It’s All About Balance
I know what you’re thinking. . . A Physical Therapist is writing about balance and the first thing that comes to mind is me talking about standing on a piece of squishy foam or balance disc while standing on one leg as you try not to nose dive straight to the ground. Where you look like the first picture but feel like the second.
Yes, we sometimes do that in physical therapy, and yes single leg balance is important, but that’s not the kind of balance I’m talking about today. At our clinic, I treat many of the runners, and honestly the most valuable part of my assessment is not the physical evaluation, but from us talking together about what is going on and what has led up to the point of injury. It never fails, people will say “It was so nice outside, I just wanted to go for a long run” when they decided to run 10 miles outside but had only recently been running 3 miles on a treadmill during the cold months. Or, “I’ve never run before, but I’ve always wanted to train for a marathon.” Or a very common one, “My mileage is going up and I just don’t have time to do my strength work right now.” And there you have it, that little golden nugget of information that tells me you subjected your body to a noticeable change and that you did not create or maintain good balance in your training regimen.
“Being a runner is not just about the act of running; but it’s also about training to get the body strong to be prepared to handle the pounding forces you are subjecting yourself to…”
We have all been there, so there’s no pointing fingers here. I bring this up more to open the conversation and to provide the healthy reminder that training is all about balance. Whether you are new to running or an old timer you would benefit well-rounded training program. The body adapts and thrives better when managed in a more balanced fashion.
Being a runner is not just about the act of running; but it’s also about training to get the body strong to be prepared to handle the pounding forces you are subjecting yourself to, proper volume and intensity progression, proper nutrition and hydration, and adequate rest and recovery. Whenever these scales get tipped or are not addressed are where we find the gaps that open us up to injury.
Join me over the next few weeks as I discuss some of these topics such as the benefits of strength training for runners, activity volume monitoring and progression, and running wellness and recovery, to guide you towards a successful start to your warm weather running!
