| Biomechanical assessment | | | | either flatten the foot (pronate it), bend |
| | | | the knee more, or drop the hip more. |
| Running with an injury or over-training? | | | | Pronation will increase the load on the leg |
| Often it is best to go back to basics | | | | (see 'Tight calves' section), and dropping |
| | | | the hip will increase the the spasm to the |
| Injuries can affect us all regardless of age, | | | | glutes / piriformis 'prophylactically', in |
| sex or ability. But can we manage or limit | | | | other words preventatively, (and also if |
| the number of times we get injured? We can by | | | | necessary), then we are helping to reduce all |
| going back to basics. | | | | of the above. |
| | | | |
| But we are not talking about fitness levels | | | | • Assess yourself |
| and stretching. Instead we mean back to | | | | |
| biomechanics. | | | | AS a result of one of the largest studies in |
| | | | biomechanics by Galileo Health and |
| By assessing, on a regular basis, your | | | | distributed by HumanLab Sports we can all |
| biomechanics you can help eliminate and | | | | benefit from assessing our biomechanics, in |
| prevent a number of injuries and problems | | | | the comfort of our own home. You do not need |
| that athletes suffer from. The body | | | | to be a clinician as they have developed a CD |
| compensating for weak links can cause | | | | ROM software program that helps you assess |
| restriction that in turn can cause pain and | | | | yourself with the software prescribing the |
| injury. | | | | exercises needed to remove the problems and |
| | | | in turn prevent or normalise the body from |
| Calf and hamstring injuries are commonly | | | | developing them in the future. |
| caused by a tight sciatic nerve. The muscles | | | | |
| provide a protective spasm to the nerve | | | | As part of the program is injury prevention |
| during locomotion and if stretched or loaded | | | | the CD takes you through a series of core |
| sufficiently the muscles can spasm enough to | | | | stability work educating you on how to engage |
| cause themselves to tear - or cramp up - | | | | your core and to engage it while doing |
| which can feel like a tear. By mobilising the | | | | peripheral movements, so it becomes second |
| nerve it releases tension in the muscles and | | | | nature to you when running. |
| reduces the likelihood of this event. | | | | |
| | | | It finishes off with the final section on the |
| • Tight calves | | | | trunk and torso exercises. |
| | | | |
| TIGHT calves can cause over pronation. The | | | | • Benefits of biomechanics |
| dorsi-flexion (moving the ankle upwards) is | | | | |
| not available from the ankle joint due to the | | | | SOME athletes out there might not feel the |
| tight calves, so it has to come from the sub | | | | need to help prevent a problem they don't |
| talar joint. It comes as part of the | | | | feel they have. So let's look briefly at some |
| pronation mechanism though and so increases | | | | of the other benefits biomechanics has on |
| the amount of pronation as well. This causes | | | | your performance. A tight sciatic nerve or |
| shin related injuries as well as knee and | | | | tight piriformis (hip) can affect your stride |
| Achilles problems. | | | | length, your knee drive and your power |
| | | | output. |
| Remember that tight calves are often from a | | | | |
| tight sciatic nerve, so by mobilising the | | | | A tight sciatic nerve can affect your |
| nerve, we can help with preventing and | | | | quadriceps output by as much as 15 per cent. |
| normalise these injuries. | | | | The effect of biomechanics for the |
| | | | professional athlete and the novice for |
| The effects our biomechanics have on our body | | | | injury prevention or performance is a must |
| and the vicious circle of injury and pain it | | | | have tool. It will help you prevent injuries, |
| can cause is shown again when discussing your | | | | enjoy your running and help with your |
| hips and pelvis which are so important to our | | | | performance. |
| running but generally overlooked until the | | | | |
| athlete is in severe pain or in fact injured. | | | | The program used in helping address any |
| | | | issues you may have now or in the future is |
| • Rotated pelvis | | | | worth having. But it doesn't stop there. |
| | | | |
| A ROTATED pelvis can go unnoticed for many | | | | It can be used as a training guide to |
| years until the compensations start to cause | | | | indicate that you may be over-training or |
| problems. Typically a leg length discrepancy | | | | that a new technique or training plan is |
| (LLD) can result from a rotated pelvis and | | | | causing you problems. |
| the leg must compensate for this. It'll | | | | |