Get ready to start the race as fresh as you were on the first day of training.
KNEE PAIN INJURIES (you “kneed” to treat immediately)
Ankle mobility is sometimes the culprit, and so are tight muscles and quads, but it turns out most knee pain is probably more about the hips.
Running is a series of single leg impacts, bounding from step to step. You need really good single leg strength. When people hit the ground, their knees shift around and that can cause a range of issues.
Pain in the front of the knee and around your kneecap, called patellofemoral pain syndrome, is one of the most common knee injuries. As soon as you feel the knee pain, get it looked at right away. Usually people get just a little pain, ignore it, and it gets worse and worse over time.
HEEL PAIN
The tendon that connects your calf muscle to your heel bone (the achilles tendon) or the tendon that connects your heel bone to you toes.
If you feel stiff in your heel cord or your ankle, it’s a warning sign. Stiffness precedes pain. The main issue is tissue tolerance, and pain is when the problem has fully manifested itself. That’s when you’ve overloaded the tissue.
Heel pain is a common problem for new runners who haven’t been guided on their mileage yet, and too much strain on the tendons will cause painful inflammation.
Try five to ten minutes of walking, then one minute of running and start with that for 20 minutes or so. If it feels pretty good, repeat and slightly increase your intervals. They key message is taking it super slow when you get into running or are recovering.
HAMSTRINGS and SHIN SPLINTS
With these injuries, you need to think about running mechanics and not overloading your legs, and hip extension mobility plays a key role.
If we can’t get our hips into our running strides properly, our hamstring has to do more work. There will be too much pull on the bone, and it becomes painful at the attachment.
With shin splints, we look at how you are landing, how you interact with the ground. Remember, if you’re a heel smasher when you walk, think of how much impact you’ll have when you’re running.
INJURIES PREVENTION:
CUSTOM ORTHOTICS
A custom orthotic is a device designed to align the foot and ankle into the most anatomically efficient position. They look like insoles, but are biomechanical medical appliances that are custom made to correct your specific foot imbalance.
Custom orthotics work on your feet much like glasses work on your eyes – they reduce stress and strain on your body by bringing your feet back into proper alignment.
The plastic body of the custom orthotic helps to re-align the foot by redirecting and reducing certain motion that takes place during the gait cycle. Custom orthotics fit into your shoes as comfortably as an insole – and they have the advantage of having been made from precise imprints of your feet.
FULL GAIT ANALYSIS
This is the ideal way to assess the individual’s running style and its relationship to any injuries they may have.
The aim of a running gait assessment is to identify how the various parts of the body move in different phases of the running cycle. By measuring joint angles at crucial phases of the gait cycle, recording the cadence (steps per minute), stride length and other variables, a picture can be built up of the runner’s overall gait health
STRENGTH TRAINING & EXERCISE
Strength work accomplishes three goals for runners: it prevents injuries by strengthening muscles and connective tissues; it helps you run faster by boosting neuromuscular coordination and power; and it improves your running economy by encouraging coordination and stride efficiency.
Runners can also see huge gains in their performance from simple (and consistent) strength training and weightlifting routines.
Whether you have access to a full gym with weights or you’re doing bodyweight workouts in your living room, there are plenty of great strength training exercises for runners that will help you topple PRs or just run easier.
Strength training helps improve many aspects of your running, including:
Power
Speed
Endurance
Balance
Injury prevention
TREATMENT PLAN BY DON KELLY
If you experience chronic knee pain, injuries, or advice for knee surgery and replacement please don’t hesitate to reach out. I have treated thousands of my patients with successful results over the last 20 years of my physio services.
BEFORE YOU SAY YES TO KNEE SURGERY REPLACEMENT- give me a ring for an assessment.
My treatment plan is the result of my experience and knowledge in treating chronic pains and injuries over the last 20 years. This is the holistic plan to guarantee pain relief, prevent recurring pains, and faster recovery.
EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT
PHYSIOTHERAPY PLAN BASED ON MY ASSESSMENT
HOMECARE EXERCISE/PLAN
ACUPUNCTURE
EXERCISE PROGRAMME
CUSTOM ORTHOTICS
