We should all be able to separate to a reasonable degree the movement of most joints of the body that is the movement of the wrist and elbow, the neck should be separate from shoulder girdle, lumbar spine from hip etc. Often annoying aches and pains and general poor movement can come from an inability to do this. Not always but often enough to warrant checking things out as over time it begins to limit our movement options.
Anterior Knee Pain
Patellofemoral pain can be thought of where pain is present in and surrounding the tissues between the patella and the femur. The cause of the pain can be something of a mystery as it rarely develops quickly and isn’t the result of a traumatic incident the way a ligament tear is. The symptoms are often made worse by, though not exclusively, activities like squatting, lunging, kneeling, going down stairs or running downhill. In-other words relatively high load activities that put a lot of stress on or through the area. in addition to this sitting for long periods where the knee is flexed can also cause the symptoms to get worse.
Hamstring injuries: prevention and treatment – an update
This paper on the BJSM, Hamstring injuries: prevention and treatment—an update, is a must read for anyone who deals with athletes or are susceptible to hamstring tears
“Despite increased knowledge of hamstring muscle injuries, the incidence has not diminished. We now know that not all hamstring injuries are the same and that certain types of injuries require prolonged rehabilitation and return to play. The slow stretch type of injury and injuries involving the central tendon both require longer times to return to play. A number of factors have been proposed as being indicators of time taken to return to play, but the evidence for these is conflicting. Recurrence rates remain high and it is now thought that strength deficits may be an important factor. Strengthening exercise should be performed with the hamstrings in a lengthened position. There is conflicting evidence regarding the efficacy of platelet-rich plasma injection in the treatment of hamstring injuries so at this stage we cannot advise their use. Various tests have been proposed as predictors of hamstring injury and the use of the Nordboard is an interesting addition to the testing process. Prevention of these injuries is the ultimate aim and there is increasing evidence that Nordic hamstring exercises are effective in reducing the incidence. “
Getting the most out of your warm up
What is it you are trying to achieve with your warm up routine? The answer is the obvious prepare yourself for the workout you have planned. That said why is that very often people either don’t do much if any warm up or if they do it is 5 minutes on the treadmill/bike/cross trainer which whist not worthless doesn’t really do much beyond the “warm you up” part of the what your warm up should be. Continue reading “Getting the most out of your warm up”
Achilles tendinopathy
Any sport that has you running or jumping, or if you include these in your prep for them, has the potential for achilles tendon problems. It is not uncommon for people to think that they have an issue with an achilles tendon and for it to be a different tissue in the area. The pain actually being in the toe flexors or posterior tibialis both of which sit in front of the achilles but these can be easily ruled out during the initial examination . Once it is established that it is an achllies problem we can begin work on addressing it. We now use the term tendinopathy instead of tendonitis as recent research has shown that there are rarely any inflammatory changes in the tendon. Continue reading “Achilles tendinopathy”
Rehab and conditioning studio
Changing your running technique
I’ve mentioned in the blog before the idea of different foot strikes when you are running be they forefoot, midfoot or rear foot. A rear foot or heel strike tends to get a bad press, especially when the idea of running barefoot was at it’s peak yet there is nothing wrong with running with a heel strike vs mid or forefoot and most of us will tend towards a heal strike until we are running at a sufficiently high pace. You will also tend to see even faster runners or those who tend towards a mid/forefoot strike moving towards a heel strike as they tire, most noticeable during longer races such as marathons or the running portion of an IronMan. Continue reading “Changing your running technique”
Movement and the lumbar spine
We looked at the idea of the need for movement freedom and less “control” previously in this post. In this paper looks at the need for movement, the extract is here, in the lumbar spine when we are looking at postural recovery in response to unexpected movement. Again we are talking about getting comfortable with moving and not locking ourselves down with the fear that unexpected movement will hurt us.
Endurance training sweet spot
Strength training for distance runners
This is an interesting podcast on strength training for distance runners from Magness and Marcus over at the Science of Running.