Endurance Training and Injury Prevention
If you’ve trained for a running race before, you’ve probably dealt with an injury that was a small blip on the radar and you were able to work through it, or maybe it unfortunately derailed your training for a few weeks. When you’re training for an event, you’re of course trying to make sure everything goes to plan. So why is it that when we hit our peak weeks of training do we have the highest likelihood of injury? This is mostly due to the greater training load that causes higher stress on the body and therefore, creates an increased chance of an injury cropping up. So what is one simple way you can mitigate the likelihood of a training derailing injury? The answer is in optimizing the full range of motion in which your joints are meant to move.
The Reason Behind Range of Motion Impairment
When you’re running, with the slight exception of trail running, every stride you take is a near carbon copy of the one which preceded it. The repetitive and linear nature of running and other endurance sports, especially running on flat surfaces or riding a road bike, can lead to a limited range of motion and may cause issues in common injury sites over time. While your hips and ankles move in a linear front to back motion, in order to keep those regions healthy, they have to work through their entire range of motion to maintain their full capacity. Since those movements don’t naturally occur over the duration of the activity, every athlete should take time to purposefully move in ways which are unlike their training sessions. Most often, this means moving in the rotational (transverse plane) and lateral (coronal plane) planes of motion.
Why Athletes Should Maintain Range of Motion
Injury Prevention: Limited range of motion can lead to compensatory movements, which may increase the risk of injury. For example, if your hips lack mobility, you might overuse your lower back or knees to compensate for the restricted movement. This is why every individual with low back, hip, knee or ankle/foot pain has their hips, knees and ankles screened for symmetry of movement while they are in the clinic.
Optimal Biomechanics: Running with proper biomechanics is crucial for efficiency and injury prevention. Adequate hip and ankle mobility allows for a more natural and efficient stride, reducing the risk of overuse injuries and improving performance. One way to work on this at home is to incorporate strides into your running routine. A stride can be 50-100 yards in length. The individual should ramp smoothly to their max cadence/speed over the first 20-30 meters, stay at max speed for 20-30 meters, then in controlled fashion slow down to complete the stride. These short stints at max speed help drive your running form to be more efficient. Interestingly enough, there are “strides” which cyclists can do, we don’t call them strides though, they are known as spin ups. Cyclists can work on their form by working in 10-30 second chunks at as high of a cadence as possible with the goal being to keep consistent contact on the saddle with your sit bones.
Reduced Muscle Imbalances: A limited range of motion in the hips and ankles can result in muscle imbalances, which can affect your gait and running form. This, in turn, can lead to issues such as iliotibial band syndrome, Achilles tendinopathy, and more.
Hot Tip: An easy way to check in on your right versus left hip and ankle capabilities is to challenge yourself with a single leg exercise. An unweighted Bulgarian Split Squat or minimally loaded Romanian Deadlift can provide immediate insights if there’s a side which your body is more capable than the other.
Being mindful of your habits during the training season can be challenging to extend them away from the time you’re actually in training session. If you can start to be mindful of habits in time away from your sessions, you’re never rewarded immediately, but your future self will thank you.
