LEARN HOW TO RUN INJURY FREE
We all know that running is great exercise for our bodies, but often people stop due to knee or lower leg pain.This can happen for a variety of reasons, but usually ones that we are not aware of. Over 50 million Americans deal with some sort of knee trouble, as the knees are the second most common injured joint, the first being the joints in the spine. Therefore, it is essential to know what you can do to prevent knee troubles from even starting. Most all knee and leg pain can be attributed to the following issues: • Poor muscular strength • Imbalance of muscular strength with certain muscles stronger and others weaker • Poor muscular coordination • Poor biomechanics of walking / running • Lack of flexibility
Common injuries with running or exercising: • Patellofemoral pain • Meniscus tears and pain • Ligament injuries (ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL) • Osteoarthritis • Shin splints • Hamstring pulls • Achilles tendonitis
overloading the muscles and joints before the blood flow and muscle flexibility is adequate. If you are not sure which warm up and cool down exercises are best for running or jogging, give us a call, and schedule a free consultation with one of our physical therapists.
Warm-up: Warming up your body prior to running by slowly moving the legs and trunk through various motions which contract and stretch the running muscles is called dynamic stretching. These are helpful for avoiding injury from Don’t push through pain While feeling a stretching sensation or muscle burn is a normal part of exercising, feeling pain is not. Persistent, sharp or dull pain can be like an indicator light in your car: a warning sign that tells you to slow down, stop, and get it “checked out”. 5 WAYS TO IMPROVE KNEE PAIN NATURALLY www.ZionsvillePT.com
1. Increase your leg strength. Do wall sits, knee extensions, toe raises, hip side-lifts and more. Speak with one of our professionals for how to perform these exercises correctly. 2. Improve your patella (kneecap) tracking. Your patella needs to glide to actually form a C pattern when you bend your knee. Do leg lifts with your whole leg rotated outwards to strengthen the inner thigh and knee muscles. Make sure to stretch your kneecap up and down, side to side, to ensure gliding. Most patellofemoral pain comes from poor patella tracking and a physical therapist is the expert to diagnose and treat this problem. 3. Maintain and improve flexibility. With running and exercising it is very common for the powerful muscles in the leg to become tighter.
For example, the hamstring and outer tissues of the leg (iliotibial or “IT” band) can become very tight, altering the mechanics of the knee causing pain. Using a foam roller or muscle stick for self- massage can be helpful for loosening these tight areas. Stretch after every time you run and do adequate warm ups prior. Try integrating yoga and stretching into your routines. 4. Improve your balance and coordination. Do balance exercises to build up your proprioception (sense of balance position). Exercises such as standing on one leg with and without eyes closed are important. Setup for safety when performing balance exercises by having a steady surface nearby to hold onto when needed. 5. Improve your agility. Many casual runners, simply run, but do not perform other types of
important exercises such as strengthening, balance and agility training. Mix up your workouts to include these other types of exercises. Seeing a Specialist. If you have recurring knee pain or discomfort for more than 3 days, it is time to see a specialist. The ideal specialist to see is a physical therapist as they are medical experts in joint movement and function (kinesiology). In addition, if you are an avid athlete, a physical therapist is key in helping you discover new ways to improve your movement and function, helping you improve your game. Get on the path to healthy knees and call us today for a free joint movement analysis. Discover how liberating it can be to run or exercise pain free.
CALL TODAY! 317.873.2033
www.ZionsvillePT.com
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs