The
Auckland Marathon is coming up and people will be getting out on the road more
for training as the weather improves.
So, here is an article about how Chiropractic care helps to prevent
running injuries to help you to recover faster and perform better.
Dr. Cherye Roche
Sports Chiropractor
http://www.active.com/running/articles/how-sports-chiropractors-prevent-injury-in-runners
How Sports Chiropractors Prevent Injury
in Runners
Sports chiropractors who are trained in in a variety of treatment techniques are probably the best therapists for preventing injury and optimizing performance. That's why there's always a sports chiropractor on Olympic and professional sports teams.
For
runners, chiropractic can be used for injury prevention because it emphasizes
proper alignment of the spine and pelvis. The most common running-related
injuries include plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, IT Band Syndrome,
patella (knee) tracking problems and hip bursitis. The first place to look for underlying
reasons for these injuries is ALIGNMENT.
Mal-alignment
of the spine can cause unnecessary tension on one particular body part versus
an equal distribution of pressure. A Sports Chiropractor cannot take care of
anyone's chronic IT band problem without making sure their pelvis is in as
perfect alignment as it can be. Otherwise, it'll continue to wear, tear, and
put strain on that one particular body part.
What Causes Improper Alignment?
Major
causes of improper alignment include running in the same direction on the same
course every day; running often slanted surfaces, such as a beach; not
replacing shoes every few hundred miles.
Fix these
training errors that cause misalignment with a few simple tweaks:
- Vary your running surface—pavement, track, asphalt, grass, dirt,
wood chips—a few times a week, and you'll naturally run on different
courses.
- Run as close to the water as possible when on the beach, as the
sand tends to be more flat there.
· Buy two
of the same type of running shoes, and switch between the pairs.
· Have a
gait analysis done to determine if you have any biomechanical faults in your
foot function that may be causing an overuse issue
There's a lot that contributes to
improper spine or pelvic alignment, and sometimes it has nothing to do with
running. It has to do with a day job, where you sit in one particular position
all day and then go for a run. The muscles are in a state of tightness on one
side and are lengthened on the other, and then you go for a run and your pelvis
shifts.
Switch
positions and seats, if possible, every 30 minutes during the day. Try sitting
on a stability ball—it challenges your abdominal muscles and allows you to rock
your pelvis, which lubricates your joints. Switch between a chair and stability
ball, stand, and take short walk breaks if you work in an office. One position
for various amounts of time is disastrous for the spine.
Whether
you run in the morning soon after rising, or in the afternoon/evening after
sitting all day at work, a proper warm-up also helps prevent injury.
Warm-up and Stretches to Prevent Injury
You need
to warm up the hip in circular patterns, and you need to warm up the spine in
rotary movements. You need to wake up
the outer buttock muscles, called the glute medius, in order to keep your
pelvis stable when you go for a run.
The best
injury-preventing warm-up for runners includes exercises that support the
spine, get you locomotive, lubricate the joints, and break up the
intra-articular adhesions that get stuck in the joint and prevent it from fluid
mobility. Your hip socket is a great example—you need to warm up your hips so
they can move as freely as possible to respond to slips, quick changes in
stride and uneven terrain.
Stretch
the following muscle groups: hamstrings, calves, quadriceps, hip flexors,
quadratus lumborum ("hip hikers"), piriformis and low back, and make
sure to do so every day that you run. Stretch for about 30 seconds on each side
for each exercise. A complete stretching routine should take about five
minutes.
Warm-up
and stretches for a few minutes is well worth the effort and —not a lot of time
compared to the hours you could spend on injury rehabilitation.
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