Why I did not Start Running Until my Mid-20s
As a kid, I loved sports. I would look forward to PE classes and would always ask my mother to sign me up for sport-focused summer camps: cross-country biking, climbing, swimming, lacrosse, kayaking, I loved it all. But around the age of 15 or so, I started to have knee issues. I would not be able to do any sport without my knees getting swollen the day after, sometimes to the point that I could move them at all. I could not dance, I could not run, and even ice skating would lead to knee soreness! No doctor seemed to be able to point out the cause of these issues and the only "treatment" I was given were knee braces to wear on the days my knees were sore.
A Youth Without Sports
Because of these issues I stopped all sports except for a little bit of salsa dancing and some circuit workouts on hydraulic training machines at the gym when I entered university. It was not until, many years later, I did some research on the possible causes of knee issues and pain, that I started to have hope that I could one day enjoy doing sports again without fearing causing permanent damage to my joints.
Identifying the causes of my knee issues
My two main issues were bad habits I had kept from ballet dancing and weak stabilizer muscles in my lower body.
From doing ballet as a kid and teen, I had taken the habit of keeping my feet pointing out (duck feet). When running, it would lead to misalignment between my thighs and lower legs. This is extremely dangerous for the knees as it causes additional friction.
From doing minimal strength training and growing up relatively fast between the age of 15 and 17, I had developed weaknesses in the stabilizer muscles that normally keep feet, ankles, knees and hips in alignment. Doing squats without seeing my knees move inward was inconceivable, and lunges were painful to do. With nearly every movement, my joints would bend and twist in all sorts of directions other than forward.
Working on my own solutions
For anybody else facing similar issues I would highly recommend going to a physiotherapist specialized in sport rehabilitation and experienced in working with runners. Unfortunately, as a new immigrant to Canada I did not know much about my options here, so I started a rehabilitation program on my own to improve my balance, joint stability, and coordination.
Everything is connected
When it comes to joint stability, everything is connected: weak feet leads to unstable ankles, weak ankles lead to unstable knees, that lead to unstable hips and just poor running form overall. From the top down, a weak core would also lead to unstable hips, leading to misalignments at the knees and then to ankle and foot issues.
So I decided to work on the extremes first and then move towards the point of reference that is my knee. I started with balance-challenging core exercises and barefoot training to strengthen my feet.
The core
PLANKS, PLANKS, MORE PLANKS and a few bridges too! I started with regular planks from my knees and elbows, side planks, and bridges. When better, I moved to planks on my toes and hands, then to planks with arm raises and/or leg raises. When this became easier, I started doing the same exercises with my feet, shoulders, or elbows on a big Swiss ball.
Why no crunches? I believe that doing crunches does not really help when the goal is to stabilize the upper body and hips to avoid side to side swinging motion when running or to realign the pelvis for a good posture. We are not preparing the muscles for short powerful contractions (like crunches) but to remain tight and to stabilize the joints for extended periods of time.
The feet
GET NUDE! Barefoot training is a great way to strengthen the feet. I started by just staying on one foot, close to a wall (for safety) and close my eyes. I would then try remaining stable with my other leg lifted forward, back, and to the side. When better at it, I then tried the same exercises on my tip toes. Then, I would challenge my balance further by doing exercises on unstable surfaces. I would do heel raises and half-squats on a Bosu ball and circles on a wobble board. To strengthen my feet's arches, I would grab towels or socks with my feet and other toe gripping type of exercises.
Here is a video of an interesting routine dedicated to foot strengthening by fitness instructor Caroline Jordan of San Francisco:
You can learn more about my journey to becoming a pain-free runner in these two other posts:
http://www.ready2run.ca/2013/03/focus-on-knee-injury-prevention-for_10.html
http://www.ready2run.ca/2013/03/focus-on-knee-injury-prevention-for_20.html
As a kid, I loved sports. I would look forward to PE classes and would always ask my mother to sign me up for sport-focused summer camps: cross-country biking, climbing, swimming, lacrosse, kayaking, I loved it all. But around the age of 15 or so, I started to have knee issues. I would not be able to do any sport without my knees getting swollen the day after, sometimes to the point that I could move them at all. I could not dance, I could not run, and even ice skating would lead to knee soreness! No doctor seemed to be able to point out the cause of these issues and the only "treatment" I was given were knee braces to wear on the days my knees were sore.
A Youth Without Sports
Because of these issues I stopped all sports except for a little bit of salsa dancing and some circuit workouts on hydraulic training machines at the gym when I entered university. It was not until, many years later, I did some research on the possible causes of knee issues and pain, that I started to have hope that I could one day enjoy doing sports again without fearing causing permanent damage to my joints.
Identifying the causes of my knee issues
My two main issues were bad habits I had kept from ballet dancing and weak stabilizer muscles in my lower body.
From doing ballet as a kid and teen, I had taken the habit of keeping my feet pointing out (duck feet). When running, it would lead to misalignment between my thighs and lower legs. This is extremely dangerous for the knees as it causes additional friction.
From doing minimal strength training and growing up relatively fast between the age of 15 and 17, I had developed weaknesses in the stabilizer muscles that normally keep feet, ankles, knees and hips in alignment. Doing squats without seeing my knees move inward was inconceivable, and lunges were painful to do. With nearly every movement, my joints would bend and twist in all sorts of directions other than forward.
Working on my own solutions
For anybody else facing similar issues I would highly recommend going to a physiotherapist specialized in sport rehabilitation and experienced in working with runners. Unfortunately, as a new immigrant to Canada I did not know much about my options here, so I started a rehabilitation program on my own to improve my balance, joint stability, and coordination.
Everything is connected
When it comes to joint stability, everything is connected: weak feet leads to unstable ankles, weak ankles lead to unstable knees, that lead to unstable hips and just poor running form overall. From the top down, a weak core would also lead to unstable hips, leading to misalignments at the knees and then to ankle and foot issues.
So I decided to work on the extremes first and then move towards the point of reference that is my knee. I started with balance-challenging core exercises and barefoot training to strengthen my feet.
The core
PLANKS, PLANKS, MORE PLANKS and a few bridges too! I started with regular planks from my knees and elbows, side planks, and bridges. When better, I moved to planks on my toes and hands, then to planks with arm raises and/or leg raises. When this became easier, I started doing the same exercises with my feet, shoulders, or elbows on a big Swiss ball.
Why no crunches? I believe that doing crunches does not really help when the goal is to stabilize the upper body and hips to avoid side to side swinging motion when running or to realign the pelvis for a good posture. We are not preparing the muscles for short powerful contractions (like crunches) but to remain tight and to stabilize the joints for extended periods of time.
The feet
GET NUDE! Barefoot training is a great way to strengthen the feet. I started by just staying on one foot, close to a wall (for safety) and close my eyes. I would then try remaining stable with my other leg lifted forward, back, and to the side. When better at it, I then tried the same exercises on my tip toes. Then, I would challenge my balance further by doing exercises on unstable surfaces. I would do heel raises and half-squats on a Bosu ball and circles on a wobble board. To strengthen my feet's arches, I would grab towels or socks with my feet and other toe gripping type of exercises.
Here is a video of an interesting routine dedicated to foot strengthening by fitness instructor Caroline Jordan of San Francisco:
You can learn more about my journey to becoming a pain-free runner in these two other posts:
http://www.ready2run.ca/2013/03/focus-on-knee-injury-prevention-for_10.html
http://www.ready2run.ca/2013/03/focus-on-knee-injury-prevention-for_20.html