Health Blog

A number of the major city mass participation marathons take place in April.   For those taking part training should be well underway by now.   As the weekly distance covered and some longer runs take place some may experience some niggles and discomfort.  Don’t ignore early warning signs.  There is nothing worse than reaching the last month of training, getting an injury that means you have to stop running and then end up taking part “hoping” you will be ok. Often raising money for charity puts pressure on individuals to feel they must take part regardless of injury with the result that what should have been a fantastic experience was a miserable struggle.  

It is hardly surprising that doing a repetitive action like running thousands of strides day after day results in soreness of particular tissue groups.    As Osteopaths and Physiotherapists we recognise that there are many ways to run based on an individuals mechanics.  The key is to recognise why those individual mechanics are not functioning as well as they might.   The older we get the less likely we are able to change the way we do an action like running, however we can help you to optimise the way you do it.   

Example : If your hips have become stiffer you may reduce the length of your stride, your muscles will adapt accordingly.  To maintain the same speed you will need to increase the frequency of strides that you take (your cadence) or you might adapt by swinging your pelvis / lower back more.  Both of these adaptations will take more energy and the latter will ask new demands of other joints with potential discomfort.  Identifying this reduced hip function is easy to remedy with simple hip stretching and strengthening to be able to maintain the original form.  

Massage therapy to stop tissue becoming tight and ineffective is one tool that should be used regularly along with stretching and rest.   At Springbank Clinic we are very fortunate to have 3 therapists who can assist you through this journey.    Regular appointments over the next couple of months will be a great investment!!

Brenda Smith and Mel Bjuitor can advise with your nutritional needs.  You will need to significantly increase your calorie intake to balance the increase in activity, this is not always as easy as it sounds.  Thoughts of reducing weight to run faster need to be balanced as it can result in Relative Energy Deficiency Syndrome (REDS) that is a common situation for many athletes and if not addressed will result in injuries such as stress fractures and tendon damage as well as reduced performance. 

Kelly Clews Podiatrist will pick up on various clues that the appearance of feet will give. Areas of hard skin are an indicator of friction and with cross referral to Osteopaths and Physiotherapists can reduce this issue.

Mark Pitcairn-Knowles (Athletics Coach) and Richard Puxty (Assistant Athletics Coach) are both heavily involved with Tonbridge athletics club and have plenty of experience to advise those at all stages of their running careers.   Getting it right from the start is best.