Are you hamstrung before you start?

One of the most common injuries in running is to the hamstrings. Or typically, the pain often presents itself in the hamstrings due to biomechanical load from another area that is not functioning correctly. Even if you tear the hamstring during sprinting, the underlying cause is usually biomechanical, and unless that cause is addressed the problem will become recurrent or simply just not go away. You could even just have a hamstring that feels tight or won’t stretch out properly, either way the cause is usually biomechanical.

Often these biomechanical causes are due to the pelvis. A ‘rotated’ pelvis, (which is where the pelvic bone gets stuck in an abnormal position) can go unnoticed for many years until the compensations start to cause problems. Typically this is caused by unaccustomed lifting or carrying, performing a repetitive movement abnormally or perhaps compensating for another biomechanical issue elsewhere in the body. When the pelvis rotates, the piriformis muscle on the outside of your hip goes into a protective spasm. This spasm effectively prevents the joint from functioning correctly and so other areas have to compensate. If the problem is caught early enough, treatment will help. If however the problem is left for more than 6 weeks, the muscle will change its composition and become fibrotic and be unable to function normally. In theses cases treatment will help in the short term, but whenever you start training again, the problem recurs.

This background commonly affects the hamstring – this is how. The problem is that when the piriformis muscle goes into spasm, it causes the sciatic nerve to become tight. It does this because the pelvis doesn’t move as well as normal, so the nerve becomes stiff and also because the nerve can run through the very muscle that’s in spasm. The body cannot allow damage to the sciatic nerve, its one of the main nerves in the body, so the muscles that would protect it go into a protective spasm. One of which is the hamstring group.

This protective spasm of the hamstrings can cause a number of problems that cause symptoms in the hamstring itself. It can make the hamstring feel tight and stiff. It can make the hamstring feel inflexible as it’s under constant tension. It can also cause a functional muscle imbalance. In other words, if the hamstrings are found to be ‘weak’ in comparison to the quadriceps (quads), one of the causes of this muscle imbalance could be the inability of the hamstring to fire correctly due to its state of tension, rather than it being fundamentally weak.

To manage this cause we first have to return the abnormal muscle tone in the piriformis muscle to normal. In other words you have to do ‘anti-spasm’ exercises for the muscle. Stretching or flexibility work just won’t cut it. You need to return the muscle to normal function, not just stretch it. That is why stretching the hamstrings isn’t always the answer to your hamstring problems. In fact stretching or mobilising your sciatic nerve is far more effective in these cases. Once the spasm is eradicated as much as possible, then you have to perform exercises to stabilise the pelvis. In other words exercises that allow your muscles to control your pelvis and trunk without them needing to go into spasm. Part of this process is achieved by so-called ‘core stability exercises’, but also you need to speak to your physio about plyometric exercises for pelvic muscles that you can do in the gym.

This is usually sufficient to eradicate the hamstring pain is gradual in onset. In the case of a hamstring tear which was caused by a high velocity movement like sprinting; it may well be necessary to follow this with a progressive hamstring rehabilitation programme as well. But unless the biomechanical cause have been eradicated, then that process is unlikely to be successful.

There are other causes of hamstring pain, this is only one, but it is common enough for you to need to understand it, especially if you problem is not going away.

A CD ROM software program that helps you asses your biomechanics with the software prescribing the exercises needed to remove these biomechanical problems and in turn help manage and prevent the types of hamstring injuries we’re talking about in this article is available from HumanLab Sports, as a result of one of the largest studies in to biomechanics ever undertaken. Go to www.humanlabsports.com

To wedge or not to wedge that is the question

For years cyclists have been looking at different ways of maximising their power output on their bike and reducing their risk of injury. Different ways they have tried includes changing their bike set up, improving their fitness levels and in more extreme cases wedging their feet on the cleats or pedals to counter any abnormal biomechanics that may be causing pain or reducing performance.

These methods can be very effective, but there are times when they are not. Take the example of the wedging of the feet in the pedal I an attempt to correct an overly flat foot in the shoe or cleat. Bearing in mind that 60% of the biomechanical problems that exist in feet are compensations for faulty biomechanics in the pelvis or hips, then you can see that it’s critical to ensure that the hips and pelvis are fully functional before the feet are addressed.

A ‘rotated’ pelvis, (which is where the pelvic bone gets stuck in an abnormal position) can go unnoticed for many years until the compensations start to cause problems. Typically a rotated pelvis is caused by unaccustomed lifting or carrying, performing a repetitive movement abnormally or perhaps compensating for another biomechanical issue elsewhere in the body. When the pelvis rotates, the piriformis muscle on the outside of your hip goes into a protective spasm. This spasm effectively prevents the joint from functioning correctly and so other areas have to compensate. If the problem is caught early enough, treatment will help. If however the problem is left for more than 6 weeks, the muscle will change its composition and become fibrotic and be unable to function normally. In theses cases treatment will help in the short term, but whenever you start training again, the problem recurs.

The body can compensate in a variety of ways for the rotated pelvis causing a leg length discrepancy, causing a variety of potential problem areas.

Common examples are that the foot can flatten to shorten the length of the longer leg or the opposite foot can increase the height of its arch to lengthen the shorter leg. Alternatively the knee of the longer leg can bend more to shorten it, or the knee of the shorter leg can bend less to lengthen it. In addition, the spine can side bend more to allow the shorter leg greater reach. These are only some of the many ways the body tries to compensate for a leg length discrepancy. Also bear in mind that the problems are worse in cycling than many other sports as you are fixed in a position determined by an external factor, unlike with running where you are relatively free to compensate how you like. All of these compensations though will increase the load on the structures that are doing more work. Typically they will result in knee pain, back pain, thigh or hamstring pain and hip pain. Moreover they make it very difficult to set your bike up correctly, as how do you know whether to set the seat/pedal relationship right for the longer leg or the shorter leg?

To manage these issues, we first have to return the abnormal muscle tone in the pelvis (the piriformis muscle) to normal. In other words you have to do ‘anti-spasm’ exercises for the muscle. Stretching or flexibility work just won’t cut it. You need to return the muscle to normal function, not just stretch it. Once the spasm is eradicated as much as possible, then you have to perform exercises to stabilise the pelvis. In other words exercises that allow your muscles to control your pelvis and trunk without them needing to go into spasm. Part of this process is achieved by so-called ‘core stability exercises’, but also you need to speak to your physio about plyometric exercises for pelvic muscles that you can do in the gym.

Once your pelvis in good shape, and if you continue to get problems with your troublesome body part, then you can safely get a qualified practitioner or specialist to consider prescribing the wedges.

So if anyone says to you that wedges in your shoes can help with your knee, back or hip pain, you must make sure that they check your pelvic biomechanics first.

For more information on this and other biomechanics issues please visit www.humanlabsports.com or call +44 208 543 5288 and ask for Andy.

Biomechanical assessment

Running with an injury or over-training? Often it is best to go back to basics

Injuries can affect us all regardless of age, sex or ability. But can we manage or limit the number of times we get injured? We can by going back to basics.
But we are not talking about fitness levels and stretching. Instead we mean back to biomechanics.
By assessing, on a regular basis, your biomechanics you can help eliminate and prevent a number of injuries and problems that athletes suffer from. The body compensating for weak links can cause restriction that in turn can cause pain and injury.
Calf and hamstring injuries are commonly caused by a tight sciatic nerve. The muscles provide a protective spasm to the nerve during locomotion and if stretched or loaded sufficiently the muscles can spasm enough to cause themselves to tear – or cramp up – which can feel like a tear. By mobilising the nerve it releases tension in the muscles and reduces the likelihood of this event.

Tight calves
TIGHT calves can cause over pronation. The dorsi-flexion (moving the ankle upwards) is not available from the ankle joint due to the tight calves, so it has to come from the sub talar joint. It comes as part of the pronation mechanism though and so increases the amount of pronation as well. This causes shin related injuries as well as knee and Achilles problems.
Remember that tight calves are often from a tight sciatic nerve, so by mobilising the nerve, we can help with preventing and normalise these injuries.
The effects our biomechanics have on our body and the vicious circle of injury and pain it can cause is shown again when discussing your hips and pelvis which are so important to our running but generally overlooked until the athlete is in severe pain or in fact injured.

Rotated pelvis
A ROTATED pelvis can go unnoticed for many years until the compensations start to cause problems. Typically a leg length discrepancy (LLD) can result from a rotated pelvis and the leg must compensate for this. It’ll either flatten the foot (pronate it), bend the knee more, or drop the hip more. Pronation will increase the load on the leg (see ‘Tight calves’ section), and dropping the hip will increase the the spasm to the glutes / piriformis ‘prophylactically’, in other words preventatively, (and also if necessary), then we are helping to reduce all of the above.

Assess yourself
AS a result of one of the largest studies in biomechanics by Galileo Health and distributed by HumanLab Sports we can all benefit from assessing our biomechanics, in the comfort of our own home. You do not need to be a clinician as they have developed a CD ROM software program that helps you assess yourself with the software prescribing the exercises needed to remove the problems and in turn prevent or normalise the body from developing them in the future.
As part of the program is injury prevention the CD takes you through a series of core stability work educating you on how to engage your core and to engage it while doing peripheral movements, so it becomes second nature to you when running.
It finishes off with the final section on the trunk and torso exercises.

Benefits of biomechanics
SOME athletes out there might not feel the need to help prevent a problem they don’t feel they have. So let’s look briefly at some of the other benefits biomechanics has on your performance. A tight sciatic nerve or tight piriformis (hip) can affect your stride length, your knee drive and your power output.
A tight sciatic nerve can affect your quadriceps output by as much as 15 per cent. The effect of biomechanics for the professional athlete and the novice for injury prevention or performance is a must have tool. It will help you prevent injuries, enjoy your running and help with your performance.
The program used in helping address any issues you may have now or in the future is worth having. But it doesn’t stop there.
It can be used as a training guide to indicate that you may be over-training or that a new technique or training plan is causing you problems.

GO AND take a look at the website www.humanlabsports.com
and see what you think. The CD-ROM is priced at only $39.10

Pain in your knee?

Sometimes when you have knee pain and you’ve been to see specialists and nothing seems to be the answer, you do wonder whether you’ll end up needing divine intervention. With biomechanics becoming more widely understood, we now know that by sorting out your biomechanics, we can often reduce the need to get down on your knees and pray. The affects our biomechanics have on our body and the vicious circle of injury and pain it can cause is one of the main reasons knee pain can be recurrent.

A rotated pelvis for example can go unnoticed for many years until the compensations start to cause problems. This abnormal pelvic position often causes one leg to appear longer or shorter and the body must compensate for this. Typically one way it compensates is to overly flatten (pronate) the foot of the longer leg to shorten it, another way is to bend the knee more.

Unfortunately both of these options will increase the load on the knee. If the foot over pronates, it will cause the leg to internally rotate excessively. This rotation force will often be absorbed at the knee, which can result in pain. If the knee bends too much during mid-stance phase, this will de-stabilise the knee and it will naturally want to rotate inwards. If this is combined with an already over pronating foot, the problem is exaggerated. Both of these situations are likely to cause knee pain. Certainly if knee pain already exists this type of load will prevent it from settling down, even if it isn’t the main cause of the problem.

Managing these biomechanical issues is critical if your knee pain is to be managed and allow you to return to long term running. Bearing in mind that 60% of the biomechanical problems with your feet are due to compensations for faulty hip or pelvic biomechanics, it is important that before we start thinking about orthotics, we need to check out the hips and pelvis.

The first thing to do is to manage the cause. In other words we need to re-orientate the pelvis to reduce the leg length discrepancy. To do this we have to reduce the muscle spasm in the outside of the hip (in a muscle called piriformis) to allow the joint to re-orientate itself. The best way to do this is by performing ‘anti-spasm’ exercises for the muscle. Stretching or flexibility work just won’t cut it. You need to return the muscle to normal function, not just stretch it. Once the spasm is eradicated as much as possible, then the leg length typically returns to normal length. Now you have a level playing field. If the symptoms have not subsided and if you still over pronate, now you can safely have orthotics prescribed, as any remaining foot biomechanical problem will be inherent to the foot. Rehab on your knee will now have a better chance of working for you, if it’s still necessary.

To fully complete your rehab talk to your local physio about exercises to stabilise your knee and pelvis. In other words exercises that allow your muscles to control your pelvis and knee without them needing to go into spasm. Part of this process is achieved by so-called ‘core stability exercises’, but also you need to speak to your physio about plyometric exercises for pelvic and knee muscles that you can do in the gym.

As a result of one of the largest studies in biomechanics by Galileo Active we can all benefit from assessing our biomechanics, in the comfort of our home. They have developed a CD ROM software program that helps you asses your biomechanics with the software prescribing the exercises needed to remove these biomechanical problems and in turn help manage and prevent the types of knee injuries we’re talking about in this article.

For further information please go to www.humanlabsports.com to visit our website where you will learn more and see what the system can do for you.