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Strength and Conditioning

Running is a high impact activity with at least 4 times your bodyweight going through each leg and carries a high risk of injury. So at GoOutRun.com our Training Team bring you the latest strength, conditioning and flexibility exercises to increase strength and reduce your risk of injury.

Runner’s knee injuries and the Iliotibial band

By Simon Burden, 30/10/0
 
Running is a high impact activity and can often result in an injury if the amount of running is increased too quickly and if the body hasn’t been strengthened significantly to withstand the load of running.

Knee pain

The knee is a common site of pain and discomfort for runners. The pain can take the form of a stinging sensation or soreness and can occur above, below, on the outside or in the front of the knee cap. The pain may not occur immediately during running, but may get worse over time, especially as the foot strikes the ground. Pain might also continue after the running session.

Iliotibial band

A major contributor to knee pain for runners is a tightness of the Iliotibial band (ITB) The ITB is located on the outside of the thigh, starting at the pelvis and inserting just below the knee. Its job is to stabilize the alignment of the knee during running. It can become tight and inflamed through repetitive movement of the knee during running.

Foam rolling

Using a Foam roller is a great way of reducing the tightness in the ITB and therefore reducing knee pain. Foam rolling is a form of self myofascial release which is designed to break up knots and tightness in the fascia. Fascia is a dense connective tissue that surrounds muscle, bones and joints which provides support and protection to the body. Foam rollers are inexpensive to buy and can be bought online or from your local physio.

• Position yourself on your side lying on foam roll.
• Raise bottom leg off the floor
• Maintain head in “neutral” position
• Keep body in a straight line
• Start to roll just below hip joint down the outside thigh to the knee.
• Keep leg off of ground
• Stop rolling when it is painful and hold on the point until pain reduces by 75%.

Perform foam rolling 1 – 2 times a day.

An introduction to stretching

by Simon Burden 20/06/09

A look at the importance of stretching for runners

Overview

Stretching is a discipline that is fundamentally important to continued running and reducing the risk of injury. However, it is also an area of some conjecture and is often overlooked by recreational runners. At GoOutRun.com we believe as an absolute minimum you should stretch at the end of each and every run. Runners who are running for increased volumes and intensities should introduce dynamic stretching and drills at the start of runs and introduce standalone flexibility sessions (such as Yoga or Pilates) into their training schedule. In this article we look at the minimum that someone who is running around 3 times a week for 30-60 mins must do.

When to stretch

The consensus today is not to do any static stretching at the beginning of a run when muscles are cold and tight. The best way for recreational runners to warm up is to do a gentle 5 to 10 mins easy run which gently increases the heart rate, increases blood flow and warms up the muscles. Those with any particularly tight muscles should stop and stretch at the end of the 5-10 minute warm up before starting the main run.

We recommend that you stretch at the end of your run before you enter the house/car so that it becomes an integral part of your run.

Why stretch

Running creates a shortness and tightness in the muscles. Therefore lengthening the muscles at the end of a run delivers the following benefits:  

• Improves the range of the movement that a muscle can perform through
• Reduces the risk injury  
• Prevents post-exercise muscle soreness

Key Muscles to stretch

Please see below for the key stretches for runners. Hold each stretch for up to 30 seconds. If a muscle feels tight repeat the stretch 3 times.