Ever wondered what lactate REALLY did to your body? are you looking for a more efficient way to use your new heart rate monitor? or just want to get some advice on your training?
Whatever the question, post it here and we will get one of our team to answer ASAP, within 24 hours where possible. "Runners need to run, Jumpers need to jump, Throwers need to throw" Des Earls, 2010 Laura frost said: Please can you advise me about suitable exercises for recovering ankle/lower leg ligaments? Eoin answered: This question is a little vague but from what I understand you are a
marathon
runner and have hurt your ankle through running rather than
an ankle sprain.
There will be a comprehensive article on ankle
rehabilitation coming soon so
I will not address this now.
I am presuming then that your ankle pain is on
the (medial side)
inside of your ankle, as this is most common overuse ankle
injury
experienced by runners.
Ankle pain on the medial side has two main
causes which are tibialis
posterior tendinopathy and flexor hallicus
tendinopathy. The
tibilialis posterior is a small muscle that runs the length
of the
lower limb and inserts on the sole of the foot. This muscle
helps
provide stability in the foot when we run or walk. The flexor
hallicus
longus flexes the big toe when we push the foot off the ground
(which
is a lot in marathon training!!). When we overstress these
tendons
they can become painful and degenerated at a point behind the
medial
malleolus (main bone on the inside of the ankle). This causes pain
in
the ankle region or lower limb in many marathon runners.
Ok that is
enough scientific background, what can you do about this
type of pain? Well I
am going to recommend you ice the area after
every run, buy compression socks
and try get massage on your calves. I
have listed 3 exercises and 1 stretch
that you can do also
specifically for this problem:
1. Side foot
drops
This is a great exercise to help strengthen the tibialis
posterior
muscle specifically to the way it is worked when we
run
(eccentrically).
Set up
Stand on the edge of a step with the
big toe and 2nd toe off the step.
Movement
Drop the big toe and the side
of the foot down towards the ground.
Before the side of the foot hits the
ground push the side of the foot
back up to the original position.
Key
points
Do not move the lateral part of the foot (the outside of the foot) off
the step.
2. Toe curls.
Helps strengthen the small (intrinsic)
muscles of the feet. This will
help improve stability, therefore reducing
stress on the tibialis
posterior and the flexor hallicus longus.
Set
up
Put out a towel flat on the ground.
Movement
Curl the towel up with
your toes.
One repetition is when the towel is brought as close as possible
to your foot.
Repeat 3 times.
3. Heel drops and raises.
Heel drops
are better than just heel raises due to the eccentric
component. Having both
a heel drop and a raise mimics the muscle
activity in a running
stride.
Set up
Stand on a step with the balls of your
feet.
Movement
Gently lower your heels down to the ground.
When a
stretch is felt push up to raise your heel.
Key Points
Start with heel
rises only and gradually introduce heel drops into the
exercise.
4. Big
toe stretch
Set up
Start by standing by a wall with your toe up
against the wall.
Movement
Bend your knee in towards the wall until a
gentle stretch is felt.
Hold this stretch for 20-30 seconds.
Key
points
Make sure that you only hold a gentle stretch and should feel no
pain
while doing the stretch.
These exercises are a great starting
point for medial ankle pain. I
would recommend progressing the rehabilitation
with more functional
exercises down the line. A functional approach to this
problem would
allow a more even distribution of force throughout the leg
rather than
the small muscles of the lower limb and ankle doing all the
work.
For all exercises given, stop when the muscles get tired or you
lose
technique in doing the exercises. A gradual build up in the number
of
repetitions with a number of small breaks is the best approach
for
rehabilitation (McGill et al, 06).
I hope this helps your problem and
if this is not the type of pain you
get, send in another message and we will
address it.
All the best,
Eoin
Laura Frost said: Thank you Eoin, yes it's flexor hallicus tendinopathy I suffer with. Would you suggest doing the big toe stretch both before and after running? Are there any other general stretches that would help? Eoin answered: One other stretch you could do would be to start by sitting down,
and pull your toes gently back towards you with your hand.
I
would do the stretches before and after. Before the exercise perform
the
stretches for only 7-10 seconds and repeat 3 times, this will help
loosen the
muscle before activity. Do about 5 heel raises also to help
'warm up' the
lower limb muscles.
After your run hold the stretches for 30 seconds to help
re-lengthen the muscle.
Pete Moorhead said: Hi, recent Kinesio artcle was top notch and very insightful. I am recovering from an ACL reconstruction at the moment, just wondering would kinesio tape be useful to help rebuild my poor wasted muscles?! Declan answered: Glad you enjoyed the article Mr Moorhead,
appreciate the feedback. Sorry to hear about your recent cruciate injury but to
answer your question yes indeed Kinesio tape can in fact be hugely effective in
helping re-activate and rebuild the integrity of your weakened quadricep, groin
and other knee supporting musculature. As outlined in the article, Kinesio
taped applied from the origin of the muscle to the insertion, with a tension of
25-50% applied, will allow for increased muscle activation, facilitating greater
muscle fiber recruitment. I would seek a qualified applicators assistance (of
KT1 & K2 level accreditation) in applying the tape correctly over your
quadriceps, particularly the medial quad or VMO which atrophies most on
injuring/immobilizing the knee. For most effective results use the tape in
conjunction with your EMS treatment, rehabilitation programme and progressive
return to full activity. Best of luck!! |
|
_____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ Joe answered: To Quote the work of Gregg Fuhrman: In the power phase, as one leg pushes down on
the pedal from a starting point at the 12 o’clock position, the following
actions are occurring. The hip flexors contract to flex the hip to prepare for
the push phase. Knee extensors (muscles that straighten the knee) contract as
the rider pushes down, coordinating with the powerful hip extensors contracting
to straighten the hip. Plantar flexors (muscles that point the foot down)
contract to further assist with the push on the pedals. As the pedal stroke
continues, the antagonist (opposing) muscle groups to those mentioned, contract
to prepare the leg for the upcoming pedal revolution.
Anecdotally, it was thought that the use of toe
clips, and more recently clipless pedal systems that fix the rider’s foot to
the pedal, allow the rider to pull up on the pedal opposite to the side that is
pushing down. However, laboratory research has more accurately shown that the
non-pushing leg is really being prepared to get out of the way and to unload
resistance off the pushing side pedal. A skilled cyclist is more efficient at
both phases: applying more force to the pushing side pedal, while concurrently
unloading the opposite side pedal.
A final point on muscle function—riding a bike
is a concentric muscle activation activity. Concentric muscle activation is
defined as a muscle generating force through shortening. Eccentric muscle
activation is defined as a muscle generating force as it is elongating.
Activities that include both eccentric and concentric activation patterns
include walking, running, jumping, throwing, and catching. The bicycle as a machine
is unique in that it allows the rider to activate the necessary muscle groups
concentrically. Chris Norris said: Do the hamstrings not act eccentrically during the push down phase? Joe said:Its a good question Chris. The research seems to suggest that this isn't the case, that in fact while people think that the advantage of clip on pedals is that you can "pull" up on the medal during the back phase of the cycle, this isn't true. We in fact simply use the upstroke to completely remove the weight of the leg from the pedal and therefore allow any energy used in the opposite down-stroke to create forward momentum and not be wasted on lifting the opposite leg. Now this point has been debated, but my educated guess is that the hamstrings have a very very minor eccentric roll in the pedal cycle (a little more when climbing hills), because we dont horizontally pull on the pedal but rather relax and then push downwards using predominantly the quads to create leg extension AFTER the pedal moves close to the absolute vertical position.Any eccentric "pulling" to lift the weight of the leg will be fairly minimal and under no heavy resistance. Im sure the above could be heavily debated, but its my two cents :)
Jove Curl said: Hi, I bruised the outer edge of my each hip about a month ago,
and each time I run I get a deep bruised feeling, that lasts a day or two. I'm
not training that hard, and gave it plenty of time to heal. How should I
recognize hip issues as a runner?
Declan answered: Hi Jove. Slightly vague from
your above question apologies but have you bruised both, left and right hip
bones or just the one? Did this occur as a result of a direct impact or fall
onto your hip? If so it sounds like you have suffered a Hip Pointer injury.
Hip pointers occur on either
falling on your hip bone or receiving a blow (tackle) to the hip bone -
directly impacting on your iliac crest, of your pelvis, or greater trochanter
(bony protrusion of your hip bone) of your hip bone. As a result of this impact
a contusion or bruising occurs due to the fact that there limited fat or muscle
padding in this region. Obvious bleeding & bruising generally occurs in the
front and side of the hip sometimes presenting into the groin and lateral
gluteal region also. This localized bleeding also brings swelling, together
making hip movement quite painful. Other key features of hip pointer is
tenderness on palpation, obvious bruising, reduced strength
The main dangers of this injury
involve possible intra-abdominal organ damage and also avulsion fractures
(where a small amount of bone is pulled away by the attached damaged muscle).
Hence it is vital, considering you have had this for a 2 week period already
now, that you seek a full injury assessment from a qualified professional.
Such an assessment should also
rule out other possible differentials for the hip pain such as referred pain
into the hip region from your lower back, groin and abdominal regions.
Otherwise, ice application 3-4 times daily for 15 minutes should also aid the
reduction in the swelling and bruising.
Please keep us updated on the
progress of this injury but I would seek a therapist’s appointment for
assessment as soon as possible.
|
