How even small injuries can lead to bigger issues with running technique
One of the things runners do not like is an injury that prevents them from running. Some minor injuries only require a few days to recover while others may last several months. Usually, a major type of injury such as a torn ligament or cartilage in the knee can lay a runner up for several months. An additional problem occurs when after the injury has healed there are still some issues. The period of inactivity has caused some of the muscles used in running to be weakened by the lack of exercise. With weakened muscle strength, the return to the normal running style is off. It might be a problem with stride length, push-off strength, a favoritism toward the once-injured knee that limits a normal gait or even an irregular foot plant on the injured leg. And with this altered gait, the runner’s muscles and posture may be changed slightly, which again causes more problems and even another injury.
Even an injury to another body part may lead to problems in running. Newton’s Law of “For Every Action, There is an Equal Reaction” applies in this case. An injured shoulder may prevent the arm from moving in the normal motion. Holding the arm tight against the side to prevent movement has a reaction to the legs' normal gait. The altered gait in the legs leads to a change in muscle action and balance of the runner’s weight to offset the lack of movement from the injured shoulder.
A pulled muscle in the low back will change the posture a runner normally has. I remember coming up on a friend in a race and seeing him bent over to his side and leaning forward at the waist. I asked him, “Is this your new running form?” He had an injury that prevented him from standing up straight and he was trying to find a position with his upper body to lessen the pain. He would have been much better lying down and resting. But, being an addicted runner, he was out trying to run a 10K race. He just laughed and told me later the comment regarding his running form was the only thing that helped him finish the race.
The reason I bring up the topic of injuries and running is that while on vacation a few weeks ago, I dropped a heavy beam on my big toe. Now, the toe is only 1% of my total body mass — well, maybe 2% now as it is swollen to twice normal size. But, that 1% of my body plays a major role in running. Any foot plant and push-off is painful. In order to try to run, or even walk, I shift the weight to the outside of my foot, limit the amount of push off from the foot, and shift my body weight to the opposite side. This altered body posture and change in the use of my injured foot affects other areas of my body that are not normally used in walking and running. Other muscles and tendons that are usually not involved as much during movement are brought into action. Pressure on the nerves, tight muscles and a slight pain in the low back on the opposite side of my injured toe result from this new posture when I walk.
It is especially painful when I forget about the injured toe and try to walk upstairs with a normal push-off from the foot. I think there might be a slight fracture as the sharp pain reminds me that I should not push off on the big toe area. The good point is that the purple color of the toe is now almost a normal color. It is still a good half size larger than the other big toe. The black areas under the toenail will eventually work their way to the end and things will get back to normal. I can now walk with an almost normal gait and I am getting a little more movement in the toe since the swelling has gone down. The point of this topic is even a small injury can have major consequences in running. If it was a sprained finger, the effect on running form will probably not be affected as much. But a toe injury plays a major role in running and therefore has much larger consequences. Heel bruises, low back muscle strain, a twisted knee, a pulled hip flexor muscle and even a strain of the abdominal muscles are a few examples that can have a limiting effect on running. Depending on the type of injury rest is often the best treatment. A few strengthening and range of movement exercises can help with some injuries. The key is to exercise without pain or doing more damage when rest is a better option. It seems so unfair that 1% of bodily injuries can have a 95% limited movement on the rest of my body. Now when I want to move a heavy wooden beam, I just make sure my toes are not underneath it. And the altered lifting technique will probably lead to another injury down the road. Recovery is a never-ending battle.
