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In our last blog, what’s the most efficient way to run? we touched on how increasing step rate may help efficiency for some runners. Today we’re going to explore how this may also decrease load on multiple tissues and, in some cases, immediately reduce pain when running! Now, before you all fire up your metronomes we’re also going to cover 4 key points to consider when increasing step rate.
Note: In the studies they usually use the term ‘step rate‘ to describe the total number of running steps per minute. Runners usually call it ‘cadence‘ so I’ll use the terms interchangeably as they mean the same thing!
Now, you know me, I love a graphic! So let’s start with one to summarise some of the potential benefits of increasing step rate by as little as 5 to 10%.
To increase step rate we usually begin by assessing it in a runner while running at a set speed. You can use a wearable device or GPS watch or simply count the footfalls for one foot during a minute and multiply that number by 2 to get the step rate.
Next, we set a metronome 5 to 10% higher than this number, so if the runner was at 160 steps per min (spm), we often start by increasing 5% which would be 168spm. Then we ask the runner to run to the beat of the metronome. There are Apps which can help such as MetroTimer or RunCadence.
Studies have tested the effects of increasing cadence by 10% and have shown some really encouraging results. For example, Bramah et al. (2019) reported decreases in patellofemoral pain and increases in longest distance run pain-free from a single gait retraining session!
Some runners report instant benefits from gait changes. Esculier et al. (2023) examined the effects on gait retraining in runners with patellofemoral pain, they included step rate increases and other cues and found that 47% had an immediate reduction in symptoms.
But, you know what they also found?… some people’s pain increased!
Clearly, increasing step rate is not a cure-all, and there’s no one size fits all approach that works. Lots of things influence a runner’s cadence and it’s more of a continuum than a magic number we all aim for:
Increasing cadence certainly has the potential to help runners but we should be aware of the limitations of this approach, especially when we consider the evidence.
A recent systematic review (Anderson et al. 2022) identified 37 studies examining the effects of changing step rate. Only 2 of these were related to pain or injury! The vast majority focussed on the biomechanical effects in healthy runners.
Most research within this review assessed immediate effects of increasing or decreasing step rate. Some studies have medium-term follow up data (e.g. 12 weeks) but the longer-term effects are largely unknown.
4 key points to consider when increasing step rate:
- Reduced load per step may be offset by the increased number of running steps per minute.
- Response will vary depending on initial preferred step rate. Those with a high starting step rate (e.g. >175) are less likely to benefit.
- Individual pain response will vary and some report increased pain!
- Any gait change should be based on individual assessment not a one size fits all approach.
Clinical application
Those with a low starting step rate and gait findings that are likely to improve from an increase (such as over-striding or increased hip adduction) are more likely to benefit. Try a small change (e.g. increase 5-8%) and see how they respond in terms of gait and symptoms. If they don’t have pain during the gait analysis itself then suggest they try it if their symptoms come on mid-run to test response.
