Aches, pains & niggles – Should runners rest or run?

Runners are often faced with something of a dilemma if they are suffering a aches, pain or have a niggle and this is whether they can run through it or will that put them at risk of developing a more serious problem. Possibly you are suffering with an injury and you are trying to decide whether to run, rest up and recuperate or even seek professional sports injury advice.

The following guidelines will help you to assess your situation and make a better informed decision regarding your complaint.

Are there any signs of significant injury?

First of all it’s important to eliminate some of the more serious signs and symptoms that may require you to seek medical attention. These are as follows:

• Swelling
• Joint locking or giving way
• Severe pain
• Loss of sensation or numbness
• Pins and needles or tingling
• Pain upon pressing a bone
• Limitation of movement in a joint (i.e. not just feeling stiff, actual physical restriction of movement)
• Pain on impact or landing
• Painful weight-bearing

If you have any of these signs and symptoms it may be advisable to seek medical opinion. A little swelling or tingling may just require caution and not necessarily a GP visit, but if the problem persists then it is wise to get it checked out.

How often are you getting these symptoms?

If you have only experienced these symptoms on one occasion and have been running fine since then the chances are it was just a freak one-off. It is recurring symptoms that will be worth investigating.

Should you run through it or rest?

For the more severe injuries your body will tell you what to do, most significant pain and injury will stop you from running. Pain, with time will worsen and almost always mean you have to stop. However with the adrenaline coursing through your veins the pain can sometimes be disguised. Certain minor niggles may actually get better as you warm up and improve with each step, in these instances you are probably not at risk by carrying on. It is important to remember that you should not grin and bear pain and push yourself with tears welling in your eyes! With any uncertainty, don’t push it, stop running, see if it eases or get it checked out.

What if your pain is fine when you stop running?

This is usually a good sign, pain with running is certainly more of a problem than being pain free at rest. If however, pain continues to interfere with your regular day to day activities, then this is probably going to require attention.

Can you alter your running to reduce your pain?

Decreasing your speed, increasing your cadence, reducing stride length, running on a softer surface or stopping and stretching out, are all factors in running that can be manipulated. Making these adjustments may well ease your pain and if it stops, then that is very positive. Maintain what you have changed for a short while and you may find it eases sufficiently to resume your regular running style without pain.  For a number of running related injuries, the repetitive nature of running, causing recurring stress at a vulnerable area is to blame, but this can occasionally be resolved by making some small adaptations.

What is your mileage?

Large increases in mileage, for instance following a marathon training programme over a period of a few months, especially if you are a beginner will of course leave you feeling achy, you are not necessarily injured though. Stiff heavy legs can be a sign of fatigue and this will normally be resolved with a 1-3 rest days.

How much time do you have?

An injury shortly before an event, perhaps or week or two prior to a race is almost always going to mean you will have to pull out. The volume of training and time invested to get the level of fitness required for a half or full marathon, only to risk greater injury by running through it, is probably not worth it – there will be other races you can run. If you get a problem in the early days of training then you will have adequate recovery time and this poses less of a problem.

What other types of training will be more valuable?

With injured runners or those looking to reduce injury risk, the addition of a cross- training session to their weekly training regime will add great value. Strength and conditioning, core stability training or working on flexibility may well be of more benefit than running through a niggle. If you focus on stabilising and building strength around the problematic area and giving yourself time for a decent stretch, this will be better than heading out for a half decent run.

Are you training too much?

Overtraining is a big one in the running injury world; some of the signs to watch for are as follows:

• Low energy
• Abnormally Stiff muscles
• Weary after training
• Taking longer to recover
• Sleep loss
• Decreased appetite
• Poor immunity
• Training is more of an effort
• Poor performance

When is rest the absolute best thing to do?

To start with, if your training schedule does not include any rest days then seriously consider adding them in. Your body needs rest to strengthen and adapt to the training that you are doing, failure to do so will inhibit your body’s natural cycle when training, the careful balance of breaking down and building back up again. No runner likes to rest, but it really is an important consideration when planning your training.

To make the all-important decision of whether or not you are going to carry on running, again be guided by your body and make your decision based on how you feel. A feeling of lethargy and heavy legs, often just take a bit of a mental ‘get up and go’ and will in fact feel better for a run. But if you are overcome with pain then don’t be disheartened and substitute your usual running session for some valuable cross-training instead. It’s useful to allow yourself some training flexibility, avoid a rigid unforgiving programme and mix things up a bit. If you are too tired, inject some pace with a good speed work session or take an easier recovery run.

Most importantly with injuries, if you have any degree of uncertainty, it is better to act and get some professional help to find a resolution, sooner rather than later.

Last minute preparation... Tips for the Virgin Money London Matathon 2014

It’s been a long, gruelling journey to get to this point, but it is finally hear. Some of our runners have already pounded the streets home successfully after completing to Brighton marathon last weekend, now for the biggie the Virgin Money London Marathon!

Runner’s, this week you should relax, you have been tapering for the past few weeks, now just enjoy this final week and look forward to the big day, the adrenaline and the uplifting support from the crowds, the experience alone will be amazing!

If you want to keep an eye on the weather visit the MET office website, this will help you prepare for what clothing you will need on the day, http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/events/london-marathon

In the next few days it’s worth doing a few things in final preparation:

• Rest and relax, you have done your training, now enjoy the rest and wait for race day.
• Consider a Sports Massage to help you physcially and mentally prepare.

• Eat sensibly this week; add an extra carb to your meals, such as jacket potato, rice or pasta.
• Trim your toenails before race day – to avoid any discomfort in your shoes.
• Pick your clothing for the appropriate weather.
• Check your running shoes – Remove any twigs, stones etc. from soles and check the laces are not fraying.
• Drink plenty of fluid the day before race day – your urine should be a pale straw colour.
• On race morning apply some petroleum jelly or similar lubricant to sensitive areas such as nipples, thighs and between arms and chest to avoid chafing.
• Eat something light on race morning bagel, toast, cereal or a banana are all good choices. Avoid eating too heavy a meal the evening before.

Good luck to all our marathon runners :-) - we will see you Monday for a well earned sports massage

Half Marathon & Marathon Training Tips

 

 

These are our top tips to help you when training for your half or marathon.

Avoid training error

As many as 85% of all running related injuries are caused by training error, as are the majority of running injuries we see at Chart Clinic. By following a few easy steps you can avoid these errors. Increase your amount of training gradually. It is generally advised to keep this to a 10% increase per week. Train using a mixture of intensities, an 80:20 split is sensible, 80% low intensity running to 20% of high intensity running (i.e. hill/speed work). Keep your long slow runs at an easy and steady pace, this type of run is about developing your endurance and putting miles into your legs, not the speed at which you run. Employ an incremental increase in your training then decrease a little, put into practice by running increasing distances for three weeks and then in the fourth week decrease your mileage by 10%.  

Plan your training

Plan your training week, identify what you want to achieve in each run and stick to it, this adds variety and you won’t over do it. For example, avoid finishing your long run with some sprints; these should be completed on separate days. It also pays to  have a little flexibility, if you are running a planned 10 miles but after 7 miles you develop a niggle in your knee, stop running. It is ok to listen to what your body wants to do rather than running through discomfort to keep to a regimented plan. Allow yourself to aim to run 8-10 miles rather than a straight 10. 

Use a combination of training methods

Consider swapping one of your weekly runs for strength and conditioning session. Strength, balance and flexibility all play an important role in decreasing running injuries and can even boost your running performance. Research has shown as many as half of all injuries in runners can decrease by following a simple strength and conditioning programme.

Running shoes and gear

There has been a lot of discussion about the recent trend in minimalist footwear and forefoot running, suggesting that this is the way forward. In general, most people naturally heel strike as opposed to land on their forefoot. We see it with injuries that present at Chart Clinic, there is a higher injury risk by adopting a drastically different running style. To learn the forefoot technique safely takes months of practice, and training guidance or coaching is advisable. The most important thing to remember with regard to running shoe advice is buy the pair of running shoes that is the most comfortable for you to run in. Check with your local running shoe shop if you can have a go running in them (perhaps on a treadmill) before you buy.

Nutrition

It has been scientifically proven that fuelling your body (muscles and digestive organs) before you train or run in an event is very important. Aim to consume around 250-300 calories about 1-1.5 hours before you run. Eating any closer may cause cramp and not eating enough may lead to you lacking in energy. During longer runs try to get 100 calories onboard after the first hour and around another 100 calories every 45 minutes subsequent to that.

Staying Hydrated

Taking on enough fluid is vital, 2 hours before you run try to drink about 500ml water, and then immediately before you set off another 150ml. During your run aim to drink 150-200ml, every 20 minutes or so. By avoiding big gulps you minimise the fluid in your stomach, a full stomach can be awful whilst running, so drink little and often.

Skiing & Snow Boarding – Tips for training

If you are heading away skiing this year, some training for your holiday will go a long way, by that we mean some physical conditioning in preparation for the demands of the slopes. Several hours daily skiing takes a substantial effort and this drains your body physically, leaving you feeling fatigued. To prepare your body for optimum performance and minimise your chances of picking up an injury, here are a few tips for ski and snowboard fitness:

Get your heart pumping – work on some cardio

Fatigue is a big risk factor in skiing injuries, as most people will report getting injured later in to their day, when tiredness sets in. By working on your cardiovascular fitness before you go, you will not only increase your threshold for fatigue, you will also lower your injury risk. Dedicate 35-45 minutes, 3 times per week to jogging, cycling, swimming or playing football, tennis, other racquet sports etc. This will significantly help your cardiovascular fitness.

Strengthen up those legs

By working on some strength training you will give your legs a better chance at handling the demands of skiing or snowboarding all day. Performing exercises like squats, lunges, side lunges, dead lifts, single leg calf raises and step-ups are all helpful. As you build on this strength you can add in some additional activities including more explosive movements, Plyometric exercises such as hopping, bounding, squat thrusts, box jumps, side to side lunges are useful.

Build a strong core

Having a strong, stable centre of core muscles will help you to get the most out of your skiing. Plan to do some core strength exercises such as the plank, gluteal bridge, birddog, side plank, abdominal and oblique crunches. Swiss balls are another very versatile bit of kit to help you work on this.

How is your balance?

Standing on one leg for a minute is a good guide to how well you are able to balance, now apply that to balancing on a thin ski or snowboard whilst charging down a mountain and you can see how important balance is! Working on this before you go can really make a big difference, try and balance on each leg and when that gets too easy try balancing on one leg on top of a pillow. Not challenging enough? Try that with your eyes closed or by having someone throw a ball for you to catch or bouncing a ball against a wall yourself (with your eyes open of course!). There are other tools out there for those who are more advanced and want to really test their balance, bosu balls, wobble boards or wobble cushions make balancing very tricky indeed.

Thinking about starting running in January? Looking for some motivation to help you get started?

Get motivated with Jantastic. The running challenge that’ll get you running, keep you running and transform your running.

Check out Jantasctic 2014  

 

 

Jantastic is a free running challenge that encourages participation by all. It’s created by Marathon Talk and supported by England Athletics and Adidas that is intended to give your running and fitness a boost in the early part on the New Year right into the Spring. Jantastic is suitable for all running abilities and open to everybody.

This is a great way to set yourself personal running targets during January, February and March to help you stick to your New Year’s health and fitness goals. Whether you are a beginner taking up jogging for the first time, running to improve your own personal fitness, or training for your first Half or Full Marathon to the seasoned runner completing another marathon. Jantastic will help you along the way and keep you motivated. Its all about your personal aims, your goals and accomplished in your own time.

The Challenge starts on Monday January 6^th 2014, but you can join in at anytime.

Start running, stay running and transform your running. #JANTASTIC2014

www.jantastic.me

Chart Clinic Back Care Tips - Newsletter December 2013

Seasons Greetings From All Of Us At Chart Clinic

We Wish You All A Very Merry Christmas And A Happy And Healthy New Year!

Please enjoy our Christmas Newsletter with some healthy ‘backs and bone’ tips amongst other useful lifestyle advice…

Best wishes, The Chart Clinic Team

Although this is quite a funny picture, most of the above observations can actually be applied to the complaints that we see in our day to day practice. So what are the implications of the above mentioned annotations for good old Saint Nick?

Read on to see what is wrong with the way he goes about his business...

Does a whole years work in one night…

How does he do it? Santa on his sleigh with Rudolph and Co, delivering presents and gifts to all the children around the world in one night?! A stressful job if you ask me!

How many of you work long hours, face stressful jobs or have to meet tough deadlines? You may find that this causes you some stress. Sometimes this stress can manifest in physical symptoms that affect your muscles and joints. This may be headaches, back, neck or shoulder pain and tension.

Christmas can be a stressful time on top of a hectic lifestyle. How do you manage your stress and deal with it? There are lots of techniques and self help resources online to help combat stress and aid relaxation, for example Mood juice has some really useful sections on stress http://www.moodjuice.scot.nhs.uk/stress.asp.

We highly recommend our patients to our trusted colleague, emotional health consultant Wendy Fry at Be Positive. Wendy offers a range of really helpful approaches including Life Coaching, NLP, Hypnotherapy and EFT. Wendy is excellent at helping people with stress and all other emotional health challenges. Wendy provides highly professional and very relaxing sessions that will help you to work toward solutions and form an action plan for the future. This can help you to overcome any obstacles that you may face in day to day life and ease your stresses away – you can find her website link on our Partners page http://chartclinic.co.uk/partners.htm

What can we do? – We regularly help our patients manage some of these physical symptoms with Osteopathic or Sports Massage treatment, to help unwind tight, knotted muscles or, gently release stiff joints in the neck that can cause headaches.

Carries a heavy sack and lots of boxes…

Lifting heavy loads with poor posture puts you at risk of injury, most commonly in the back. If you are rushing or not taking care to lift properly, this increases your risk.

With any lifting, plan what you are going to do, do you need an extra pair of hands? Is your route to carry the load clear and free of obstacles? Lift properly; Position yourself directly above the load with you legs staggered either side either in a squat or lunge position, keeping your back upright and straight, bend your hips and knees to get lower. Bring the load close to your body and lift up from your legs.  Avoid twisting or bending your back and if you need to change your position move your feet  and not just your spine.

Is constantly bending and straining…

The highest incidence of back injuries we see come from bending and straining, for example patients often report– “I was twisting into the car with my back bent lifting out my child/shopping and I felt  my back go” or “I was bending down to pick up a sack of damp leaves in the garden and as I twisted to put them in the wheel barrow I felt something painful and a click in my back” or “I was sitting in my chair in the office, bent down and twisted to pick up my hand bag and my low back went”.

All of the above are illustrations of what we refer to as, mechanisms of injury, involving lifting a load with temporary maintenance of a poor posture – a high risk activity, especially for your lower back. Bending and straining especially when seated, places a huge amount of pressure on your spine and particularly the intervertebral discs, which if stressed too much, may bulge or prolapse giving you a ‘slipped disc’.

Bending is often the most convenient way to get down to the floor to pick up something, but it is not the most economical for your back. Look at a young infant or toddler; they will always squat down, bending through their hips and knees to pick something up. They also sit with their back totally straight – where did we lose this ability over the years? It is simply just a bad habit we have developed. Use the postural information in the last section to ensure you are lifting properly, bending your hips and knees to get down and not just your back – even if you are just picking up something as light as a dropped pen!

Is definitely overweight…

Why is Father Christmas always pictured having a big belly? Well as a child I always left a couple of mince pies, a beer and not forgetting a carrot for Rudolph, multiply that by a few billion children doing the same thing… well thinking about it, Santa isn’t doing too badly with his figure considering!

In all seriousness, we all know gaining a few extra pounds over the Christmas period is often an inevitable consequence of the seasonal indulgences. We are not dieticians at Chart Clinic, but what we do know is there is a positive correlation between being overweight and an increased incidence of back pain, and injury to other weight bearing joints i.e. the knees, hips, ankles and feet.

So, with any type of aches and pains, if you are leading a sedentary lifestyle, kick start your metabolism with some exercise. This will not only help you shed a few pounds but also improve your general musculoskeletal health.

Has to squeeze down narrow chimneys…

There is a good reason why in Victorian ages children were sent up the chimneys to give them a sweep. Now things have advanced and aside from Santa using a little magic I am sure that squeezing down chimneys does not apply to the general population. However if you are a plumber or electrician, or are doing some home DIY, you probably have to squeeze in some tight and awkward spaces yourself. Sometimes things are stored away in a corner that is awkward to get into. Unless you are a circus contortionist you are probably going to struggle with this type of activity, so take care and don’t push yourself too hard. Get some help if needed to lift or pull anything heavy and think about your posture, if it feels awkward in all likelihood it’s not great for your back so proceed with caution.

Eats an unbalanced diet…

We all know we should eat 5-a-day of fruit and veg and drink 2 litres of water a everyday, but for many the reality is we are eating too much convenience food and drinking too many teas and coffees, this is the tough act that we have to follow in order to achieve a balanced diet. Santa is clearly eating too many of the wrong things and rushing them down on the go, another consequence of hectic modern day living that many of us are presented with.

It is very important to eat the right things as well as getting some support from nutritional supplements, such as a good quality multi-vitamin, as they can make a massive difference.

At Chart Clinic we love to support local businesses and we are very lucky to have a fantastic, independent nutrition store in Reigate. They stock a vast range of nutritional supplements, organic food products and more, where you can go to get good, sound, nutritional advice that can really help make a difference.

“Food is the most important source of nutrients.” says Kate Segal of Inside Out Health, Reigate. “However much of the food we eat these days has travelled long distances, sat on shop shelves for days under harsh lights which can lead to nutrient levels being depleted. Months may elapse between harvesting and eating. Food may also be picked before it has reached its full nutrient potential and the soil may also be depleted of nutrient levels due to intensive farming. A multi vitamin and mineral can cover the bases as a support to a healthy diet.”

For more information and to read some really great, informative newsletters visit the Inside Out Health Stores Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/chartclinic#!/IOHUK

Santa’s sleigh, does it have a lumbar support?

Well I have never seen a sleigh with one! If you are not familiar with the term lumbar support, it simply refers to a bolster or pad to support your Lumbar spine - the 5 vertebrae between the bottom or your ribs and top of your sacrum and coccyx that forms your lower back.

An adjustable lumbar support is available in some cars and office chairs and is useful to help maintain the natural curvature of your lower back, boosting support and aiding your spines correct shape for optimum shock absorbency. Maintaining this natural curve in your lower back improves your sitting posture and prevents excessive wear and tear to the discs in between the bones of your spine.

You can create a lumbar support very easily by rolling up a bath towel into a cylindrical roll and placing this in the small of your lower back between you and the back rest. You may have to adjust this to get comfortable and re-roll the towel to keep its support through the day. More importantly if you are seated for a long period of time, be it at a desk or in a car driving, take a regular hourly break, get up out of your seat and move about to get the heart pumping and stretch any areas of your body that feel tight.

 

Here’s to a pain free Christmas and a healthy new year!

 

Crippling; Back Pain Risk for 6.5 Million Unpaid Carers in the UK...

BackCare Awareness Week (7-11th Oct) 2013: Caring for Carers

 

 

The UK is home to 7 million unpaid carers. These are people who provide regular, ongoing support and assistance to an ailing or disabled family member, friend or neighbour on a voluntary basis.

They represent an unpaid and often invisible workforce that saves the Government a staggering £119 billion every year – more than the Government’s entire annual NHS expenditure.

Due to the nature of their role, unpaid carers are often exposed to higher than usual levels of physical and emotional stress which puts their own health at risk.

Many carers help the person they care for with physical tasks, such as getting in and out of the bed, bath or chairs. Without advice and training in safe technique, the carer may be putting undue ‘biomechanical’ stress on their own bodies.

In addition to this, the role of carer, especially when caring for a spouse or close family member, can create unique emotional stresses. Both parties can struggle with issues such as dependency and loss, as they try to adapt to the changing relationship.

Over 70% the UK’s unpaid carers now suffer from back pain, and are a greater risk of developing chronic pain, which is highly disabling in a third of cases and life-long for the majority.

BackCare is working to help the UK’s unpaid carers with the launch of a national campaign called ‘Caring for Carers’ during this year’s BackCare Awareness Week (7-11^th October 2013).

The week will kick off with a radio day of live interviews on regional and national stations to raise awareness of the key issues. BackCare will be distributing a campaign pack featuring educational materials, including the Carer’s Guide and DVD.

The campaign is being run in collaboration with several organisations, including Carer’s Trust, Arc Learning, Guideposts Trust, Carers of Epsom, Action for Carers and the White Lodge Centre.

BackCare members and partners will also be running local events up and down the country in clinics and carer centres to coordinate with the campaign. To learn more about BackCare please visit www.backcare.org.uk, email info@backcare.org.uk or call 020 8977 5474

 

For more information about BackCare visit www.backcare.org.uk

To find out how an Osteopath can help you visit www.chartclinic.co.uk