physio - April 10, 2014

Jog on!

Even though it takes a lot more than just being quick to be a good soccer player as you need vision and skill to be the best, being quick on your feet is important and helps you get on your way to being the best!

I dont know a great deal about running but I do know some stuff…the most important stuff! I have been a runner for quite sometime now, going out on jogs each and every morning (even when it is snowing) as running does wonders for my soccer keeps me nimble on my feet, faster and helps me keep up with the other players with good pace throughout a whole 90 minute match! I do try other cardio exercises like swimming but to me nothing can beat the experience of running.. as if your on the go.. out there in the great outdoors nothing really beats a good jog!

Quick small strides when running is the best.

Good posture is key to running!
When your going running if you find that your neck starts hurting or your finding that your back starts straining which it shouldn’t because you shouldn’t be using these body parts when your running, then I would suggest that your technique needs looking at. A common cause of strain and tension on the upper body can be that your posture isn’t right when you are running.

You must make sure that your head never looks down on the floor when you are running this is one of the worst things you can do as it causes neck strain and it also effects the back as well, so instead make sure you focus on something in the difference, keep your head up and keep it there looking straight ahead at all times.

keep your shoulders relaxed and down, tensed up shoulder creates bad posture, something else you nee do be aware of is how you are using your arms. Arms can help pump you on whilst running but you must not rotate your body when swinging your arms or make your arms cross over to the other side of your body as this create unnecessarily movement that will tire you out and is bad for your posture when running. SO DON’T DO IT!

Warm up before you go out running, I can not stress this enough because if you dont your risking a pretty bad injury like a torn ACL…even the best of the best runners and soccer players can end up pulling a muscles or tearing a ligament if they do not warm up properly before hand. Warm up is meant to stretch out your muscles and make them flexible and able to take the strains and stretching running involves without tearing. Pilates, yoga are great if you dont like the look of conventional stretches but make sure you spend a good 10 minutes fully stretching out your whole body.

Remember never risk running if something is hurting as carrying on can cause a whole load more problems later on!

Running can play havoc on your feet. If you suffer from aching sore feet during or after a run something isn’t right! Make sure your feet hit the ground correctly as not to over pronate your feet or under pronate your feet whilst running if you find that this is the case then buying some insoles to correct this is the answer as over or under pronation in the feet can cause lots of problems including putting extra stress and strain on the arches of your feet which over time if nothing is done about it can cause things like plantar fasciitis, not only that but bad pronation can cause stress to even travel up to your shins causing shin splints as well. Have you got high or low arches? (sometimes called fallen or flat arches) can also be a reason to pain in the feet whilst running this is because the arches are less able to take to stress and pressure that running puts them under, there is also a increased risk of plantar fasciitis because inflammation is more common in those suffering form plantar fasciitis, but it is again easily corrected with a decent pair of correctly fitted and supporting insoles! It maybe a good idea looking on the nuovahealth blog as they have some pretty cool information on all of this kind of stuff: http://nuovahealth.co.uk/blog

Something else you should try to always do is to keep your muscles hydrated and in doing so subtle and ready to go! You muscles need hydration if not they will dry up and become a lot more susceptible to injury as they lack moisture and thus can no longer stretch out. Keep a water bottle and take regular swigs of water when your out on a long run!

Keep things fun!
Keep timing your self when you go running. Some people will often feel that they are going nowhere with their new running regime and give up… set yourself targets and see if you can beat personal records its much funner like this! Some people may get bored when running listening to music may help, music is also good with keeping you on pace an will hopefully give you momentum to help spur you on further because basically it will distract your mind from the tiredness and the build up of the lactic acid when you run!

Now jog on!

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