There are more than 3 but will stick to the 3 biggies that I see on a regular basis.
- Assuming rest is the answer
- Not addressing ankle range of movement issues.
- Not resting enough
Assuming rest is the answer
I always tell clietns that in the case of any niggles come up to take it easy for a few days. I don’t tell them to rest but to reduce the amount done or change running for something else.
During this period they should make use of any work we have done previously. I always send out emails with videos of the rehab drills to be done and suggest storing them in a folder for future reference.
If, after 7-10 days there hasn’t been a significant change in their symptoms that they should then get I touch. At this point, further rest is unlikely to make any difference and we need to get it looked at to see what is going on.
Ankle range of movement
A quick and easy test of your ankle range of movement is the knee to wall test.
SImply place a ruler or tape measure next to a wall and place your foot beside it. Now push your knee out over towards the little toe until it touches the knee. Move back until you can’t touch the wall.
You need 10cm in this test for a clean bill of health.
Now the body is robust and you can cope with less but if we want to have any wiggle room then this is the minimum standard.
Why? Because to properly engage the posterior chain you need to be able to get the knee over the foot.
Not resting enough
So I appreciate I talked about too much rest in the first one but here I’m talking about what you do in training.
Training load is the biggest factor in any injury.
Trying to do too much for too long, too much too soon will both end up the same way. WIth an injury.
We need to appreciate that we are not professional athletes and temper our training accordingly. The volume of running required to run well for a recreational runner is a lot lower than you might imagine when you hear about the elite runners doing well over 100 miles a week.
The work-a-rounds that we develop in these situations are just that and are not good strategies long term. If this sounds like something you are dealing with then why not enquire about one of our FREE Discovery Visits and see how we can help you.
