JUNE 2020 The Therapy Bulletin The Newsletter About Your Health And Caring For Your Body Helping You Get Back to Life
YOUR GUIDE TO RUNNING SMART
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Mobility/Soft Tissue Work Having the necessary mobility of muscles and joints allows us to function through our body’s full range of motion to move more efficiently, decreasing undue stress to our muscles and joints. Limited mobility affects running technique leading to potential compensations that could also lead to injury. So what’s the best way to improve mobility? Static stretching? Foam roller? Both? There are pro’s and con’s to both, but the bottom line is both techniques will improve flexibility/mobility of muscles and joints. Static stretching feels good and is quick; however, it does not decrease risk of injury or reduce post-workout muscle soreness. Foam rollers can target specific areas of tension within the muscle, increase mobility, and decrease post-running soreness allowing for quicker recovery. The best areas to typically address prior to running include: glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calves, avoiding rolling over any bony areas. Focus on tender spots or “knots” within the muscle 30-60 seconds per muscle group before and after running,
totaling four to eight minutes pre-and post- running. Don’t have a foam roller? The use of a lacrosse ball, tennis ball, massage stick, or rolling pin can perform the same function. Dynamic Warm-Up As tempting as it is to pop out of bed, tie up your running shoes, and run, a dynamic warm-up is key for injury prevention . Dynamic warm-ups increase your body’s core temperature and increase blood flow to your muscles, better preparing your body for running and exercise. Examples of dynamic warm-ups include: Inch worms, leg swings, Frankenstein’s, butt kickers, high knees, or walking lunges. Follow your foam roller program with a 5-10-minute light dynamic warm-up to get your heart rate up and your muscles primed for your run! Strength Wait, strength training? Like l ifting weights? YES! Resistance training not only builds strength, but it also makes muscles more efficient while running – meaning, muscles are using less energy
over the same distance during your run. Muscles that are more efficient become more resilient to injury, allowing for less stress to ankle, knee, and hip joints, which equals more pain-free running! Stronger muscles also improve power that gives the extra push at the end of a race to help enhance overall performance leading to potential personal records. Focusing on funct ional movements (such as squats, deadlifts, and lunges) utilizes multiple muscle groups per exercise that better carries over to running performance/injury prevention than isolated strengthening exercises. Performing one-legged variations of squats and deadlifts will also help improve overall balance and stability. These exercises help to increase gluteal (buttock) and hamstring (back thigh muscles) strength. The gluteals and hamstrings help propel our bodies forward while running, and weakness in these muscle groups often lead to compensations by overusing the hip flexors and quadriceps (front thigh muscles) causing the all-too-common hip and knee pain in runners.
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