A no-nonsense guide for runners, trainers, and health professionals that shows how an understanding of anatomy combined with the latest in strengthening exercises can enhance injury-free running performance.
Each time a runner's foot hits the ground, an impact force averaging three times their weight travels through the body at more than 200 miles per hour, causing the bones to vibrate and tendons to stretch. An average runner strikes the ground more than 10,000 times per hour, resulting in a remarkable amount of force to the body. But the truth is those impact forces need not be as harmful as they sound. In Injury-Free Running, Thomas C. Michaud explains how an understanding of anatomy and biomechanics, coupled with the latest strengthening exercises and rehab protocols, can keep runners injury free. By modifying our running form and engaging specific exercises to improve tendon resiliency, we can learn to store and return energy more efficiently while also running faster and with less effort.
In this revised second edition, the author shows how to:
• Perform an at-home gait analysis to improve performance.
• Identify problems with strength, flexibility, and/or neuromotor coordination.
• Incorporate new exercises that enhance energy storage and return it to the tendons.
• Treat the 25 most common running-related injuries with the most scientifically justified treatment protocols.
• Select the running shoe that best suits your needs.
With over 40 illustrations, this book is ideal for recreational runners, as well as physical therapists, trainers, chiropractors, and sports medicine practitioners.
Author(s): Tom Michaud
Edition: 2
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Year: 2021
Language: English
Commentary: Injury-Free Running, Your Illustrated Guide
Pages: 224
Tags: Injury-Free Running, Your Illustrated Guide
Foreword
Preface
References
1
A REVIEW OF ANATOMY AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL MOTION
2
THE BIOMECHANICS OF WALKING AND RUNNING
What is Perfect Running Form?
Hybrid Running: The Ideal Running Form
Ground Running: The Ideal Gait for Injury Prevention
Transitioning Between Different Running Styles
Stance Phase
Swing Phase
Graphic Summary of Muscle Activity During the Gait Cycle
References
3
RISK FACTORS PREDISPOSING TO RUNNING INJURIES
Height of the Medial Longitudinal Arch
Limb Length Discrepancy (LLD)
Flexibility
Strength Training
Neuromotor Coordination
References
4
HOW TO DEVELOP THE IDEAL RUNNING FORM FOR ENDURANCE, SPRINTING, AND/OR INJURY PREVENTION
The Making of a Great Endurance Runner
Factors Responsible for Successful Sprinting
The Best Drills and Exercises for Improved Performance
Modify Your Running Form to Avoid Injury
Putting It All Together: Performing an At-Home Gait Analysis
References
5
SELECTING THE IDEAL RUNNING SHOE
The First Evidence of Shoe Use
Athletic Shoes from the Early 1900s
Running Shoes from the 1970s Through 2010
The Midsole
Running Shoes from 2010 to Current Minimalist Running Shoes
Maximalist Running Shoes
New Categories: Fast, Soft, or Stable
Selecting the Running Shoe That’s Right for You
References
6
TREATMENT PROTOCOLS
Achilles Tendinitis
Sesamoiditis
Metatarsalgia and Metatarsal Stress Fractures
Interdigital Neuritis/Neuroma
Bunions
Hallux Limitus and Rigidus
Plantar Fasciitis
Heel Spurs and Calcaneal Stress Fractures
Baxter’s Neuropathy
Tibialis Posterior Tendinitis
Ankle Sprains
Compartment Syndromes
Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome
Stress Fractures
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Patellar Tendinopathy
Iliotibial Band Compression Syndrome
Hamstring Strains
Piriformis Syndrome
Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome
Adductor Strains
Osteitis Pubis
Low Back Disorders
References
Index
