Injuries, Prevention & Rehabilitation

Ever stepped out of bed first thing in the morning and felt a shearing pain in your heel? You may have even looked down to confront the sharp toy truck or shard of glass that MUST be on the floor….there is nothing there, it’s an internally generated pain that feels like a cattle prod to the foot every time you plant your foot down.

The very likely diagnosis here is Plantar Fasciitis.

Where did it come from, AND HOW DO WE FIX IT!?

The mantra “don’t take back pain lying down” (which came into vogue in the late 90’s) could not be more accurate. I approach Pilates to overcome back pain like having your veggies. You need to get your salad (exercises) in before you can have all the dessert (pain free function) you like. It will vary from person to person depending on the nature and causes of their own specific Low Back Pain, but a holistic Pilates program to reduce pain symptoms and gain function would look like this!......

Are we talking a Chris Hemsworth 6 pack or shredded abs of any form? I’d love to say yes… but quite honestly as a runner and a physio, I am definitely more interested in function, posture and form.

We need core strength to simply live and function at a basic level, but for higher level performance (running) and injury prevention, we need optimal evenly distributed strength around the torso and pelvis.

Runners, listen up! Let's get to the core of the matter....

I would like to nominate this particular running injury as being incredible in vogue in 2020. For many reasons, pavement impact has increased, and (just like socks n sandals) shin splint shave made a hard come back. There can be several causes of shin splints, and all of them vary slightly from person to person, but one thing that shin splints are certain of is that they occur from OVERLOAD.

The first thing to note is: GETTING ONTO SHIN SPLINTS EARLY IS KEY IN A QUICK RECOVERY! The longer they linger, the more imbedded the inflammation they can become and mechanical compensatory issues can start to occur. It’s important not to ignore them....

Here is why!

RUNNING! It's a wonderfully addictive sport and as far as km's go you can feel like a kid in a candy store who's saved a tonne of pocket money. We discover new trails and parks, run longer/faster/harder and it almost becomes a game of 'running roulette': how far can we go and still tolerate the impact? 

Maybe not straight away but, inevitably, we fall victim to injury and niggles at some point to varying degrees which can be multifaceted in cause. 

BUT! How do we bounce back safely and effectively without running the risk of re-injury? What does a 'Return to Running' program look like?

Here are my thoughts....

If you are a runner, inevitably someone has said something along the lines of:

"Oh No! Your poor joints. How do your knees hold up?!"

We can often dismiss this, but the question does not go unwarranted....

There IS a knee condition that is close to my heart and can side line you from running which is called patellofemoral pain or RUNNERS KNEE. It doesn't mean you are going to have "bad knees when you're old" but if you ignore this condition it can kneecap your training for months (pun intended) and take the buzz out of your training. Been there.

Here is the low down!

Mobility and stretching shouldn’t feel like a chore. I have learned to actually look forward to it! I know in myself I always feel less of a 90 year old if I take time to do a stretch warm up and also don’t pull up as stiff the next day if I factor in some post run mobility work.

Stretching and mobility is not the golden ticket to running performance enhancement, nor is it the magic pill to injury prevention…. 

BUT

Do I recommend it to clients and factor it into my weekly routine to stay limber and fresh?

ABSOLUTELY.

Here's is how and why I recommend regular stretching to runners as part of a holistic training program to help with movement efficiency and recovery.....

 

 

The thing is, it is so very common for runners to not be able to touch their toes, extend their lumbar spine more than 30degrees or even sit comfortably cross legged on the floor for more than 30seconds. But does this mean you can't run well, and should you be doing something about it?

There are so many questions around stretching and mobilisation for Runners! What joints do we need to focus to get the mechanical benefits? Do we need to stretch daily? When do we use dynamic stretches? Static holds? Foam rolling? Yoga? WHAT IS THE BEST WAY? 

This is something I am passionate about and want to guide you through this two part Blog.

Alice 

The hip joint is one of the most important joints in the human body. It allows us to walk, run, and jump. It bears our body’s weight and the force of the strong muscles of the hip and leg. 

With a ball and socket joint comes mobility and sometimes with mobility (teamed with excessive or repetitive load) we get instability and also irritation.

In short, Shakira was on the money. The hips really don't lie. If you have been neglecting strength and mobility work, you have increased your kms or running load in any way and you have pain in the groin/ hip flexor region, don't ignore it. 

Here is why and HOW!

Alice

If I had a superpower it would be: biting off more than I can chew and ending up in the pool. I totally understand the "running bug." It's almost as contagious as....... 

Running niggles have been my most common injury complaint during  iso/quari/rona plague, whatever you may call this period. In my opinion, the reason is multifactorial.

It is SO important to move and get outdoors, however....

There a few things I recommend you consider before you grab your new trainers and head to the tan running track...

:et's take a look at Tendinitis 'Achilles Tendinopathy', what causes it, and what you can do about it if your are experiencing an ache or pain as an early warning sign.