Stretching and Strengthening Advice from the Room One Physio

Transcription

1 Stretching and Strengthening Advice from the Room One Physio As physios we are regularly asked by runners what the best exercises are to help prevent injuries. There are a few common injuries that runners encounter. These include patellar tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, ITB friction syndrome, Achilles tendonitis and lower back pain. The following information is designed to give you some general stretching and strengthening exercises to help prevent and overcome these common injuries. Calf stretches to help prevent Achilles tendonitis and plantar fasciitis. Gastroc stretch Stand and place both hands on a wall, with your feet about half a metre from the wall. Place one leg behind the other and lean your body forward without bending your back knee until you feel a stretch in your back calf. Remember to keep a correct arch position in your foot. Soleus stretch Stand and place both hands on a wall, with your feet about half a metre from the wall. Place one leg behind the other and slowly bend your knees while keeping your heels on the floor until you feel a stretch in the calf of your back leg.

2 Eccentric heel drops Place your toes at the edge of a step/stairs and drop your heels down until you feel a stretch at the bottom of your calf into your Achilles tendon. ITB stretches to help prevent ITB friction syndrome, patella tendonitis and patella mal-tracking ITB stretch Stand and cross one leg in front of the other. Bend forward as far as possible without bending your knees. Slightly turn your body towards the side of your front leg until you feel a stretch on the exterior side of your back leg. Hold the stretch and slowly return to the initial position. ITB foam rolling Place your foam roller on the floor. Take a side plank position with the outside of one hip over the foam roller and your other leg in front for support. Roll the entire outside of your leg from the pelvis to the knee in an up and down motion.

3 Hamstring stretches helps prevent hamstring strains and tension Hamstring flossing Put a long towel around your foot and pull gently into and out of the stretch. Do this 30 times - do not hold the stretch. Hamstring stretch Place your ankle on a bar, leg parallel to the ground. Bring your chest down towards your knee, keeping your legs as straight as possible. - Foam rolling Place your foam roller on the floor. Sit on the floor and rest your hands behind you. Put the back of one thigh over the foam roller and your other leg on the floor for support. Roll the entire back of your thigh from the bottom of the buttock to the knee in an up and down motion.

4 Lower back exercises - to help loosen and strengthen the lower back. PRESSURE CHANGE THERAPY THE BACK BLOCK ROUTINE 1. Lie on your back, bend your knees up and lift your bottom of the ground. Slide your block with the narrow edge crossways under your bottom at your sacrum (the hard flat bit at the base of your spine). Slowly lower one leg down at a time and stretch your arms over your head. Relax and remain in this position for 60 seconds. After 60 seconds pull your tummy in hard, bend one leg back up at a time and slowly lift your bottom up and slide out the block. This exercise helps to stretch out the disc at one end helping fluid get into the discs. 2. Tighten your tummy muscles and bring one leg up at a time towards your chest. Gently rock your knees forwards and backwards with your head relaxed on the floor. Continue this motion for 30 seconds. This exercise helps to loosen all the tight back muscles but also helps to stretch open the other side of the disc helping fluid to get it. 3. Cross your ankles over and relax your arms behind your head. Pull your stomach muscles in a slowly and gently pull your knees towards you using your stomach muscles. Repeat 15 times. This step helps to strengthen the deep tummy muscles and back muscles to help support the back REPEAT STEPS 1-3 ABOVE THREE TIMES EVERY DAY (To view a video of these exercises visit and click the link for the back block video) Copyright of SarahKey Global [Australia] Pty Ltd 2010

5 Strengthening exercises - to work on smaller muscles generally forgotten about in exercise that help keep good muscle balance around the hips and knees for running. Clam exercises Lie on your side with both legs slightly bent. Lift up your top leg keeping the pelvis stable, your leg slightly bent and heels together. VMO exercises Stand with your feet apart and facing outwards. Slowly drop down into a squat with open legs, keeping your knee cap aligned with your 2nd toe. Slowly return to standing position. We hope you have found this information helpful. If you require any further information do not hesitate to contact Room One Physiotherapy and Sports Injuries Clinic