Thursday, November 7, 2013

WHY RUNNERS GET INJURED -- Part 2

Nobody's perfect. Very few runners have perfect form. Most either pronate or supinate or carry their arms too high  or wag their heads or overstride or have muscle imbalances between their quads and hams or calves and shins. Even many great runners have imperfect form. For example, Bill Rodgers has an uneven arm swing. That brings us to our number 2 reason why runners get injured:

2. POOR BIOMECHANICS
However, we should not jump to conclusions. A lot of runners with unorthodox running form rarely get injured. For example, an uneven arm swing may be compensating for a leg length discrepancy. If you try to fix the arm swing, then the shorter leg won't be compensated for, which will result, of course, in injury. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. In other words, don't try to tell Bill Rodgers he needs to correct his form.

When should you try to fix poor biomechanics? When the same injury keeps popping up. If a runner hasn't done too much too soon and has slowly but surely built up his or her mileage but regularly must deal with a reoccurring injury, then the problem is probably biomechanical.

 It's possible that adjustments can be made to the runner's form to fix the problem. The ideal stride disperses the stress of pushing off and landing equally along the leg. Any variation from the ideal will focus that stress unevenly with one spot in particular receiving more stress. It may be a shin, a knee, a hip, the Achilles tendon, quad, calf, or hamstring. If the runner is awkward or ungainly as they run, practicing good form would help them.

Check out Grant Robinson's Youtube intro to good running form: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7Igc2cCuZI
Then click on his videos emphasizing the four points of good running form: Posture, Midfoot, Cadence, and Lean
Posture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LfiAgQTFeU
Midfoot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=humkZAtZVW0
Cadence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isx-wE1Z0lU
Lean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmneqHyorXo

If you've done everything to correct your form but the injuries still reoccur, then it is time to visit a physical therapist or sports medicine doctor, one who has a good reputation with treating runners. They can recommend the proper shoe or insoles to correct pronation or supination. If the  problem is severe enough, you may need to have orthotics made for your feet. They can check to see if you have a leg length discrepancy or an imbalance in your muscles. A good physical therapist or sports med doc is worth his or her weight in high-end running shoes.

Once the biomechanical problems are solved, the injuries should go away . . . unless . . unless . . . you run into the third common reason for running injuries. But I'll save that one for another day.

Questions or comments can be posted below or sent to joecellis@comcast.net .
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