GET RUN READY!
Are you getting ready for your first Mini-Mos? Now you can do it without half of Mosman watching!
Or are you having a go at a PB given you can have multiple race days?
No matter what your running goals are, your Physio can play an important role in getting you across the finish line.
A couple of visits with your physio early on in your training program can help you stay injury-free and maximise the effects of any training you have done.
Running is currently the most popular way to stay fit. It’s safe, time-efficient, a good chance to meet with friends and certainly irons out the day’s stresses.
Sometimes, amidst all the hype about the latest in activewear, shoe types and trendy Instagram exercise, it’s easy to lose focus on the basics. The latest shoes might help you look and feel the part; but working on an effective running technique will help you feel great, run faster and stay injury-free.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a middle-distance runner, a sprinter, in it to just make it, or looking to win, learning to run properly will help you stay injury-free and make you a more efficient runner. Working with your physio to iron out any troublesome mechanics in your running technique will help improve your time and keep you primed for future runs.
To improve running fitness and adapt to the stress and load of running, you need a training program that incorporates progressively higher running volumes. Improvements to your technique and times are achieved through planned and graduated increases in load. We also know that strategically placed recovery and strengthening programs form the ideal program. Your physio is ideally placed to work with you to help identify and manipulate your training program to ensure that your training does not contribute to overload and injury.
While many people turn to their physio only when injury strikes, the reality is a couple of sessions with your physio early on in your training program can help you stay injury-free and maximise the effects of your training.
How to get the most from your Physio
See your Physio ahead of time… be proactive. A bit like seeing your dentist regularly for check-ups BEFORE you need a filling!
Pre-hab is the biggest thing in the professional sporting arena. Many many research dollars are spent on working out what needs to be done to PREVENT injuries, so we typically have lots of evidence as to what we should be looking for and what we need to change to improve your running performance and stop you getting injured.
Physios can identify and address any weakness in your running biomechanics – before injury strikes you down. Any muscle imbalances or poor recruitment patterns can be identified early and mitigated against; before the long kilometres and fatigue take their toll.
Your Physio will focus on the quality and function of your movement patterns and examine your joint range of motion, stability and strength. Any muscle imbalances, painful tissues or poor movement patterns will be addressed. Testing may expose potential injuries and we can then correct these underlying deficits and contributing factors. Assessing running mechanics and technique will further identify any faults and minimize their impact through run drill prescription and technique coaching.
Mind matters
Running is a skill and like any skill it can be coached. Analysis and feedback with repeated drills and movement pattern coaching will result in an improved run technique making you a more efficient runner with a lower injury risk. Your physio is trained in running gait analysis and can identify any underlying biomechanical issues. They can work with you on correction strategies, and incorporate them into running drills and your training; effectively teaching you the skill of running.
If you are thinking of doing the Mini-Mos and want to get the most out of your training or have a current plan that it is not quite working, or you are an experienced athlete looking to improve your running economy, then speak to a SquareOne Physio today.
Book an appointment today on 9968 3424 or online HERE
