Konatri
Posts 28
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Something I wrote up for one of my practice newsletters.
Biomechanics in the Endurance Athlete
Altered biomechanics not only effects society as a whole, but can be a determining factor in the success of the endurance athlete. The human body is most efficient when the head, spine, and pelvis are in the proper alignment. The body is a complicated biomechanical system, and when one component is misaligned the whole structure is weakened. The body is designed in a way that transfers weight through the center of each vertebra, the hips, knees, and ankle joints. When any of these components are out of there normal position, the body with its innate properties finds a way to compensate. With this compensation comes added stress to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. When your muscles are preoccupied with this misaligned stress they are left in a state of constant contraction eventually producing tension, fatigue, and soreness. At this point the endurance athlete may view this as an “overuse” injury.
Endurance athletes push their bodies to the extreme. To such an extreme that the neuromuscular system is not able to keep up with the demands placed upon it. In understanding the principles of proper biomechanics we can prevent injury and restore functional integrity and stability through spinal manipulation and rehabilitation. Many endurance athletes especially triathletes that I have come into contact with over the years will put hour after hour into planning. They plan their weekly workouts down to the second. They plan their diets down to every last calorie. They are always looking for ways to be one second faster, or the ability to go longer. One thing that so many seem to neglect is the state of their nervous systems in relation to their musculoskeletal system. What I mean is that the nervous system controls every function in the body. If the nervous system is not functioning properly then how are those muscles going to respond on those six hour bike rides, or three hour runs? This is a major contributing factor to “over-use” injuries. What age-groupers don’t understand is that improving on biomechanics will lead to a healthy nervous system, thus their fastest way to improvement in the sport of triathlon.
An understanding of biomechanics is crucial to the success of an athlete. Biomechanics is defined “as the interdiscipline which describes, analyzes, ad assesses human movement”. I would like to analyze body alignment, since that is mostly what I deal with in my chiropractic practice. As I mentioned earlier, the body works as a whole so it is foolish to talk about just one entity. All parts share responsibility in posture and body alignment. Any disturbance I one part causes and immediate adaptation and definite functional change in other parts. Poor posture results in constant structural misalignment, which inhibits proper nervous system function leading a disproportioned amount of weight and muscle pull that fall upon to abnormal parts. This alters the normal locomotion apparatus (ie. Swimming, cycling, running.) of the musculoskeletal system. Such abnormalities are tolerated for a short time, but sooner or later lead to injury. An important factor in athletics is that, with good postural body mechanics, balance is maintained with minimum muscular effort, thus encouraging longer endurance, with less strain on any one part. I would like to illustrate an example of how improper body alignment can affect performance. Many runners can be seen with a pretty noticeable “foot flare”. Foot flare can be measured by measuring the angle the toe points outward. Two different runners running at the exact pace, both wearing a size ten shoe. Assuming one of the two runners has a 25 degree foot flare, what do you suppose the effect of this difference in alignment will be on the outcome of a 1-mile race? The runner with the foot flare will lose the mile race by 31 yards, everything else being equal. Engineering measurement reveals a runner may lose up to two inches per stride with foot-flare. In a 100-yard sprint this foot flare accounts for a loss of up to 3 yards. And here you go endurance freaks. That would mean a loss in a marathon of up to a ½ mile.
This misalignment at the foot is a common structural defect and should be corrected even when no discomfort results as it distorts the mechanical relationships at the other joints, causing symptoms to appear at the ankle, knee, hip, and lumbar spine.
Over use injuries may not necessarily mean that you are over trained. It may just be the first sign biomechanical instability. If not treated properly, musculoskeletal injuries will result in decreased performance.
I usually look at an injury from a flow chart perspective. Starting with the skeletal function. Restoring function to the skeletal system is imperative. Next I look at what tissues are involved in the injury. I assess the soft tissue and restore its function through different active release techniques (ART). Finally, with the patients help we figure out a way to strengthen the entire system so that the body is able to handle the rigors of endurance sports. This could be through physical therapy, alterations in training program, increased core//flexibility, etc…
Ron Tribendis D.C.
North Texas Performance Chiropratic.
1304 Village Creek Dr. Ste. 300
Plano, TX 75093
972-250-0300
www.ntperformancechiropractic.com
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