Running Stride Too Complicated For Our Brains, Joints Take Over

It’s complicated. That’s one thing that can be said about your running stride. And while sprinters and coaches are constantly studying ways to move leg muscles and joints as quickly as possible so that a runner can hit the ground as hard as possible, Young-Hui Chang, an associate professor at Georgia Tech’s “running lab,” officially called the Comparative Neuromechanics Laboratory, compares each footfall to the bouncing of a ball: each is slightly different from the last. With each stride, says Chang, the hip, knee and ankle joints all flex and extend at the same time when the foot hits the ground. Many of the leg muscles are turned on simultaneously, creating force and propelling the runner into the air. “Your knee, for example, automatically adjusts its own torque, each step, based on what the ankle and hip do,” says Chang. “All of this happens without your brain getting directly involved. Your joints ‘talk’ to each other, allowing you to concentrate on other things, like having a conversation or watching for cars.” Read more from Georgia Tech.