Runners work hard to find balance, all the time. Maybe not initially when you start out gung-ho, running 3 – 5 times a week, enjoying that sore tension after the runs cuz it’s proof that you did the training. However . . . !
The fact is, the sport of running is highly repetitive in one plane of motion (sagittal), building tight hips, and tight hamstrings, which can lead to compensations. Tight, sore muscles are the red flag we need to heed, or we’ll soon be dealing with issues or even injuries such as hips, lower back, knees, shins/calves and feet.
Tight, sore muscles are the red flag we need to heed.
Whenever I speak to runners about cross training and injury prevention, I usually ask: “Who likes to stretch? Honestly?” I have to say, more and more people are putting up their hand, but it use to be maybe 20% of the room admitting to stretching.
Fitness is often assessed by metrics such as hypertrophy (strength), body/mass composition, cardio (resting HR and recovery time), and flexibility. When you think about the sport of running, we get top marks with strong leg muscles and VO2 max, and many of us come to running to manage weight. However, running gets a thumbs down with regard to flexibility.
Sounds like I’m building a case for stretching!
Yes, I am, and I’m also building a case for intelligent cross training. Here’s the other thing: I’ve yet to meet a symmetrical person. Yup, we’re all a little wonky, whether from structural differences such as scoliosis or leg length discrepancy, or habitual imbalances such as playing a single sided sport (tennis, hockey, golf), handedness, and poor posture.
Within my first 8 months of running, I began to have little injuries: IT Band, piriformis syndrome, hamstring strain. I realized one day that all of these were happening on my left side. (It’s a good thing if you’re equally sore on both sides! That means it’s likely just DOMS which will pass in a couple of days.) A therapist then assessed that my right hip was tighter and had less ROM in rotation, which meant that my left side was doing more work with every step. (One of my light bulb moments when I realized I really loved learning about the body and how we can train and care for it.)
Over the next few blogs, I’m going to address 3 things that will help to keep you on the road training, strong and injury free:
- Flexibility training
- Injury prevention in your running training
- Strength training to complement your running
I believe each of these are essential components of any serious runners training regime. I hope you do too, and please chime in with any opinions or other suggestions!
Sandy
Ps in the mean time, remember RICER: Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate, Refer (to therapist). I also add T for Traction to take pressure off a joint. Generally speaking, it’s always ALWAYS okay to ice when you feel soreness. Soreness and heat indicate inflammation: ice reduces inflammation. Ice the sore spot til it calms down (ice therapy is amazingly effective). When the inflammation isn’t so dramatic, you can work at careful self-massage and stretching the muscles that lead into it. And if it continues for more than a week, get to a professional therapist: massage, physio, chiro, athletic, etc.
You can watch my 8 stretching videos for Long Distance Runners & Cyclists at https://www.youtube.com/user/sandyfitjourney
Each one addresses a different muscle group, a little about it’s anatomy and function, and then several ways to stretch it effectively.
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