principles of Chi Running, for the mental cues to get your ground contact a little further back under your hips.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkUqkdPQHis

(Don't let the title of the video shut you out, since you don't heel strike.)

Blitzplay wrote:

Here's a good video on the crossover gait, this is part 1 of 3. Watch all 3 parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG-xLi2m5Rc

Blitzplay, I've only watched 10 mins of the video you posted, and I want to thank you for it! Very informative!

Oops, I did not link all of the videos.

Right Side Lateral:

http://youtu.be/FfXDbI68gMU?list=PLo71KeT9dxZSpc3k62XqbF7f9tm2EnfsB

I have this feeling that my leg is being held up into my hip, which would make sense if my SI joint is locked. It also appears to me that my right leg there is a bit more of a delay between the peak of knee lift and foot strike compared to the left leg, which makes sense if I am holding my right leg into my hip for some reason.

I don't know what the reason for holding my right leg up into my hip would be, but I can speculate:

*Maybe the mild bunion on my left foot decreases my propensity to put full weight on my left leg, which could create mechanical abnormalities across the sagital plane that manifest themselves in the injuries I've stated.

You need to repost with video of your full body. As stated before, it's all about the hips and if you have torso sway as well. Your leg biomechanics don't look pathological.

Also, tendinITIS is NOT a thing. Tendons don't inflame. Read Jay Dicharry's book Anatomy for Runners. Might help you out a bit in general knowledge and it has a great glossary of strength training for runners. It's ~$10 on amazon.

Your knees are nearly touching when you are going through mid-stance. As mentioned above, that is a crossover gait pattern which is an issue that needs to be fixed at the hips and glutes.

There seems to be alot of tension in your foot during footstrike. This could be causing the anterior shin problems. Are you a natural forefoot striker or have you changed your strike pattern? It just looks a bit forced to me with no relaxation or mobility.

Do you have a good range of dorsiflexion?

In all reality, seeing this little glimpse tells us nothing. You presumably don't always run on a treadmill and not always at the same speed.

That said, from what the videos do show, your right forefoot hyperpronates putting a lot of stress on your posterior tibialis and achilles. Your knee lift doesn't seem high enough, likely an issue with your anterior shin problems, and you are overstriding. Increase your cadence and get your knees higher. Personally I didn't see the cross over gait after you got going.

Crossed knees wrote:

Your knees are nearly touching when you are going through mid-stance. As mentioned above, that is a crossover gait pattern which is an issue that needs to be fixed at the hips and glutes.

There seems to be alot of tension in your foot during footstrike. This could be causing the anterior shin problems. Are you a natural forefoot striker or have you changed your strike pattern? It just looks a bit forced to me with no relaxation or mobility.

Do you have a good range of dorsiflexion?

Ever since I tried Vibram Five Fingers 4.5 years ago, I started exclusively forefoot striking. I think I used to land more exclusively on my forefoot, but now I would describe it as between forefoot and mid foot. I did have loads of success at the time in the 800m. Landing on my forefoot is just natural to me now. Putting weight on my heels feels very unnatural to me.

As for my dorsiflexion, I'd say it is above average. I'm pretty flexible everywhere. My hip mobility is also way above average.