Running Around BarrieRunning in Barrie can be done in any season. Getting outdoors and enjoying a run is a great way to get fit and stay fit. Running is an amazing way to increase your overall level of cardiovascular fitness and muscle tone, however with this sport there come certain challenges and obstacles that may lead to injury. Would you like to learn more about preventing typical running-related injuries? Would you like advice on how to treat some minor running- related injuries? Would you like to know how you could become a better runner? If the answers to these questions are intriguing you, keep reading. In order to understand why certain injuries happen, we must understand how our bodies were designed to move. There are three planes of movement that our bodies are capable of moving through; frontal, transverse and sagittal. To better understand what these terms are referring to, it's easiest to think of animals. A penguin walks in the frontal plane. Picture a sauntering bear with his rump swinging from side to side as representing the transverse plane. Finally, the fastest animal in the world, the cheetah, runs in the sagittal plane. To be efficient and avoid injury as we run , the majority of our movement must be in the sagittal plane. What could take us out of the sagittal plane? A few possibilities include:
How do you know if you are dealing with any of the above mentioned problems? A full biomechanical examination by your physiotherapist can tell you. A common running-related injury is Iliotibial band (ITB) friction syndrome. The ITB runs down the side of the leg from the hip to the knee and is attached to a short muscle belly at the hip. ITB syndrome can result in pain on the side of the knee or hip due to a friction rub of the long tendon-like band over a bony prominence. Part of the problem may be a lack of flexibility or weakness in certain muscles around the hip. Therefore in order to treat this problem, your physiotherapist would guide you as to which muscles need stretched and those that need improved strength. Another possibility for ITB symptoms is too much foot pronation/flattening. Running demands more pronation from our feet than walking does, as pronation is one of the ways that we absorb shock. However, too much flattening, or flattening that happens at the wrong time will eventually result in injury. Flattening of the foot causes the entire leg to rotate inwards, which takes us out of the sagittal plane and may increase the friction rub of the ITB over the bony prominences at the hip or knee. What can we do to help correct too much foot pronation? In many instances, appropriate footwear can do the trick. Your physiotherapist can help to guide you as to the type of shoe that will give you the control and support you need. Depending on the degree of " help" your foot requires, orthotics may be necessary to keep you moving in the sagittal plane as you run. Here are the key points to remember to stay happy and healthy as you run:
Nadine Leiper |