A Gait Analysis consists of having a sports physiotherapist watch you run on a treadmill while also taking videos from different angles, followed by a physical examination & assessment of their current shoes.
It is important to understand proper recovery techniques to ensure long and injury free running. There are a number of recovery techniques; let’s look at them and examine the science behind each.
Runners often prefer to run and do nothing else. Stretching they may do if motivated by a coach or peer runner or understood from a prior injury that stretching is an important aspect of running. However, strength training is something…
Do you believe in the cliché No pain No gain? This probably depends on who you have heard this say or in what context. Pain means different things to different people. When I treat patients with spine or sports injuries in the clinic, I often ask what kind of pain they have. Yes – what kind of pain- because different kinds of pain mean different things. For example…
If the idea seems a little strange to you, rest assured it’s not a new one. In fact, it may be a great way to add some fun into your training especially since the benefits of running backwards are many! Running backwards! Yes, it seems rather incredulous. But it has been used in training and as a part of general fitness in Japan and Europe for quite some time now.
WORK THAT BUTT! Yes, you read that right! Work that butt that you sit on for a large portion of your day. You may wonder why you are reading this article. Well, let me tell you that you have made the right choice and that working your butt is an integral part of your health. Let me explain why!
Whether you are a new runner or a seasoned one, basic facts about ‘the right running shoe for you’ (unless you are a barefoot runner) are very important to understand and implement. Your choice of running shoes can make the difference between running in comfort or pain, and most importantly, whether you stay healthy or get injured. Too often I find runners experimenting with expensive shoes only to end up in pain. Understanding the basics of buying the right running shoe for you will save you lots of time, money and will keep you running for long.
Warming up is one of the critical factors to prevent injury during a workout. It sounds clichéd but it really is. I have seen too many injuries arising from gym workouts due to a lack of warm-up. Often people ask why it is so important. It’s a fair question. Let’s imagine…
A lot of runners are recreational runners; some may be sedentary runners or even weekend warriors. All these terms vary in the attitude of the runner and also the time and effort put into the running. But the bottom line is that they all have day jobs and the running (whether it is daily or once a month) happens outside of the working hours. What is wonderful is that their bodies are getting the exercise that they need; however, attention must be paid to whether sitting all day in a poor posture is affecting your running in some way. If you don’t pay attention to this, you might be allowing yourself to short change your performance or pick up several persisting injuries along the way. So seriously ask yourself- is my sitting killing my running?
I often see runners, sports players and gym enthusiasts wearing a knee brace/support every time they play or lift weights. If it was up to me I would personally go up to them and lecture them about the harm they are doing to themselves by doing so. But since it may not be considered appropriate, I decided to write about it.