mplatt wrote:
malmo:
can you point me to BFullem's post on hill running?
Thanks
Mike, it wasn't Fullems' post. It was my post, the result of a series of emails betweem Fullem on I which he forwarded to his experts an the subject. I just posted the unredacted results. You would have to go back and read the entire thread to follow what we were talking about. At issue was whether or not hill running was more strssful (because of eccentric loading) than flat running. Being that stress increases by the square of speed, and that no one I've ever heard of runs faster uphill than on the flat, it made no sense that hill running (uphill of course) would be mmore stressful, ergo more injuries.:
What follows is a series of emails to two the foremost authorities on achilles injuries in athletes which debunks the contention that hill running is a major cause of achilles injury. Of course you can spend untold hours arguing for proof that they are "authorities" but I trust my source, who, by the way, is a reader here at LetsRun.com.
To be fair to you, pumper, my source did say this is a common theory perpetuated in the field (to borrow your phrasing) without evidence. From my point of view it's without thought. If true, there must be studies and data to support it. There's none. If true, the physics should support it. It doesn't.
You can dutifully write down and regurgitate what is fed to you in class, or you can do a little independent thinking, say to yourself, "that doesn't make sense to me" and raise your hand. You may be right, or you may be wrong, but a least the instructor will know that the elevator goes to the top floor.
Good luck with your studies.
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In a message dated 2/3/2003 8:15:15 PM Eastern Standard Time, malmo writes:
The question is, do you see evidence that hills are a major cause of tendonitis?
...Secondly, how different is that from normal loading from running on the flat? During normal stride aren't the loads eccentric at push-off? It seems to me that running on a hill, even a steep one with six percent grade, the forces would not be all that much different, even less due to the slower speed and less than full stride extension. What am I missing?
malmo
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----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Cc:
Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 1:28 AM
Subject: Re: the physics of hill running
This is a question sent to me by a friend. Can you 2 achilles experts add some insight to his questions?
thanks
Brian
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malmo,
here is my other experts reply. These are 2 of the foremost authorities in
the world on achilles injuries athletes. I think the verdict is that there
is no scientific explanation but it has always been conjectured and
implicated (it appears wrongly) For my running patients it is almost always
faster running that leads to this, not hill work.
BF
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RESPONSE #1 (Malmo's note: The issue of eccentric loading was addressed in my original query.)
Brian,
I think the main problem is that running uphill does eccentrically load your Achilles, & if you try to get up on your toes even more strain occurs. Furthermore the downhills keep you calves contracted, making them tighter to stretch. The Achilles can only lengthen 4% until damage occurs & the faster you run increases the force on the tendon exponentially, such that microtearing occurs.
Sax
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RESPONSE #2
Dear Brian
There is no scientific evidence that hill running is worse than running on the flat. The only piece of published work that I know of comes from the veterinary world, and is enclosed
Equine Vet J Suppl 2002 Sep;(34):353-8 Related Articles, Links
Biomechanical implications of uphill training on the aetiology of tendinitis.
Takahashi T, Kai M, Hada T, Eto D, Muka K, Ishida N.
Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, Utsunomiya, Tochigi.
It has been reported that a small decrease in the strain in the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) occurs if the toe is raised during walking. Although walking on a slope appears similar to raising the toe, it is unclear whether uphill exercise decreases the strain in the SDFT. Because the force or strain on tendons is one of the important factors leading to tendon stress injury, we hypothesised that reducing the force in the SDFT during exercise may prevent tendinitis. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of treadmill inclination on the force in the SDFT in the walking horse. 'Arthroscopically implantable force probes' (AIFP) were implanted into the SDFT of the forelimb of 4 horses. The AIFP output was recorded during walking on a treadmill inclined at 0%, 3%, 8% and then 0% again. When the inclination increased from 0 to 8%, the first peak of force in the SDFT decreased significantly, the second increased significantly, but the maximal force and the area under the force-time curve did not change. In conclusion, uphill walking on an inclined treadmill did not decrease the maximal force in the SDFT or the area under the force-time curve, however, the patterns of force were altered. Future research should focus on the force distributions of tendons and ligaments at faster gaits, because the effects of a change in hoof angle and slope may be greater at faster gaits.
Best regards, and see you soon
Nicola
Nicola Maffulli MD, MS, PhD, FRCS(Orth)
Professor of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
Keele University School of Medicine
Thornburrow Drive, Hartshill ST4 7QB
ENGLAND
Tel: + 44 1782 55 46 08
Fax: + 44 1782 41 22 36