Fix Your Shit!

Guadalupe Mtns.

This is one of those posts everyone is going to be thinking in the back of their mind, "Is he talking about me?" The wheels come off for everyone at some point, or we at least get a flat tire and/or some other mechanical periodically. As runners and endurance athletes, we're very good at dealing with discomfort and ignoring pain. During a PT session a couple years ago the therapist asked me what my pain tolerance was like and I said, "High, but I don't think that's always a good thing." It's very easy to run myself into more trouble by ignoring the warning signs my body is giving me, and I know a lot of the athletes I coach are similar in that regard. Ideally, we would take care of our issues when we're not gearing up for a big event, but we don't always have control of when things flare up. It's not uncommon to "push through" some issues during a marathon work-up, or in the midst of a competitive season. It's also not uncommon for those aches and pains to go away once you've finished that big race and dial things down and/or take a break. That doesn't always mean those issues are gone either, and they might resurface once you start to pick things back up again. For the rest of this post let's assume I'm talking "mechanical" issues, things related to how your body moves like stability, mobility and strength. These types of niggles and injuries are often referred to as "overuse" injuries, but more often than not it's related to compensation from weak points in the kinetic chain. What I'm not talking about would be major injuries and traumatic events like torn ligaments, muscle strains, sprains and fractures, etc. Although, these type of more significant injuries can arise from ignoring early signs of a problem.

My general answer fixing most shit is, get stronger! I think this becomes more important as we age, especially when you hit your 40's, you better work on your strength if you want to continue running and staying healthy. Here are some of the main problems that lead to "overuse" and/or "compensation" type injuries that are most common in runners:

• Force production and symmetry. One side of the body is weaker than the other leading to alignment problems, compensation patterns, etc. Good strength work will help your muscles produce more force, and a well designed program will make sure we're producing force equally across our opposing muscle groups, i.e. we should be able to produce the same quality and pattern of movement and power with one limb compared to the other.

• Pelvic stability, one of the most underrated issues for athletes, especially runners! This is your ability to maintain a neutral spine and pelvis while in motion without any "wiggle." It's very common for runners to have an anterior tilted pelvis, which can have significant effects on your running gait like low knee drive, heavy heel striking and overstriding, and is often coupled with a number of other issues like low back pain, compressed discs, SI pain, etc. A lack of pelvic stability also leads to excess rotation and vertical movement at the hips, so it can look like twisting and a drop of the hips as you cycle through your gait. Often times this will be more pronounced on one side vs. the other. Again, a lot of other issues can stem from this up and down the kinetic chain, particularly in the feet, knees and back. I'm oversimplifying here, but this is a complex and super important area that needs to be paid attention to throughout the year.

• Posture. Normally, I would include posture with pelvic stability, but for context purposes I separated it. Again, runners in particular, do not always have the best posture. Common issues are; shoulders rolled forward, head forward of shoulders (kyphotic posture), which can lead to pain and discomfort in other areas further down the kinetic chain. Again, good strength work and attention to detail while working out can correct a lot of these issues. I use the term "postural strength" a lot ( extra points if you just corrected your posture while reading, now do that when you run! ) as opposed to core strength. We need strong abs, obliques, QL's, lats and all the muscles of the back and "core" to support our spine and keep it healthy over the long haul. Better posture makes better ( and healthier ) runners!

• Mobility. Again, a good strength program will take this into consideration. We want a good full range of motion at the joints, or at least a reasonable range of motion, which can be a challenge for a lot of runners as we can often be relatively stiff. It's wise to work in other planes of motion that are different from the repetitive movements of running. A lack of mobility can often make athletes somewhat "brittle," and more prone to injury from simple things like slipping in the mud while running.

Pilates wunda chair work excellent for strength/stability

When things to do pop up, and they most inevitably will, try to get on it as soon as possible. Sometimes a little extra rest will do the trick, but in case it doesn't, start working on problem solving. Many times the place where you are feeling pain is not the root of the problem. It does take a trained eye and experience to figure out what needs to be done, so don't be afraid to reach out for help. It's very common to think that, "Oh, my foot hurts, I need to fix my foot!" In actuality, the foot is compensating for a lack of stability somewhere else. Realize, phrases like "shin splints" and "plantar fasciitus" are often used as catch-all's for pain in the shin or feet. They're not always a specific diagnosis, and again, the root of the problem needs to be figured out in order to solve the issue.

Prevention is the best policy when it comes to injury issues. Ideally, everyone would spend some focused time on it a couple months a year, and keep a short and sweet version in during volume build-ups. As to what exactly you should do, I'd say that varies per person. It's hard to go wrong with the basics; push and pull, single leg work, well rounded core work. The one thing I do emphasize for everyone is pelvic stability and postural strength first! You should be able to hold your posture and protect your spine for every exercise and amount of resistance you do. There should be a well designed progression of exercises and resistance that addresses your needs.

Seek help! Even if you think you know what you're doing, it's always good to have a sharp educated eye on you. There are some great physical therapists, coaches and trainers out there. If you have some issues someone is helping you through, you should see and feel a difference in a matter of weeks... again, not talking about significant injuries/traumatic events. There's likely going to be some trial and error, but you'll typically know when you are on the right track. Give feedback and be active with the treatment plan, and DO YOUR HOMEWORK as prescribed! However, if you find that you're not improving or maybe even going backwards, and you've been doing everything you're told, then move on to someone else. Be aware your general/family practice doctor may not always understand what your issues are if you bring it up to them, so be prepared to advocate for yourself as strongly as necessary to get referrals, labs, etc. I've seen this a lot as a coach, and it happened to me recently which ultimately led me to finding a new doctor.

What you should not do... consult Dr. Google. The likelihood of you diagnosing yourself correctly via a Google search is extremely low. The chiropractor on TikTok is also a very poor source of information as are any of the thousands of fitness influencers on social media.

The main point I'm making is this, it's best to be proactive. Don't wait till you are forced to take a long break from running . If you put some focused time into a good strength program during the year you're going to set yourself up for success later. Find some things that you can use as maintenance during your higher volume periods if you don't have time to do a full program. Trim the fluff and put in work when you do strength train. You can get a lot done with 30min 2-3 times per week. Get help when you need it. The one thing I constantly find myself reiterating to athletes is, it's not going to fix itself! You have to do the work and fix your shit. You'll be a lot happier you did, and running is so much more fun when you're healthy!

Train smart,

FF