There is much debate about stretching for runners.  The team at Anderson Peak Performance believe that it is important to stretch to allow fresh blood to flow into tired muscles.  Many runners skip the warm up stretches, but I believe a quick series of stretches will allow your muscles to relax for your run.   Try to give yourself five or ten minutes to allow for muscle flexibility.   You can start with your quads by lifting your leg up with your hand (same side) and pressing it into your buttocks.  You can gently stretch your hamstring by putting your foot on a waist high object and slowly leaning forward, reaching down until you feel a stretch.  You can loosen up your hips by laying on the floor and crossing your leg across your knee and then pulling your knee to your chest.  And finally you can provide good fluidity in your calf muscles by leaning up to a wall and stretching your leg back with your heel on the ground and then gently lunging forward to feel the stretch in your lower legs.  You can enhance this stretch by doing  separate sets of this calf stretch while squatting.

While you are running, it is a good idea to pay attention to any aches or pains that may pop up on the course.  A common complaint is Patellofemerol Pain or “Runner’s Knee”.  This has many causes, but a good stretch can help to keep the knee area ready for your run.  Good stretches are the Hamstring stretch and straight leg lifts.  Another way to loosen up your Hamstring is to lift your foot onto a chair and slowly lean as far forward towards your foot.  The straight leg lifts are an easy stretch.  Lie on the floor with one leg bent and raise and lower your other leg 30 to 60 degrees in a slow and steady motion.

There are many stretches that you can choose from.  A good all around stretch after a run is the Iliotibial Band stretch.  Lie on your side with legs bent.  Bring the bottom leg towards your core and then bring the top one toward your buttocks.  Hold for 30 seconds and then switch sides.  Another great one is the groin stretch – where you sit with the soles of your feet together and you slowly lean forward and press your knees toward the ground.

Have you ever seen a fellow runner shuffling across the finish line?  This is because of quadriceps fatigue.  The quads lift your knees and provide speed and sometimes after a hard race they cannot lift your feet off the ground with efficiency.   Stretching your quads before a race can help to avoid this.

Have you noticed fellow racers squatting after a race?  A squat can be a quick and effective way to loosen up.  It is important to keep your knees and ankles in line, but don’t be embarrassed to hold onto something or someone while squatting to avoid a wobbly-legs pitch to the ground.   Squatting is good for your back, legs and hips and is a great way to introduce fresh blood flow into your tired muscles.

One of the most important things to remember about your post run stretching is to go gently, slowly and to avoid bouncing at all costs.  Taking care of yourself before and after running is a sure-fire way to insure that you will ready for your next run.

When you get home, you may want to try a yoga inversion technique that can help you to continue to loosen up after your busy day.  Lie down and slide yourself up close to the wall.  Swing your legs up into the air and against the wall.   Hang out like this for up to ten minutes before you slowly bend  and  lower your legs to the floor.  In addition, the time tested method for removing lactic acid from your lower extremity is an ice bath or cold water flush.  I have been in Olympic Training Rooms with the most cutting edge equipment and the top athletes all request an ice bath.  I also hear it is very popular amongst pro baseball players.  What a great way to wrap up a productive run!

I will be more than happy to blog about the benefits of ice in next weeks blog as I will be home rehabilitating from my meniscal repair.

See you back on the road,

Dr. A