Buen Physical Therapy

Strength and Control

For those of us who engage in the sport of distance running, all are unable to escape its demands on the body. As the training becomes more intense through increased volume and intensity/speed, the demands on the body increase. If the progression of the training is just right, our body can adapt to these demands well. If the body is not given enough time to adapt or has underlying weakness or muscular imbalance, we may find ourselves sidelined with an injury that can take us out of training for weeks or months. Most injuries related to distance running are overuse injuries. I see everything from strains to stress fractures. The lower body, starting from the pelvis down to the feet, is where most of these injuries occur. When you multiply the miles, injury rates rise exponentially. Seriously.

Everything in the body has to work together when it comes to distance running. Small problems can create big issues when they're multiplied and amplified to the extent that running demands. A weak quadricep that cannot do its job might force compensations all the way down to the leg and show up as pain and dysfunction in the calf. When the calf becomes painful and dysfunctional, the foot and ankle joint may be forced to comepensate, and the Achilles tendon becomes overloaded as a result. So while someone may come to me with an Achilles tendon injury, the real problem may be actually forty inches above - in the quadricep.

On the other hand, small improvements can create huge benefits when they're multiplied and amplified to the extent that running demands. Taking the time to strengthen your weak links 2x a week can have a huge impact on your running performance and injury prevention. For those of us who truly love to run, we want to be able to run as much as possible, and as long as possible. The strengthening programs here are designed to help you do just that. They are basic programs that target the most common areas of weakness and dysfunction that I see in all of us. As for why they become the most common areas of weakness and dysfunction, I have my theories but that's a topic for another day.

Select a region below to view the corresponding strengthening program.

Strengthening Protocol