Injury – Bellville Running

COVID-19 and the athletic heart

7th February 2022 Quintus Van Rensburg No Comments Health, Injury, Recovery

Reports have indicated that COVID-19 may cause heart damage in hospitalized patients with severe cases of the disease, but it’s unclear whether cardiac injury also occurs in infected patients who are asymptomatic or experience only mild symptoms. This question is of particular concern for athletes because myocarditis–inflammation in the heart usually caused by viral infection–can cause sudden cardiac death during exercise. In a special report published in JAMA Cardiology, a group led by sports cardiologists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Emory University School of Medicine offers guidance for athletes’ return to play after they have recovered from COVID-19.

The researchers observed that athletes infected with COVID-19 who experienced no or mild symptoms did not exhibit signs of heart injury. For such athletes, they do not recommend detailed cardiac screening. The prevalence of cardiac injury in athletes who were infected with COVID-19 is still unknown, however, and the team believes it’s prudent to screen for heart damage in athletes with moderate to severe symptoms. The experts also note that despite recent small studies showing that cardiac magnetic resonance imaging has detected potential cardiac abnormalities in individuals who have recovered from COVID-19, they feel that current evidence doesn’t justify its use as a universal screening tool for athletes’ return to play.

Mobility Exercises

19th August 2021 Quintus Van Rensburg No Comments Biomechanics, Injury, Training

Mobility training helps develop a full range of motion in your legs. It also plays a crucial role in injury prevention and generally improves joint and muscle health.

Starting with Mobility Exercises

When starting, I suggest a Build from the Base approach. The exercises below are in that order. Start with Foot Doming and progress up the body to the hips. Start with 10 minutes a day, every day, until you have done all the exercises a few days later.

When you have mastered all the exercises, you may start increasing your sets and load.

Cultivating a daily mobility practice will enable you to resolve recurring issues before an injury occurs.

When building up to long-distance, we need to avoid layering strength on top of movement dysfunction.

Start with this basic approach if you have no existing problem areas.

Focus on Problem Areas

If you suffer from recurring running injuries, start by focusing on the problem area. Not only there, but also the parts above and below the problem. When you have sufficiently recovered, you can start with the basic approach.

Exercise	Problem Area/s
Foot Doming	Foot, Ankle
Toe Resistance	Bunion, Foot, Ankle
Heel Drop	Foot, Heel, Achilles
Ankle Turn	Ankle, Calf, Shin
Hip Hike	Knee, ITB, Hip, Glutes, Core
Step Down	Ankle, Knee, Quads, Hip
Step Up	Quads, Glutes
Hip Rotation	Hip, Core
Hip Extension	Glutes
Back Extension	Hip, Glutes, Core, Back, Spine, Shoulders

Mobility Exercises (Click on the exercise for the detail.)

New guideline on treating runner’s knee

5th March 2020 Quintus Van Rensburg No Comments Injury

University of Montana Assistant Professor Richard Willy is the lead author on a paper that offers new guidelines for treating patellofemoral pain, often known as “runner’s knee.”

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) affects one in four of the general population every year, with women reporting PFP twice as often as men. The pain presents at the front of the knee, under and around the kneecap. Willy’s paper finds that exercise therapy – namely hip and knee strengthening treatments prescribed by a physical therapist – is the best recovery approach for individuals with PFP.

Willy is an assistant professor in UM’s School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences.

The recommendations were published Sept. 1 as a Clinical Practice Guideline in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, the official scientific journal of the Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy. The Clinical Practice Guideline aims to improve the quality and standardization of care provided to patients with knee pain while also providing reimbursement guidelines for insurance companies. Key takeaways from the Clinical Practice Guideline include:

An exercise program that gradually increases activities such as running, exercise classes, sports or walking, is the best way to prevent PFP.
An important way to reduce the risk of PFP is maximizing leg strength, particularly the thigh muscles.
Pain does not always mean there is damage to the knee.

Maximal running shoes may increase injury risk to some runners

7th November 2018 Quintus Van Rensburg No Comments Injury, Running shoes

Lower leg pain and injuries have long been a problem for runners, but research at Oregon State University-Cascades has shown that one type of running shoe may increase such risks for some runners.

Researchers in the Functional Orthopedic Research Center of Excellence (FORCE) Lab compared the biomechanics associated with “maximal” and “neutral” running shoes in tests with female runners. The study concluded that runners experienced a higher impact peak and increased loading rate with the “maximal” shoes. Increases in both factors are associated with a greater likelihood of injury, such as plantar fasciitis and tibial stress fractures.

The study was published in The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine and is believed to be the first rigorous analysis of impacts associated with maximal shoes.

Maximal running shoes feature increased cushioning, particularly in the forefoot region of the midsole, and have gained popularity since being introduced in 2010. More than 20 varieties of maximal shoes are on the market.

Runners wearing maximal shoes, the researchers wrote, have reported feeling the extra cushion after running two to three miles. As a result, the researchers did not expect to find increases in impact peak or loading rate in runners wearing maximal shoes.

In the FORCE Lab study, researchers evaluated the impacts on runners’ feet and legs before and after a simulated 5 000 meter (about 3 miles) run on a treadmill. Each subject wore a neutral running shoe (New Balance 880) for one test and then, after a seven to 10-day waiting period, repeated the procedure with a maximal shoe (Hoke One One Bondi 4). In each test, 3D movements and forces were measured by monitoring reflective markers placed on the runners’ shoes and legs and by having the subjects run over a “force plate” that recorded the forces being applied as the runner’s foot hit the surface.

The study also evaluated the degree of “peak eversion,” the outward turning of the foot, a factor associated with injury risk. The researchers found no difference between the maximal and neutral shoes.

Maximal shoes are becoming very popular, but without controlled studies, clinicians have been unable to make science-based recommendations to runners.

Photo by Rob Kerr / OSU Cascades FORCE Lab running shoe research with Christine Pollard