Uneven recovery "leg height" in midstance (gait)

Training Advice/Discussion General

8 years ago 09/05/2015 4:13am EDT

This is a bit of a bizarre questions. but I saw now a couple of videos of me running in various races at different times and in all, my left leg "height" when recovering in midstance is much lower (about 4-5 inches) than the right leg.

The right leg heel comes a bit above horizontal, not to the butt at all, but at or above horizontal. The left heel however doesn't even get to horizontal, stays a bit lower.

How can I run this uneven and not notice it? What is the cause and what should I do? I know that "if it ain't broken don't fix it" but I am not super injury-resistant either.

These videos span more than 3 years, it's not just now. My left quad is tighter than my right (both are tight and always are) but is this the cause? Or the hamstring?

By the way by "midstance" I mean as in this picture:

http://dubinchiro.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/figure4.gif

Second from the left.

Even when I run fast, sub 6:00 for me or even 5:30 pace that left foot/shin below horizontal, right foot/shin slightly above stays consistent. Drives me nuts and I'd like to work on it but I am not sure where to start. Thanks in advance for the insights!

8 years ago 09/05/2015 9:54am EDT

re: UnevenMan

Go to a chiropractor- see if your hips are aligned- your left hip might be jammed.

4 years ago 10/13/2019 12:19pm EDT

re: Big Tone

Same here. Right heel comes above horizontal in "recovery" whereas Left heel remains below the line parrallel to the ground, making it look like a limp on videos.

Two questions: 1) is it one of these "if it ain't broken don't fix it" type of issues,. i.e. I do not get injured too often, so should I just not care? and 2) is it likely due to the left hamstring being too tight, or the quad being too tight, not letting the foot come "up" in recovery?

thanks in advance.

4 years ago 10/13/2019 1:02pm EDT

re: UnevenMan

Why do you think you need to be symmetrical? Asymmetry is actually normal, everyone has it for purely genetic reasons, it cannot be changed, and there is no reason to believe that it disadvantages you in any way. One side might be weaker or less efficient (again, for genetic reasons that cannot be changed), but the differential doesn't hurt you.

4 years ago 10/13/2019 1:51pm EDT

re: iflyboats

iflyboats wrote:
Why do you think you need to be symmetrical? Asymmetry is actually normal, everyone has it for purely genetic reasons, it cannot be changed, and there is no reason to believe that it disadvantages you in any way. One side might be weaker or less efficient (again, for genetic reasons that cannot be changed), but the differential doesn't hurt you.

Thanks! I must admit that I asked mostly for aesthetics / easing the visual "limping" aspect of my stride. Like the OP we are talking about a few inches in height (5-6" in back heel recovery "height", I'd estimate at race pace). It's visual and confirmed by GCT (Ground Contact Balance) on my Garmin HRM-Run. I'm usually near 50-50 or 51-49 when running slow/easy and more like 52-48 and sometimes 54-46 when running faster than MP (54-46 is L-R i.e. more time spent on the left foot on ground than right foot). Sort of makes sense: the right leg rotates faster since it moves more, the left left spends more time on ground and the heel recovery is shorter/lower).

This is an another example of visual evidence corroborated by stats that I can't really utilize. It's obvious to me that my brain favors the right side. If I were to kick a (soccer) ball, I'd use the R side every time.

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