With the Auckland Marathon coming up in early November there will be many of you out pounding the pavement. Hopefully not pounding! People who run heavy on their feet (or even heavy walkers) set up a lot of trauma in the body that the body has to recover and heal from
At this clinic here we are always helping runners to run light.
There are many sets of instructions on training intervals and schedules but the emphasis here is on the basics in a way that overlaps with other core stability methods. The legs are connected to the pelvis and good pelvic balance creates more efficient running.
When playing sport many people are given the instruction of “get the centre of the balance of the body low”. This is particularly so in activities like rugby, tennis, dancing, martial arts or kapahaka. Many people have a body memory of this posture, but they need to be retrained. In this stance the sway in the low back is reduced and the pelvis is tilted up in the front, flattening the abdominal muscles.
Try this for yourself: when running or walking tilt your pelvis to get the centre of the body balance in your pelvis (see exercises page on our website). Mechanically this corrects many of the common errors. Because the muscles are more in control there is less vertical impact trauma to the ankles, knees, hips and spine.
A tune up at the clinic here would check for imbalances in leg and back muscles as well as the joints of feet, ankles, knees, hips and spine so as to prevent injury when training or racing training.
The MOST IMPORTANT preparation for this is to stretch the thigh muscles, and stretch them with the core on (or the pelvis balanced). Instructions are given on our exercises page.
Do come in for a tune-up before the big challenging events. If your running friends are too heavy on their feet or have too much sway in their back suggest that they come in for a check-up. People who have included osteopathic treatment in their marathon preparation have reported improved results.