In our quest to continue to be the go-to provider for the runners in our area, I am continually learning from the experts in our field. I am 2/3 of the way through a continuing education course led by 3 of the top Physical Therapists in the field working with elite runners.
Today’s video blog is a very informal recap of what has been shared so far. Day 1 was led by Jay Dicharry, PT and author or the book Running Rewired. He helped us break down the details of form, posture, and function and how they really do matter. Running is not simply a slap on some good shoes and a pair of shorts and hit the road, kind of sport. Not if you expect to stay healthy. Research shows runners have a higher rate of injury than athletes who compete in contact sports, 27-70% yearly injury rate. Working preventatively with a running movement expert can go a very long way to make sure you keep all cylinders firing and do your best to avoid injury.
Day 2 was led by Nathan Carlson, a bone stress expert who shared valuable and mind-blowing research and data around bone stress injuries. First and foremost, my takeaway was that bone stress injuries: from stress reactions to fractures, need to be considered fueling issues until proven otherwise. If you are a middle school-aged runner on up, you really need to ensure you are fueling your body for the nutritional demands you are placing on your body. For every 10 miles a week you plan to run, the general recommendation from dieticians is, you need 100 extra nutrient-dense calories above your basic caloric intake. If you are a collegiate, or elite runner, make sure you are working with a dietician. There are many warning signs that you can look for, male and female, to help identify if you are training in a safe or unsafe range.
Bone stress injuries also fall into two types: high risk vs low risk. This classification is based on the location of the injury, as well as it’s blood supply and ability to heal. High risk fractures must be unloaded (meaning no weight bearing) and return to run time graded for a duration of time proportional to the imaging grade of the fracture. A low-risk site does not necessarily have to be unloaded and in cases where that is imposed, it has been shown to weaken the bones as well as result in loss of bone distal to the fracture.
High risk locations include the femoral neck, anterior tibia, medial malleolus, talus, navicular, 5th metatarsal proximally, base of the second metatarsal, and Great toe sesamoid bone.
Low risk locations include posterior media tibia (the most common location for shin splints), fibular/ laterally malleolus, femoral shaft, pelvis, calcaneus, and the diaphysis shaft of rays 2-4 (toes).
The moral of the story is this. Bones are made to withstand stress and load. When they break down, there is an overall system failure. It is complex, not one size fits all, and the recovery must be tailored to address all the factors involved.
Be sure to see us here at Fit 4 Life Physical Therapy for help with all your running related needs. We offer a Healthy Runner Screening that involves our personalized injury prevention screen based on the work of Jay Dicharry, as well as a gait analysis test using our state-of-the-art technology. You will gain valuable insight into your running machine. We will make recommendations based on what we find to help you address any areas showing concerns that may impact your training. Call today for your appointment. 440-340-3717.
What questions do you have after reading and watching the video?
