Running to Keep Fit

This is a 4 part series for the runners out there. Not to overload you with information, but to give you something to think about during your next run and BEFORE you go and invest in another expensive pair of running shoes. Don’t put all your faith in the ‘expert’ at the shoe store. They may know about external biomechanics, but do they know what is happening within your kinetic chain . . . what your issues are and what YOU need from your equipment.

I’m going to keep it very simple. 

Our tendons connect our muscles to our skeleton. The brain uses nerves to send instructions to our muscles and myofascial sheaths (like a strong, thin muscular/tendinous sling), “glue’ our muscular-skeletal system to keep tensional integrity.

These myofascial slings criss-cross around the body, holding it all together. If there is an imbalance in these structures, the body will be pulled out of alignment and the body will start to compensate.

Investing in a complete intrinsic biomechanical assessment will help you identify what compensations are at play, but in the mean time, take a read and enlighten your mind.

There are 4 myofascial lines that take prominence when we run

The first myofascial line we will concentrate on is the
SUPERFICIAL BACK LINE

Superficial Back Line

Superficial Back Line (SBL) – is extremely important as it consists of muscles along the back of the body starting from under the foot at the big toe (plantar fascia), over the heel, achilles and into the calf muscles, linking into the hamstrings, through the pelvis and lower back, up along the spine, over the head and finally ending at the frontal bone on the skull. 

The SBL’s job is to keep the thoracic (chest) area in full upright extension while the body’s weight is shifting forward during the run.

Your job is to strengthen your Superficial Back Line.

There is a lot to consider in just this one segment, hence the 4 part series 🙂

We tend to spend a lot of our lives slumped forward (in flexion). Whether it is working over a laptop, driving, watching tv or even just standing with poor posture. Are you checking your posture right now? Yip? Notice how you adjust your body. Now take into consideration all those body parts mentioned above. What are they doing?

More often than not, when told to stand up straight, we shift our shoulder back, but it’s more complex than that, the body has to rely on multiple systems to comply.

So, if your posture needs attention and you want to improve your forward stance while running and minimise hip dropping, you may need to improve your SBL function. Do you have niggles in your achilles or dropped arches in the feet, or muscle fatigue along your back?

Strengthening Your Superficial Back Line

Do conditioning work on the relevant muscles mentioned above - using eccentric, concentric and isometric contractions (in non-biomechanical language . . .
lifting up, down and holding position of the body while not changing the resistance). Get those muscles strong!

  • Make those muscles long.
  • Stretch them out after exercising.
  • Get a roller and massage the muscles along the SBL. The more discomfort when rolling usually highlights the more dysfunctional muscle area.
  • listen to your body.

To work the muscles in your feet . . .

Lay a towel on the floor and using your toes, scrunch/pick it up (barefoot of course;) repeat this until your feet are tired on both sides.

Then get a tennis ball and roll it along the underside of your foot for a few minutes each side.

Work on your thoracic (back and chest area) mobility.

Foam roll along the spine.

Check out these 2 really good examples
by Tim Keeley on YouTube . . . 

Lie on your back over a Swiss ball, relax for 10 minutes (but don’t fall off!)

Then go out and enjoy your run!
Notice how your body feels. Is it better? Worse? No different?

Watch out for part 2 - where I’ll be talking about the Lateral Line and how the ITB band fits into this equation and how you can keep your body well prepared to carry on running safely.

Additional Information:
Read more detail on myofascial lines in Anatomy Trains by Thomas W. Meyers

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What Are You Waiting For? Let’s Improve Your Intrinsic Biomechanics Now!

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