Stretching is an important tool in preventing injuries. It increases joint mobility as well as the length and elasticity of your muscles.  Below are basic stretches to assist in stretching the main muscle groups used in running.  It is best to stretch a muscle that has been warmed up, so stretching for 10-15 minutes after a run is always a good idea.

“As a runner how do I deal with injury and the frustration of not being able to participate in the sport that is so much a part of my everyday life?”

Most likely at some point in our running careers each of us will be faced with a running injury and possibly be asking ourselves the same question. Whether it be a major or minor injury, if it affects our running routine it can be frustrating. Why is this when most of the world would be delighted to have an excuse not to run? Runners are a different breed.

Over time, running becomes not only what we do, but it is how we identify ourselves. Running can become so much a part of who we are that when this aspect of our lives is taken away from us we are left feeling lost (I know, I know—pathetic, but true). Our focus, our drive, and our motivation become fuzzy. Now we all know it is not the end of the world to take a break from running (we do have lives outside of running…don’t we?), but when we are the one on the “injured list” life can seem kind of bleak.

I started running in junior high and I continued to run all through high school. After high school I competed for four years on the track and cross country team at Weber State University. Interestingly enough, throughout my junior high, high school, and college career I can’t remember having an injury that ever took me out for more than a week or two. It wasn’t until after giving birth to our first child in 2009 that I dealt with my first major injury. I had started running again, but I soon developed some lower back problems that halted my running pursuits for several months.

It wasn’t until the beginning of 2010 that I was feeling pain free and at a point where I could start building up my mileage again. After only a couple of months of training, I was encouraged by how good I was feeling.

So, in April 2010 I decided to run the Salt Lake Half Marathon just to see where I was at. I hadn’t raced in a long time and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I surprised myself when I finished in third place (out of the women) and ran my best half marathon time of 1:21:50. I was still a long way off from where I wanted to be, but it gave me confidence and I began considering pursuing one of my “big” running goals again—qualifying for the Olympic Marathon Trials. My plan was to continue training hard through the summer of 2010 and then look to run a fast marathon in the fall.

Things seemed to be falling into place when I found out the Salt Lake Half Marathon time qualified me to participate in the Chicago Marathon (a great fall marathon to run a fast time) under the elite development program. I set out training with my new goal in mind, but about a month after the Salt Lake Half, I started having problems with my right foot. At first I tried to run through it, but eventually I realized I needed to take time off or it was never going to heal. Any training at this point was just counterproductive. Well, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and I ended up taking 5 months off from running. It was a very frustrating time in my running career, but I did learn a lot from the experience.

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Expert Panel Questions???

“12 Days before Marathon, I have had pain on the bottom of my foot (arch area) for about 1 week. I am stressing mentally :) Any suggestions on what I should do would be appreciated.”

“I ran a half marathon the other day. About 12 hours after I finished, the outside of my foot started hurting. It’s the bottom of the foot on the opposite side of the arch. It has not stopped hurting since, especially when I walk. What is this?”

(ask your questions to the UtahRunning.com Experts here)

Answer!!!

The short answer to these two questions may be accumulated stress from training at increased intensity and volume of marathon preparation. Damage done to your tissues has exceeded your body’s ability to recover and heal itself. These issues are discussed in “Why does my heel hurt during the power phase of training?” Mechanics out of alignment or a worn-out or improper shoe may exacerbate stresses on the foot. Consider revisiting my article on how to select the correct running shoe.

Regarding why the lateral side of the foot is sore after a run–The short answer here is that you are running on the lateral side of your foot. You may have a cavus (high arch) foot and naturally run on the lateral side of your foot. Running in a stability shoe or using a rigid, high-arch orthotic will make you run more on the lateral side of your foot. Alternatively, you may have a planus (low arch) foot. In this case your shoe may not have enough stability and your posterior tibial tendon may be sore. Your body then tries to protect the posterior tibial tendon by activating the anterior tibial tendon, which inverts the foot and causes you to run on the lateral side of your foot.

Revisit the running shoe article and think hard about what type of foot you have. If pain is not improving, you may have a stress fracture, and you should seek treatment and have an xray.

By Jeffrey Rocco, M.D. Rocco Foot and Ankle Institute 801-644-8795

Expert Panel Question???

“When I run my chest burns like crazy. After a while I start to get light headed and dizzy. Do I have a mild form of asthma?”

(ask your questions to the UtahRunning.com Experts here)

Answer!!!

In addressing chest symptoms whether related to activity or not it is helpful to think of the 4 body areas in the chest that these symptoms may be coming from: the heart, the lungs, the esophagus or the chest wall. Of these four, a problem with the heart raises the most concern and should be addressed first (for obvious reasons). This is followed by the lungs, the esophagus and then the chest wall.

Any chest symptom associated with activity and especially those that include light headedness and dizziness as the run continues necessitates at least a basic cardiac evaluation i.e. a thorough history including family history, a listen to the heart with a stethoscope and an office EKG (electrocardiogram). If there is any concern based on these tests, additional tests may be needed. Once you are reassured that your heart is ok we move on to evaluating the lungs.

Exercise induced asthma (formally known as exercise induced bronchospam or EIB) is not uncommon in runners – up to 30% in some studies – and could explain your symptoms. EIB is defined as a reduction of 15% in your normal lung function at rest compared to after you exercise. People with exercise induced asthma may or may not have underlying asthma but people with asthma almost always have exercise induced symptoms.

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Expert Panel Question???

“What could be the cause of medial calf pain? I strained my left foot about a year ago and when I started running again my right calf hurt. It went away in about a month; now it is back. Is there something I can do to ease the pain and make it go away?”

Answer!!!

Calf pain is not an uncommon problem in runners because the muscles included in the calf are key to propelling us forward. The calf actually comprises 5 muscles with 2 of these in one “compartment” (a compartment is a bundle containing one or more different muscles) and 3 in another. It is important to know which specific muscle or muscles are injured in order to determine the best treatment options.

The most commonly injured muscles are the two in the compartment closest to the surface – the gastrocnemius and its deeper partner the soleus. These are the “foot to the accelerator” muscles. They are the main muscles working when a runner gets up on his or her toes to push off, run up hills or sprint. As a result, they are most commonly injured during interval, hill or faster paced workouts. The typical injury involves a tear (known as a strain) of the muscle. Strains are often graded on a scale of 1-3 with a 1 being a severe stretch of the muscle fibers, a 2 being a partial tear and a 3 a complete tear.

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Expert Panel Question???

“After a run my knee begins to hurt fairly badly. It hurts a little during the run but mainly after. Is there a certain type of shoe that would help with my knees or is the only solution not to run?”

Answer!!!

Knee pain is probably the most common injury complaint in runners and has a variety of causes. The most common, Patellofemoral Syndrome, actually also goes by the lay name “Runner’s Knee”. It is more common in women but can occur in men too. It is characterized by pain in the front of the knee, is worse going up and down stairs, during squats or lunges and often results in a deep ache in the knee after a prolonged knee-bent position (such as sitting in a class, movie, car or on a plane). The fact that your knee pain is not so bad during your runs but afterward makes this the most likely problem although it can get bad enough to become an issue during runs too. It is thought to be an injury that occurs to the under surface of the knee cap (the patella) when the knee cap and the bone below it (the femur) are not in alignment.

The under side of the patella has a small ridge running vertically through the middle of it and the femur below has a corresponding groove. These two should remain lined up as the knee bends and straightens. A misalignment between the patella and the femur can be due to genetic factors, biomechanical problems or the result of muscle imbalances. Since we can’t do much to change our genetics, the focus is on the muscle imbalances and biomechanics. As a one directional sport i.e. straight ahead, even elite runners are notorious for developing muscle imbalances.

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