RUNNING: MAIN INJURIES




In recent years, running has increased its popularity in our society, breaking records of participation in various popular races. In each of our cities we can observe a large number of “runners” alone or in groups trying to improve their brands or simply enjoying the sport.
Most runners have suffered an injury throughout their lives, covering problems from the foot to the cervical level. In this article we will analyze the most common injuries in runners and how to prevent or treat them.

The body gives us warning signs, the following phrases will sound: "Uff, how loaded I am", "today it was difficult for me to get in bed", "I have noticed a pull on the leg"
Physiotherapy can help us not to say these phrases or, if it is too late, to prevent further injury. Listen to your body and consult your physiotherapist with any questions and do not hesitate to call us for any questions.

The most common injuries are: plantar fasciitis, iliotibial girdle, tibial periostitis, tedinopathies, sprains and muscle tears.

- Plantar fasciitis: the plantar fascia is defined as a fibrous and elastic tissue, which covers most of the sole of the foot, and that originates in the calcaneus bone (heel bone), until it is inserted into the base of the metatarsals (fingers) It is responsible for stabilizing and supporting the entire foot assembly; joints and plantar arch.

Plantar_fasciitis

    There are several causes or risk factors for which it can occur are: the increase in physical or sports load, or sudden change in it; plantar arch alteration, whether increased or decreased (cavus or flatfoot); tension or retraction of the Achilles tendon; inappropriate footwear; Obesity or sudden weight gain.



- Iliotibial waist: it is an inflammation that occurs in the lateral or external area of ​​the knee, caused by the friction caused between the lateral condyle of the femur and the iliotibial waistband. It is usually a very typical pain in runners, due to bad biomechanics of the race when the muscles are fatigued. The main problem is the failure of the gluteus medius in monopodial support causing the knee to go further in each step and the friction described above occurs.




- Shin Splints: pain located along the two distal thirds of the posterior medial tibia during exercise, with pain in the palpation of the tibia. It is caused by overloading of the tibial bone cortex, resulting in an inflammation of the membrane that covers the bone.


       The risk factors by which it can occur are: increase in body mass; non-progressive increase in training; flat foot, a bad biomechanics of tread produces adaptations of other areas of the body and can affect the tibia; lack of range of motion in the ankle; lack of range of movement in the hip: the lack of strength in the gluteus medius triggers a valgus knee and, as a consequence, an incorrect tread; run on hard surfaces.



- Tendinopathies: Tendonitis is a very frequent pathology, which usually appears after excessive efforts, repetitive movements and direct trauma. It consists of the inflammation of the tendons, which are resistant strings of tissue that link the muscles with the bones and help the muscles move the bones.

Avoid repetitive movements and overload, keep the muscles strong and flexible, exercise the upper and lower extremities, without excessively repeating the same movement, alternating different types of movements, with small recovery intervals. Good hydration is also recommended, as it always helps to maintain a better vascularization of the area.



- Sprains: it is an elongation or rupture of the ligaments that slow the inversion of the foot. We must perform balance or proprioception exercises to improve the position of the ankle at the nervous system level and strengthen the muscles that are responsible for maintaining a correct positioning of the foot.




- Muscle tears: it is the separation or lack of congruence of muscle fibers. Whether you are a sports person or if you are more sedentary, a key aspect is to keep the body hydrated. If any sporting activity is carried out, it is essential to perform a good warm-up prior to it, because that way we can prepare the muscles for the activity, so that they can react quickly and correctly.
In addition, resting times are essential. If we do not rest properly between workouts we will have fatigued muscles, so that they will be unable to adapt effectively to the activity to which we are subjected. It is very important to let the muscle recover. In the case of runners, muscle overload can lead to muscle breakage due to changes in pace or high running intensities. That is why it is very important to treat the affected muscles to prevent it from going further. The body is warning us and we must listen.




KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS: EXERCISES


knee

WHAT IS IT?

Osteoarthritis, or wear of the knee joint, is a painful, non-inflammatory, irreversible degenerative disease of the knee joint caused by wear of the articular cartilage.
Osteoarthritis of the lower limb is a common condition that affects the elderly, approximately 20% of people over 60 years of age worldwide experience knee pain. It represents 80% - 90% of hip and knee replacements in the United States and the United Kingdom.


KNEE ANATOMY

The knee is formed by the union of 2 important bones, the femur in its distal portion, and the tibia in the proximal portion. It also has a small bone, called the patella, which articulates with the anterior and inferior portion of the femur. It can mainly perform flexion and extension movements. It is surrounded by an articular capsule and several ligaments that give it stability. In its vicinity, powerful muscles are inserted that make limb movement possible.
It is composed of the joint action of the femur, tibia, patella and two fibrocartilaginous discs that are the meniscus. Femur and tibia make up the main body of the joint, while the patella acts as a pulley and serves as an insertion to the quadriceps muscle tendon and the patelar tendon whose function is to transmit the force generated when the quadriceps is contracted.

anatomy_knee



PROTHESIS

A knee prosthesis is a mechanical element composed of various metal and plastic components that replace the knee joint consisting of tibia, femur and kneecap.
Should I wear a prosthesis? No, we must understand that osteoarthritis is a degeneration of the joint due to its use. Over the years, all people have osteoarthritis to a greater or lesser extent. Osteoarthritis is NOT an indication of putting on a prosthesis, the indication of putting on the prosthesis is given by pain and / or the functional limitation produced by this osteoarthritis.

prothesis_knee



CAUSES

The main causes of osteoarthritis of the knee are:
Trauma during sports and recreational activities, hard physical work overload, congenital joint deformity, metabolic disorders, overweight.


TREATMENT


The guideline for the treatment of osteoarthritis is exercise as a non-pharmacological therapy. Exercise improves the symptoms and general well-being of people with this pathology, while they are relatively safe as compared to pharmacological treatments. The improvement of pain and functional results after treatment with osteoarthritis exercises are demonstrated by numerous studies.
Great benefits, regarding pain and function, were observed in people with osteoarthritis of the knee who exercised. The effectiveness of the exercise was generally greater at 2 months after starting the exercise, according to the results of the studies.
For the treatment of osteoarthritis pain we also use radiofrequency, deep heat that helps relieve nerve endings and relax symptoms.


MAIN FACTORS


- The age of who suffers from this deficiency affects, trials with younger participants demonstrated a more appreciable functional improvement than older patients after exercise treatment. In the older population, other age-related conditions (eg, reduced functions in the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems) may also explain the observed effect.

- Osteoarthritis severity: in general, the results support the inverse association between benefits of exercise and the severity of osteoarthritis of the knee (that is, it is believed that the exercise produces a greater improvement with a milder knee osteoarthritis than more severe). Patients on the waiting list for surgery, who have knee osteoarthritis in the most advanced stage of the clinical spectrum, showed a smaller exercise response compared to those who were not on a waiting list.


EXERCISE PROGRAM


We will perform the exercises 3 sets of 10 repetitions each, 3 times / week.

Exercise 1:

Lying on your back with your leg straight and a towel under your knee, perform quadriceps contractions by crushing the towel with a hollow of your knee. Bring the toe towards us to feel more muscle contraction.



Exercise 2:

Lying on your back with your leg straight, raise it straight until you reach about 45 degrees from the ground, bringing the tip of the foot up and down again, relaxing the tip of the foot.




Exercise 3:

Lying on your side with your hips and knees bent, separate your knees from each other but not your feet Being able to increase the resistance by placing an elastic band between the knees. We want to focus on strengthening the buttocks.



Exercise 4:

Sitting on a high surface, make knee extensions bringing the tip of the foot towards us at the end of the movement and withstand that tension for 5 seconds.




Exercise 5:

Standing with one leg elevated and the support leg slightly bent, balance for 20-30 seconds and rest for a few seconds. If it seems easy you can increase the difficulty by making circles with the leg that is in the air, closing your eyes, using unstable surfaces ...