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It can be tricky to change your running style. Perhaps a jolt of electricity might get you up to speed?

A new device called FootStriker uses a blast of electrical muscle stimulation to move a runner’s foot to the right angle just before landing. Early tests suggest that it might have a big impact in tweaking a runner’s style.

Trained professional runners generally land on the front of their feet when running, but recreational runners normally land heel-first – something that many coaches discourage because it may have links with injury (although this is disputed).

To check which part of the foot lands first, FootStriker uses a pressure sensor placed in a shoe’s insole. Whenever a bad step is recorded during a run, a pad on the back of the calf jumps into action. With a little burst of electricity, the muscles are stimulated to correct the position of the foot for the next landing.

In a test, six runners used the device. During an initial 1-kilometre run without any electrical assistance, the average percentage of heel landings across the group was 95 per cent. Over the next 3 km, FootStriker was switched on and the proportion of heel landings plummeted to 16 per cent.

For a final kilometre, the device was switched off, but heel landings continued to decrease – to 8 per cent – suggesting that the runners had learned the new technique. And although the device was only worn on one leg, the improvement happened in both.

In comparison, a control group received coaching on how to improve their running style, but only managed to reduce their average number of heel strikes from 97 per cent to 80 per cent.

Improving efficiency

“Switching from landing heel-first to forefoot-first is more efficient and less prone to injury,” says at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence in Saarbrücken, one of the makers of the device. “The same ideas could also be used for other sports with complex repeatable movements, like rowing,” he says.

More than half of all recreational runners pick up an injury each year, so having a good technique is important. This is even though the jury is still out on exactly what the best running style is, says at Aarhus University in Denmark. “But for people that wish to change their running style or who are prone to injury, FootStriker looks really effective,” he says.

Until now, running technology has been about monitoring and tracking, whereas FootStriker actively influences someone’s motion, says at University College London. “It’s really hard to break bad habits that have built up over a long period of time; this could be the answer.”

Journal reference: Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, DOI: