The off season is about resting the body and mind after the last season, so you are ready to go again next season. However, the challenging part is finding a balance between recovery and not losing all of your hard work from the previous season. If you spend the entire off season on the couch, […]
Running is a natural movement that we all can do; however, often we simply transition from walking to running, and then gradually increase the distance and speed. Research indicates over 70% of recreational and elite runners sustain overuse injuries during any 12 month period, so perhaps running is not as natural as we would like […]
We all know that rest is important for the body to recover, but what does recovery actually mean and how often and how much is necessary? You need to overload the body through training to stimulate the body to improve your muscular strength and endurance. However, continuing to load the body without adequate rest will […]
Plantar fasciopathy is the most common cause of plantar (under-side) heel pain. It is an overuse condition of the plantar fascia at the attachment to the heel. The plantar fascia is involved in foot biomechanics as it provides arch support and absorbs shock throughout gait. People with low arches or flat feet can have an […]
Ping! There it went. A sudden pain and tightness was felt through the back of my right thigh and I immediately tumbled to the ground. It was a hot January afternoon and I was being put through my paces with repeated sprint efforts during the preseason training for AFL. Fortunately for me, this was my […]
Any run over five minutes is highly reliant on the aerobic system. Therefore regular aerobic runs (commonly known as ‘tempo runs’) during the week and the long slow weekend run are critical for improving performance. However these runs won’t develop your muscular strength or speed and can become very monotonous. For this reason interval sessions […]
During exercise, the body experiences micro-damage to tissue, inflammation, accumulation of metabolic waste products, reduced fuel stores and neural fatigue. Although these implications sound detrimental, they are in fact a necessary process as long as rest and recovery takes place afterwards. When we allow ourselves sufficient recovery time, it ensures that we restore both physiological […]
Runners are well aware that training load increases have to be gradual, otherwise they are at risk of injury. To become a faster runner, the load must be increased in order to encourage adaptation, however not be so high that the tissue becomes overloaded resulting in an injury. Runners clearly struggle to find this sweet […]
I see many runners in the clinic and more running injuries than I would like to! These injured runners are often lean and very fit, though are often quite weak in their major running muscles. They may have developed excellent cardiovascular fitness with all the running they have managed to get in over the past […]
The achilles tendon connects the calf to the foot and plays a major role in propulsion as well as energy absorption during walking, running and jumping. Pain commonly occurs when the tendon is exposed to an unaccustomed load which can often be the result of: A sudden increase in training Biomechanical failure causing increased work at […]