Years of pounding the streets can lead to the type of injuries that force jogging enthusiasts to reluctantly give up the sport in middle age.
Now, a Scots firm has come up with a simple to use solution that could allow more people to run for life by helping prevent common complaints including runners knee and shin splints.
Stirling-based Attis Fitness has developed the first fitness tracker that uses lab-grade technology that can measure stride, gait, pelvic movements and knee elevation to provide personalised feedback.
While other apps measure distance, heart rate, technology like this which is focussed on running style is normally only accessible to those in competitive sport.
Stridesense enables 3D motion tracking technology using five sensors which are placed in pockets around the legs and waist of special compression leggings, which connect via Bluetooth to the app.
After a successful pre-order campaign which saw the sell out, the product is now ready for its full release and the firm has secured six-figure investment to expand, globally.
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The device was developed by Strathclyde University sports engineering graduate and founder of Attis Fitness Tim Elizondo.
He said: "This kind of technology has been around for a long time for professionals with the use of 15-20 cameras surrounding the person but we wanted to try to make it accessible for everyone.
"We've created something you can just place in your leggings. That was something that took quite a bit of development as the trackers needed to be small enough that they didn't affect the runner's movements.
"There are GPS trackers that measure how fast you go, your split times, heart rate and so on but that's more a measure of performance rather than something you can use to improve your running style.
"We looked at bounce, contact with the ground, knee elevation, the position of the pelvis and overall symmetry.
"I struggled with recurring injuries and became frustrated at not understanding what was causing them, or even how to correct it without professional analysis and insight. I realised a tracker could do this, saving runners time and money.
"If you over-stride that puts a lot of pressure on your ankle and other joints so by improving that can have a more balanced stride.
"Having used other fitness trackers, I felt what was on the market just wasn’t helping me improve my running."
The product, which retails at £225, has been endorsed by Welsh distance runner Jonathan Hopkins, the ‘Forrest Gump’ ultra-runner Rob Pope, and blogger Trina Dawkins and the firm are hoping to re-locate to Glasgow.
It has been a long road to the launch as the team faced delays to get the product onto the market because of Brexit-related supply issues.
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"There were issues with getting some of the supplies past Customs. We were originally planning on launching last year in October and we've just launched now, so it was quite a long delay.
"We lost money because we weren't getting money into the business. It's quite tough to keep everything going but with investor support we managed to break through.
"There is that understanding that we are in unprecedented times and I think a lot of firms are facing similar issues so investors are understanding of that."
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