New York Flyers: News on the Run: Physical Therapy for Runners

Showing posts with label Physical Therapy for Runners. Show all posts

Friday, April 17, 2015

Prehab for Runners

Michael Conlon

If you’ve been a runner or endurance athlete for any period of time, chances are good that you’ve experienced aches and pains throughout the training process. You know: it’s that nagging soreness in your hamstrings, or the periodic pain in your knees, or the tightness in your hips that doesn’t seem to go away.

What’s the first thing most runners do when they feel something? We run through it, of course. But that’s a mistake! Pain is your body’s signal that something is imbalanced—and it’s those initial aches and pains that can become something bigger, hampering your performance and possibly preventing you from getting to the start line.

The good news is, you can reverse the repetitive stress of training. Incorporating prehabilitation – or “prehab” – into your training regimen is one of the most effective ways to minimize limitations, which in turn allows you to train consistently at maximum effort and feel more prepared for your race.

Here’s the catch: prehab requires you to proactively take care of yourself rather than waiting until your body is at the point of breaking down. The goal is PREhabilitation, not REhabilitation.

As physical therapist Kelly Starrett says in his great book, Ready to Run, “All human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves.” If you’re asking your body to withstand the stress and impact of running, then it’s your job to support that body.

Here are a few keys to functionally preparing your body for the sport of running:

Incorporate maintenance work into your daily routine

We’ve talked in the past about the importance of dynamic stretching and self-myofascial release (foam rolling) – but despite the fact that we KNOW how beneficial these are in improving range of motion and tissue health, most runners still neglect to do them regularly.

Here’s the thing: supporting your body and proactively addressing weaknesses through regular maintenance is not just about injury prevention; it’s also about enabling yourself to get the most out of each and every training session. Starrett makes a good point: “When you fix problems and retrain your body to move well, you also allow for greater performance—more power, more speed, and you’ll be able to hold it together longer, too.”

He establishes a standard that is worth taking to heart: all it takes is a minimum of 10 minutes a day for maintenance work—but that means no days off, no excuses. You don’t always have to do the same thing, either. Maybe one day, a “hotspot” in your piriformis crops up. So after your run, spend 10 minutes mobilizing your glute muscles, working out the tissues above and below the hotspot. If you have more time throughout the day to focus on other global muscle groups, even better. But make sure you’re at least getting in 10 minutes a day, every day.

Try these three simple mobility drills to improve your range of motion and increase your capacity, focusing on your:

Ankles -- please click HERE
Hips -- please click HERE and
Thoracic spine -- please click HERE

Build in a formal warm up and cool down as part of your workout

How many times have you woken up in the morning, thrown your clothes on and immediately gone out for a run? Or worked 8 solid hours staring at a computer screen, then gone straight from your desk to the park for a workout?

We’ve all done it – and yet, we short change ourselves when we fail to adequately prepare our muscles for work, or give them a chance to recovery properly after we’ve completed a workout.

Running drills are a great way to get the blood flowing while also practicing the movements we ask our body to go through for the sport of running. It’s really hard to heel strike when skipping or doing high knees. These drills (and others, such as butt kicks, side shuffles, karioka, strides and more) enable your body to naturally land on your mid- or forefoot and below your center of mass.

Don’t limit yourself to doing these drills in one direction. Because our bodies move in three planes of motion (forward-backward, side-to-side and in rotation), we should train them in a variety of directions. Check out this video of how to do high knees in all three planes of motion by clicking HERE.

Increase “running” strength to support good movement patterns

Runners oftentimes overlook the role that functional strength plays in improving performance. The key is in building running-specific strength to improve your stride length, which along with stride rate (i.e. cadence) is a key component to increasing speed.

Squatting, when done with good form, is an extremely effective exercise for runners because it helps you to access power from your posterior chain. Because running is essentially a single-leg sport, training your body with single-leg activities will help you activate your all-powerful glutes.

Try doing single leg squats with toe touch with hand reaches in all 3 planes to build glute strength. Please click HERE to view a demonstration video.

Blogmaster's Note: Michael Conlon is the founder and owner of Finish Line Physical Therapy, which he opened in 2006 to provide the highest quality of care, service, and personal attention in a comfortable, supportive, and friendly atmosphere. He has been a New York State licensed physical therapist since 1997. He is a certified full-body Active Release Techniques provider and is recognized as a Fellow of Applied Functional Science (FAFS) through the internationally acclaimed Gray Institute. He is passionate about endurance sports, both as a participant and coach, and has run 24 marathons and completed three Ironman triathlons. As a coach for the NYC chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma’s Team in Training program since 2002, Michael has trained hundreds of runners, from beginners to advanced marathoners. -Dave K.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Post-Marathon Recovery Tips

Michael Conlon

Good luck to everyone running the New York City Marathon on Sunday (and congrats to those who have completed other fall races)! You’ve had this day circled on the calendar for months, and it’s finally here. The training’s in the bag, now all you have to do is run 26.2 miles. Simple, right?

Chances are good that beyond picturing yourself crossing the finish line in Central Park, you haven’t thought much past that – but you should. Post-marathon recovery is an important part of having the best race experience possible.

After putting your body though a long season of marathon training – and for many, early season racing before that – it is worth having a simple plan in place to help your body recover. Even the elites know that in order to reach new limits of pace, distance and achievement, it is important to balance the effort with a period of honest recovery.

Post-marathon recovery encompasses both the immediate and the longer term. Here are some tips to help you recover well.

Immediately After the Race

Recovery starts as soon as you cross the finish line. Especially in New York, many people complain about how long of a walk it is to collect baggage and exit the park. It’s actually the best thing for you! Avoid the urge to sit down and instead, take advantage of the opportunity to keep moving. Walking will help loosen up stiff, sore muscles and keep the blood flowing.

Take care of your nutrition and hydration needs within a 30-minute window of finishing the race. If you have a favorite post-race snack, stick it in the bag you check at the start (I personally prefer a Bloody Mary in my checked bag at the finish!). Or another way to do this is to consume the contents of the Recovery Bag you get at the finish while you walk.

The rest of the day, take it easy (as if we need to remind you of that)! Continue to rehydrate throughout the day, and make sure to get up periodically and walk around. You’ve certainly earned the right to eat whatever you want on Marathon Sunday – but the key nutrients to consume are carbohydrates (including those containing antioxidants), protein, and water to help begin the process of repairing and rebuilding damaged muscles.

The Week After the Race

The first week post-race should be all about rest. As in do nothing. Some will say that you can introduce easy running or non-impact cross-training after 3 to 7 days of inactivity – but studies show that athletes who completely take off at least a week from cardiovascular activity recover faster. Both muscular strength and work capacity are impaired if one jumps right back into exercise the first week, whereas it returns more quickly with total rest.

Opt for an active recovery, including daily stretching, hydrating, eating quality foods and getting extra sleep. When you stretch, make sure you are doing active, dynamic stretches (click HERE for information and examples of some important dynamic stretches for runners). Your range of motion will be more limited after the race (which is totally normal), so think about taking the movements just slightly past your regular range.

Soft tissue therapy – in the form of a massage or self-myofascial work on your foam roller at home – can also help to expedite your body’s recovery. The best time to get a massage is 2-4 days after the race. Most people are still really sore for the first couple of days post-race, and a massage or foam roller simply doesn’t feel good. You’ll still reap the benefits of soft tissue work even if you wait until later in the week.

When Can I Run Again? Try A Reverse Taper

It’s the question most people ask first. Everyone’s response is different, but in general, it takes 4-8 weeks to fully recover from a marathon. Many experts agree that one of the best ways to get back into running is through a reverse taper. Exercise physiologist Pete Pfitzinger recommends running 50% of your usual weekly mileage the second week and 75% the third week, all at an easy to moderate intensity. Or think of it this way: in week 2, repeat the week of training you did just before the race, and continue working your way back.

Pfitzinger also suggests a simple mini-speed test to complete at the end of the third week to see if you’re ready to resume speedwork. Start by running a half-mile at your 10K race pace. If you’re able to run easily without any residual soreness, you can resume your normal training routine. If you experience any stiffness, take another week at 75% mileage with no speedwork, then repeat the test.

Why Active Recovery Is An Important Part of the Equation
Many athletes go into race day with the usual aches and pains that are a result of weeks of marathon training. The unfortunate few come out of the race with injuries. It’s easy to think that, because you’ve completed your goal race, you don’t need active recovery–including foam-rolling, therapeutic massage, stretching, and physical therapy. A few weeks of rest should take care of it, right? Maybe – but whether or not you have another race on the horizon, most athletes would benefit from taking an active recovery approach, and may want to consider a few sessions of post-race physical therapy.

Think of it this way: your body is no longer experiencing the microscopic damage to muscle fibers and the surrounding connective tissue that is caused by the repetitive movements and daily stresses of heavy training. When you’re no longer hindered by training, a licensed sports massage therapist and/or a physical therapist can help you to recover and rebuild a solid foundation and return as a stronger athlete.

Even if you have no plans to compete in another race, who doesn’t want to enjoy their normal daily activities without pain?

Herein lies the key to being a runner for life. I don’t know about you, but I’m never going to win the New York City Marathon (after 24 marathons, I’m still chasing the elusive sub-3:00 marathon!). But I do want to be the guy in my 70s who’s still crossing the finish line of marathons. Your body simply won’t hold up if you pound yourself into the ground, race after race, without a full period of recovery.

Take care of yourself now so your body will be strong for the next – and future – seasons.

-Michael Conlon

Blogmaster's Note: Michael Conlon is the founder and owner of Finish Line Physical Therapy, which he opened in 2006 to provide the highest quality of care, service, and personal attention in a comfortable, supportive, and friendly atmosphere. He has been a New York State licensed physical therapist since 1997. He is a certified full-body Active Release Techniques provider and is recognized as a Fellow of Applied Functional Science (FAFS) through the internationally acclaimed Gray Institute. He is passionate about endurance sports, both as a participant and coach, and has run 23 marathons and completed three Ironman triathlons. As a coach for the NYC chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma’s Team in Training program since 2002, Michael has trained hundreds of runners, from beginners to advanced marathoners.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Dynamic Stretching for Runners

Michael Conlon

Most of us grew up learning static stretches with a prolonged hold: stretch your quad by bending your knee and bringing your foot to your butt. Stretch your hamstrings by bending at the hips and touching your toes. Hold for 20 seconds.

It’s not that static stretching is bad; any form of stretching is better than not doing it at all. However, three-dimensional stretches are far more effective in improving flexibility and joint mobility. Why? Active, dynamic stretches that take your body through all planes of motion introduce movement, which increases circulation to loosen up your body before a workout and to prevent stiffness and expedite recovery post-workout.

Humans are multi-dimensional beings, and our natural movements obviously reflect that. So when we say “three planes of motion,” we’re referring to the sagittal plane (forward and back), frontal (side to side) and transverse (rotation).

Dynamic stretches are more functional because they mimic the natural way we move in all of these directions when walking and running. For example, when we run, as the right leg hits the ground, the joint and muscles move through all three planes of motion, accelerating and decelerating as needed.

3D dynamic stretching also enables you to increase your capacity. There’s the range of motion you have and the amount that you need for a particular activity (like running) – but why not give yourself more? Dynamic stretching allows you to create greater movement than what is essential for running, which gives you more of a buffer zone.

Lunge Matrix

One of the best self-assessment dynamic stretches you can do is the Lunge Matrix. It’s a perfect warm-up because it allows you to move through all planes of motion and actually feel if there are areas you need to spend more time stretching. Here’s how you do it:

Part 1: Position in a forward lunge on one side, driving your weight onto your front leg. Reach your arms down and touch your toes – making sure to bend at the front of your hip and driving through your big toe to engage your glutes – then extend your arms over your head. While still in a lunge, go into a sidebend, reaching arms laterally to the right, then to the left. Finally bring your arms down to shoulder length and rotate to the right, then to the left. Repeat that on the other leg.

Part 2: Position in a lateral lunge and repeat the sequence with your arms: reach down and touch your toes then extend arms overhead; sidebend and reach arms laterally to the right, then the left; bring arms to shoulder length and rotate to the right, then to the left. Repeat that on the other leg.

Part 3: Position in a backwards rotational lunge, towards the leg you stepped with. Your toes will be pointed out away from each other. Repeat the sequence with your arms in all three planes, then repeat on the other leg.