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Sandy
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« on: November 17, 2010, 11:05:18 PM » |
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Most runners at one time or another have had a major injury and almost all runners will have a nagging something that they can't seem to ever get rid of. The problem with most conventional approaches to injuries is that we treat the local symptoms; in other words if you have Achilles tendon problems you treat the Achilles area. While this is important, you must get to the root cause of the injury. All too often the whole kinetic chain; knees, pelvis, spine, and neck should be addressed but is not. Runners often report stories of layered injuries; "My shin bothered me for the longest time but now it's my hip." This indicates that the body has compensated for a weak area and the stress is being seen in another area. The tilt of your pelvis can affect the behaviour of the entire leg, which in turn can cause pain in typical areas. If your pelvis tips forward (think Donald Duck) as an example, you are more prone to plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, shin splints and a variety of knee problems; all indicating a need to stretch tight muscles and strengthen weak muscles.
Pain in your hip or on the outside of your knee or pain that runs down the inside of your shin could be directly related to weak gluteus medius and/or gluteus minimus muscles. These are the smaller glute muscles that are located underneath the larger, better known gluteus maximus. Along with other movements, the medius is responsible for keeping your pelvis (hips) level during the unsupported phase of gait. In plain English, when you lift one foot to take a step, the muscles on the opposite hip must fire to keep your hips level. If they do not, then the unsupported hip will drop, giving the appearance of a cute little wiggle and a not so cute pain in the hip. As the gluteal muscles feed into the iliotibial band (IT band), poorly working gluteals can lead to tension, dysfunction and pain down the IT band and the outside of the knee.
Not using these muscles is the biggest contributor to gluteal amnesia and eventual pain and dysfunction. By sitting most of the time, our glute muscles become inactive and eventually other muscles take over their actions. The following moves will strengthen your glute medius, improving function. Myofascial release and deep tissue massage in the gluteal and IT areas will break up adhesions and help the muscles to function properly.
Hip Drop:
Stand on a stair with one foot hanging off. Drop that hip towards the floor while keeping your opposite knee straight. Next, use the glute muscles on the standing leg to raise the dropped hip back into its level position. Repeat this 10 times on each leg.
Peeing dog:
On hands and knees with hips level, push your leg out behind you and slightly to the side. Try to get the leg as straight as possible without the hips dropping. Do 10 repetitions on one side before switching to the other.
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