Despite improvements in coaching, training schedules, and running shoes the vast majority of runners can expect a running related injury in their career. The majority of these injuries are overuse in nature secondary to an overload of the injured tissue (muscle, bone, joint, tendon). In short, too much too soon without adequate time for tissue...
Running remains one of the most popular forms of exercise due to its’ convenience, low cost of entry, and aerobic efficiency. It is difficult to replace the same health benefits you receive from a 30 minute run with another mode of activity. Unfortunately the rates of running related injuries have not been reduced with improvements...
With access to miles of paths and acres of open space running remains one of the most popular outdoor activities in Boulder. Despite its’ accessibility, low cost of participation, and health benefits running related injuries keep many from training or competing at their preferred levels. One recent area of research has focused on gait retraining...
Lower extremity stiffness (“leg stiffness”) describes the resistance the joints and muscles in your lower body will have to movement when your foot contacts the ground during running. Think of your leg as a spring; the more tightly coiled spring will be stiffer, the more loosely coiled will be more deformable. A stiffer leg is...
Running remains one of the most popular forms of aerobic exercise due to its’ effectiveness and minimal equipment costs and entry fees. The majority of runners will sustain a running related injury at some point in their careers limiting their ability to train or compete. Training errors, increases in a runner’s volume (frequency, duration, terrain,...
In our previous blog posts we have discussed the variety of interventions available to reduce the high injury rates seen among both novice and experienced runners. Many of these interventions are designed to reduce the loading forces across the lower body at foot strike and push off. In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice we commonly...
One of the greatest misconceptions in the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries is using interventions to create symmetry in the body between right and left sides. Asymmetry is often the norm vs. the exception but we function very well in life and sport with these asymmetries. Small asymmetries should be accepted while larger asymmetries should be...
Running injuries remain a common problem for the vast majority of runners. Many of these athletes report a loss of training days or competition due to a current or previous injury. Contributing factors include muscle weakness, decreased mobility, and training errors. Progressing training volumes (frequency, intensity, duration, terrain) too quickly prevent the tissues from properly adapting...
Similar to Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster science may also be putting another myth to rest. In our previous posts, we have written on the lack of data supporting the idea running leads to wear and tear or arthritis. In fact, some research has shown running may have a protective effect on joints with...
Running is one of the most popular forms of exercise due to its’ accessibility, low equipment cost, and health benefits. As running popularity continues to grow, unfortunately so do the number of runners who miss a training session or competition due to injury. These runners are not alone; as research has reported up to 90%...