Running Injuries: Prevention From The Ground Up Part 2

By Kirsten Carmichael DPT, CSCS, SFG I, MFDc

Last blog post we talked about the foot and ankle in regards to sports and running injuries.  Today, moving up the kinetic chain we'll talk about the importance of a strong and stable hip and core and some of our favorite exercises.

The core and hip muscles play a very important role in controlling movement all the way down to your foot.  When these muscles are weak or not firing optimally we will often see the hip and knee "crash in" which can cause a lot of dysfunction and pain.  Think about the load through those structures with running which can be 5-12 times your body weight (depending on form and speed). If your mechanics are faulty that is a lot of load being distributed through the wrong places. Note that if you are limited in ankle mobility this can also cause similar movement dysfunction and see our last blog post for how to assess and work on this.  Shown below is an example of what happens when weakness/lack of motor control or an ankle mobility restriction is present.

And here is what it looks like when all of the stabilizer muscles fire together and the knee, hip, and ankle stay in good alignment.

That being said, here are some of our favorite exercises for engaging and strengthening those stabilizer muscles to promote a solid foundation for good movement (and help prevent future injury).

Clams: an excellent exercise for activating the deep hip muscles.  Shown here using a mini-band for some added resistance.  This exercise is great because it isolates each individual side.  Place the band above the knees, lie on your side, and with your knees bent bring them up to about a 60 degree angle at your hip.  Keeping your feet together, rotate your top knee up.  Make sure you don't "cheat" by rolling the top hip back and you should feel a good burn along the outside of your hip.  We usually start with 20 reps on each side.

Bridging: here is an exercise that works the bigger glute muscles.  We like to use the mini-band around the knees to get a little extra muscle activation.  With both knees bent and feet flat on the floor engage your abs by drawing in your belly button and squeeze your glutes as you lift your hips up from the floor.  You want to make sure you avoid arching in your low back.  Perform 20 repetitions.

Bird/Dog: This exercise has great "bang for your buck" for improving stabilization along many different areas (neck, shoulders, low back, hips) and is a great core control exercise.  Begin in a hands and knees position and keeping your abs tight reach "long" not "high" and extend your opposite arm and leg as pictured.  Make sure your low back stays neutral (we could balance a glass of water without spilling) and do not allow it to arch.  Perform 20 repetitions.

Mule Kicks and Hip Extension on Elbows: next on our list of favorites are some "glute burners" performed in a plank position on elbows.  By doing these exercises on your elbows instead of up on your hands you are able to better maintain your low back in a neutral position (avoiding arching).  Maintaining that neutral spine helps to also engage your core.  In the first picture you lift one leg with the knee bent squeezing your glute for a one second hold at the top.  In the second picture you lift with the leg straight (knee extended) and again squeeze those glute muscles for one second on the top.  Perform on both sides, 2 sets of 10 reps each.

Forearm Plank: This is an awesome core exercise that is easy to perform anywhere and doesn't stress out the low back like a lot of other popular core exercises.  Line yourself up with your elbows under your shoulders, eyes focused on your fists (to maintain a proper neck position), and a neutral spine (again avoiding an arch in the low back).  Keep your abdominals tight and squeeze your glutes.  The goal is to build up to 3 sets of 30 seconds and then you can begin to add movement to make the exercise more difficult from there.

Side Plank: Last but not least is the often forgotten side plank.  If you have a healthy shoulder this is an awesome exercise for working both core and glute muscles together (while also working those shoulder stabilizers).  If you are comfortable line your elbow up under your shoulder and push up from the elbow and the feet.  If this is too difficult you can modify by bending both knees and pushing through the knees instead.  Again the goal is to alternate sides holding for 3 sets of 30 seconds on each.

There you have it!  Since these are stability and activation exercises (and not heavily loaded strength training) they are great to perform before your work out or run to get everything firing and optimize your form.  Think of it as a quick stability and movement prep routine. Stay strong and injury free out there!

If you like our stuff and want more tips and tricks follow our blog, Facebook, and Instagram accounts @gonextlevelpt

Running Injuries: Prevention From The Ground Up Part 1

By Kirsten Carmichael DPT, CSCS, SFG I, MFDc

I frequently get to work with runners and one common complaint is with foot/ankle discomfort or pain.  I decided it would be great to provide some preventive tips and tricks starting at the feet and working my way from the ground up.  These are also great tips for other athletes who may be experiencing similar problems.  Give them a try! 

First, many problems up and down the leg can occur from a limitation in ankle mobility.  To test this you can stand with your toes about 5 inches away from the wall in a lunge position.  Keeping your heel on the ground, bend your knee and reach it as close to the wall as possible.  If your knee easily touches the wall your mobility is looking good.  If you can't reach the wall without your heel lifting or feel stiffness in your ankle then this is an area to work on.  In the same position as the test (see video below) you can perform some active glides.  We recommend performing 10 repetitions on each side. 

Next, there are some great tools to keep your soft tissue mobility looking good.  One awesome tool for plantar fascia health is rolling on a lacrosse ball.  Simply place your foot on top of the ball and roll along the ball of your foot, the inner arch, and along your heel.  If you feel any tight or "crunchy" areas then give these spots a little extra love.  

You also want to make sure the soft tissues in your calves stay loosened up.  Sometimes using a foam roller for this area can be a bit awkward so I prefer to use a stick.  If you get in a half kneeling position as shown you can also get a little extra stretch on the calf as you roll.  If you find any "bumps" in the road you can move the stick (as shown) side to side to create a cross sectional release.  I usually recommend 10 rolls up and down on each side again spending a little extra time on any trouble spots. 

Now that you've mobilized your ankle joint and soft tissues you want to stretch in that newly found range of motion.  A good gastroc stretch is first on the list as shown.  Make sure you keep that toe pointed straight ahead and your heel on the ground. 

Deep to that gastroc muscle is the often neglected soleus muscle.  As shown below move the back foot in just a bit and give the knee a bend to stretch this guy as well. 

Finally, after all of this mobilization and stretching it is great to reinforce those deep muscles that support your arches.  A great way to get this started is called "arch doming". In standing you will focus on grounding your big toe and making an arch along the inside of your foot (see video below).  I usually recommend 20 repetitions. 

Definitely give all of these a try pre-run or work out to make sure your mobility and stability are in check before you load the system.  Performing some of the soft tissue release and stretching after can also be beneficial if anything has tightened up along the way.  Over time you will develop a beautifully balanced foot and ankle and prevent any future issues! 

Hope you found these tips useful!  If you are still experiencing any pain or discomfort contact us!  We love nothing more than to help athletes perform pain-free and at their best! 

Follow our blog, Instagram, and Facebook (@gonextlevelpt) for upcoming posts with more tips and tricks and all things sports releated! 

Is there a higher risk of lower extremity injury after a concussion?

By Kirsten Carmichael DPT, CSCS, SFG I, MFDc

I always have my eye out for the latest research in the world of concussions and some very interesting studies have been emerging lately. The question being asked is do athletes have an increased risk of sustaining a lower extremity injury following a concussion?

One study by Lynall et al in 2015 retrospectively looked at injury data in Division I collegiate athletes.  They found these athletes were almost twice as likely to experience lower extremity musculoskeletal injury after concussion when compared with controls.

Another more recent study in May 2017 found similar findings with collegiate athletes.  Herman et al reported that the odds of sustaining a musculoskeletal injury were 3.39 times higher in the concussion athletes.

Yet another recent study by Lynall et all published in November 2017 looked at high school athletes. This study found that for every previous concussion, the odds of sustaining a subsequent time-loss lower extremity injury increased 34%.

So, what gives with all this increased injury risk?  It is suspected that lingering deficits in gait and dynamic balance may have something to do with it.  Lynall et al has proposed there may be reduced cortical excitability impairing the brain’s ability to effectively control and coordinate movement after concussion.  Further, this may have something to do with delayed reaction and movement time.  If we think about this in relation to the high physical and cognitive demands of athletics it is easy to see where the potential for injury may occur.

With this information how do we make a change to help lower the risk?  Currently many concussion protocols primarily utilize neurocognitive testing, static balance tests, and symptom reporting.  It is proposed that utilizing more functional balance assessments would be beneficial (especially using sport specific tasks such as cutting and jumping).  This sounds a lot like what I do at Next Level in my exertion assessments.  During an exertion evaluation the athlete completes multiple dynamic tasks testing the vestibular system at high levels and elevating the athlete’s heart rate.   We consider the specific nature of each sport and look to progress all aspects before return to play including cutting, changing direction, accelerating/decelerating, jumping, running, throwing, coordination, reaction time, and cognition.  The goal of future research will be to take a deeper look at functional movement after concussion and come up with a dynamic assessment that is easy to implement in our concussion protocols across all levels of athletics.

Exertion Physical Therapy-where we jump, cut, change direction, and get sport specific :)

My take home message from this research is that concussions are something that should be taken seriously for many reasons.  If you have a concussion it is important to get evaluated to make sure everything clears (including those dynamic balance and sport specific tasks) before returning to sport to avoid the risk of musculoskeletal injury.  Hopefully soon everyone in athletics will have more detailed assessment tools and we can see the incidence of these injuries go down.

References

Lynall RC, Mauntel TC, Padua DA, Mihalik JP. Acute lower extremity injury rates increase after concussion in college athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015;47(12):2487-2492.

Herman DC, Jones D, Harrison A, et al. Concussion may increase the risk of subsequent lower extremity musculoskeletal injury in collegiate athletes. Sports Med. 2017;47(5):1003-1010.

Lynall RC, Mauntel TC, Pohlig RT, et al. Lower extremity musculoskeletal injury risk after concussion recovery in high school athletes. J Athl Train. 2017;52(11):1028-1034.