Last month I talked about the importance of gait in running, as well as in any activity. Muscles lose some of their function when influenced by stress. The stress may be a new pair of shoes or an improper running surface, causing the foot to land incorrectly and thereby putting stress on the foot, knee, and hip. Or it may be a thermal stress from running in the cold winter or hot and humid summer weather causing muscles to contract and relax in an unaccustomed manner. Altered gait mechanics will cause some muscles to become over facilitated, or in spasm. Other muscles, usually the antagonist, will become inhibited, or weak. This weakness is understood neurologically, it does not mean that a weak leg muscle is flopping around and the person is unable to walk or ride a bike. The weakness is a sub-optimal function of the muscle. It has lost its finesse, its lack of balance with the rest of the body, and is therefore inhibited.

Gait is also highly influenced by past injuries. Some estimate that up to 80% of all injuries are in some way remembered by the body adding compensations and altering gait mechanics to adjust accordingly. This is the person who has just "never been the same" since they sprained an ankle, or broke a bone. They always feel that something is not right, and may always be fighting one injury or another since that time. An injury during childhood say, from falling off a bike, could affect you much later in life. Though the pain may be gone, the body is very good at remembering most all injuries and changing in some way or another, for better or usually, worse. Tracing back these injuries and understanding them can make dramatic changes in health and performance.

Another stress, from chemical changes in the body, can alter gait function. Dehydration is a good example and one that is well understood. When dehydrated, the gait is influenced by the changes in muscle function, even before cramping sets in. Muscle function is depressed, and a generalized weakness results throughout the entire body. The person begins to feel weak as the condition progresses, to the point where they are struggling to keep their form. Their stride is shortened, the head is dropped, and they begin the compensation pattern where they try to recruit every muscle to make just one work. This is one reason why an athlete fatigues throughout a race, especially those of long duration such as a marathon. Hydration is much more than just taking in water. You have to absorb it to use it. As I have talked about before, the adrenal glands play a major part in regulating water. Tired, depressed adrenal glands cause the body to lose too much sodium so it cannot hold onto the water. This makes sense to the person who drinks and drinks and drinks, but always feels thirsty. They are dehydrated, and their gait, and running performance, is suffering.

Improper carbohydrate metabolism is another big factor affecting gait. Carbohydrate intolerance is now being understood to alter gait mechanics from a process known as insulin insensitivity. This occurs when either a person is consuming too many carbohydrates or is not metabolizing them properly. The pancreas must manufacture more and more insulin to process the same amount of glucose that it once only used a little amount to handle. Over time, the pancreas becomes less efficient at metabolizing the carbohydrates so too much insulin is produced and the person winds up with signs and symptoms of blood sugar handling problems. These include irritability, cravings for sweets, excessive appetite, afternoon drowsiness or headaches, getting the shakes, and trouble sleeping, just to mention a few. They also have irregular gait patterns, which explain why most, if not all of these individuals, have some chronic ache, pain, or injury.

The hormone insulin has a strong influence on the nervous system, and how the body is designed to function. When gait is not working properly, meaning that the muscles are not firing as they should or firing when they shouldn't, problems arise. Many times, since most all motions are accomplished by moving in more than one plane, (forward motion flexion includes slight rotation), the person ends up favoring one side over the other. This is why so many people always get injured on the same side…right hip, right foot, right knee pain. Not everybody, but most. Their body's gait is incorrect and they're nervous system perceives them to be in a bit of a twist to one side.

Many people who go off their high carbohydrate diet resolve many of their aches and pain for this very reason. Though it is not for all, adjusting your diet from the thought of pre-race carbo meals and bagel breakfasts may make dramatic changes in your health and performance. The double edge sword is seen when you add the fact that under high stress situations, such as too much anaerobic work, high cortisol levels exist, which in turn raise insulin levels. So not only does the burden of high insulin levels need to be dealt with, but the chronic adrenal stress will lead to weakened ligaments, muscle breakdown, and inflammation.

Gait is affected by insulin levels so much that it is also very important to not only know what to eat, but when to eat it. One major mistake that many endurance athletes make is that they drink a carbohydrate solution right up until the start of a race. I have seen people at the swim start of an Ironman race packing in the fluid replacement drinks, or even worse, consuming a gel pack. They have suddenly jumped their insulin level and begun the sugar burning process, when the race demands that the majority of energy come from fat stores, as in any aerobic activity. An improper gait usually follows. The proper thing to do is stop all carbohydrate consumption one hour prior to the event. Then, do not consume any carbohydrates until 15 minutes into the race. After 15 minutes, the cells will respond to glucose without the insulin surge from the carbohydrate consumption. At the end of the event, try to consume the majority of carbohydrates 15 minutes after as well. Following these simple guidelines will ward off blood sugar jumps and dives while keeping the nervous system functioning better as it is under a high deal of stress already from the competition. In addition, your gait will benefit, delaying muscle fatigue, increasing power output, and improving performance - and that is what it's all about.