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...
Up to 80% of recreational runners will experience an injury limiting training time or competition in a given year. Running injuries are multifactorial in nature with contributions from muscle imbalances, training errors, and running biomechanics. High magnitude and rates of lower limb loading have previously been associated with running injuries. In our Physical Therapy practice,...
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...
Researchers and clinicians continue to explore interventions to reduce the significant numbers of running related injuries. These injuries, mainly overuse in nature, often cause a loss in training time and are found among both novice and experienced runners. In addition to strength training, gait retraining has shown promise in reducing the forces placed across the...
In our previous blogs, we have described interventions designed to reduce the high rates of running related injuries. To date, our best Physical Therapy interventions include controlling training volume, concurrent strength training, and gait retraining. In our Boulder Physical Therapy practice we aim to reduce peak loading forces and poor biomechanics at foot strike in...
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...