March 4, 2013

Robert Maschi, DPT, an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, presented a poster titled, “The Relationship Between Running Cadence and Leg Length in Healthy Female Runners” at the American Physical Therapy Association’s Combined Sections Meeting in San Diego, California in January. “Running speed is determined by both stride frequency (cadence) and stride length,” Maschi said. “Recently there has been increasing interest regarding the effects of running cadence on injury and the effects of altering cadence to affect gait kinetics.” It’s not yet clearly understood how runners choose their cadence, though one popular theory is that it is determined by leg length. Comparing cadence and leg length, Maschi said there appears to be no correlation between the two. “This information is clinically relevant, given the high incidence of injury in runners. Understanding factors that influence cadence and stride length may help target interventions aimed at reducing running injury,” he added.

At the APTA meeting, Maschi also co-presented a one-day, 8-hour course called “Comprehensive Management of the Triathlete: Injury, Rehab, and Performance” with four other speakers from around the country. The course identified key medical issues that triathletes face and treatment guidelines. Maschi’s instruction focused on the running stage of the multisport event: injury epidemiology, the assessment of normal running mechanics and pathomechanics, the utilization of clinical video analysis, proper equipment selection, physical therapy evaluation and treatment of running injuries, neuromuscular retraining, and manual treatment techniques.