Earlier this week, the Luna Chix held an Injury Prevention Clinic at Runners Grove. This was the first occasion in which we had the entire 2009 team together. Marguerite Ruminski of Healthy Sins (708-227-7177) provided us with a fantastic spread of delicious, healthy snacks. Of course, there was also plenty of Luna Electrolyte drink and Luna bars for each participant.
The clinic started off with one question. What is the number one cause of running injuries? Overuse. We then covered the top 5 ways to prevent running injuries:
- Avoid the “toos”: too much, too soon, too intense
- Proper shoes
- Right surface
- Keep the balance
- Stay loose – STRETCH!
All stretching should be done with warm muscles. This means you should stretch after a brief 10 minute warm up or after your workout. You should never stretch cold muscles. All stretches should be held for 30 seconds. The main stretches covered were:
- Hamstring – place one leg on a chair, step or bench. Straighten leg, flex foot, keep back straight and lean gently into the stretch toward your toes
- Calf – Stand on a curb or step with heel over edge, keep knee straight, push heel slowly down; Using a wall, place your toes on the wall with heel on floor, gently lean in toward the wall
- Quad/Hip Flexor – Stand on one foot, bend knee of opposite foot and grab foot – not toes – with the hand on the same side of the body. Keep knee directly down, do not push out to the side or lean. Keep standing foot pointing forward.
- Hip Rotator – Cross one foot over opposite knee. Brace yourself on a steady object and move to a sitting position. Point the bent knee down.
- Groin – sit with bottoms of feet pushed together, knees to sides; move feet in as close to groin as possible, lean forward keeping back straight – do NOT overdo this stretch!
With each of these stretches, the audience got up and performed them – and held each stretch for 30 seconds. We covered some of the most common running injuries and what stretches runners can do to help prevent those injuries. After a brief question and answer session, we raffled off some great Runners Grove prizes. As a “thank you” to all participants, everyone walked away with a goody bag full of a variety of items.
If you were unable to come to this clinic, we certainly hope you’ll consider joining us for the next one!
