Examining the effects of combined gait retraining and video self-modeling on habitual runners experiencing knee pain: A pilot study

This multidisciplinary study aimed to reduce stride length (SL) by 2%-4% for two runners (P1 and P2) experiencing chronic knee pain using a biomechanical gait retraining and video self-modeling intervention. The pre- and post-test design examined the acute changes in biomechanical and psychological factors following a 4-week intervention, which involved four gait retraining sessions and four gait consolidation sessions. Participants watched self-modeling videos twice daily in between sessions. P1 met the required SL reduction (2.61%), resulting in a 9% decrease in peak vertical ground reaction force combined with a 72% reduction in peak knee abduction moment. P1 demonstrated large positive effects for four performance- and two injury-based psychological variables (ES = 0.85-4.30) and a large negative effect for one injury-based psychological variable (ES = 1.50). P2 did not meet the required reduction in SL (1.3%); the response was an increase in vertical ground reaction forces (0.90%). P2 demonstrated large positive effects for three performance- and two injury-based psychological variables (ES = 3.00-4.28) and a large negative for one performance-based psychological variable (ES = 3.65). The consideration for individualized responses to interventions targeting a change in gait is warranted, as applying a “one-size-fits-all” approach may be detrimental to reducing injury pain.