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