Muscle imbalances

When we run we always repeat the same motion over and over again. It's not surprising that most distance running injuries are caused by overuse.

When running, multiple muscles have to work in synergy to help us run efficiently. If some of these muscles are too tight or too weak, it will lead to muscle imbalances. A lot of runners tend to get these imbalances in their core and hip muscles. This often leads to the pelvis being unleveled while running or compensations with other muscles. I often tell my patients that your body is similar to your car. If your wheels are not properly balanced, your tires will wear down faster. Same thing happens in your body. If your hip and core are too weak, this will lead to misalignments in your hips, knees and ankles that will make your muscle wear down faster.

For example, a muscle called the psoas iliacus brings our thigh up during the running. It is an important muscle and is tight in a lot or runners. Because of its anatomy, when it's tight, it will also lead to a decrease in hip extension. In simple term our stride length will be shorter. Another thing to note is that when a muscle is tight in our body, the muscle that makes the opposite motion will usually be weak. In the case of a tight hip flexor, this means that our gluteus maximus will be weak. The gluteus maximus is one of the muscles that propel us forward. This will also lead to a decrease in our stride length. This ultimately leads to a decrease in performance.

The psoas iliacus is tight in a lot of people because it's in a short position most of the day. If you look at the anatomy of the muscle you will find that this muscle is in a short position when we are sitting. And most of us sit for many hours in a day. Some people have office jobs that require that they sit for 8 hours. We also sit to drive to work, we drive back home, we sit to watch TV, you see where I'm going. For examples of psoas iliacus stretching, you can visit my website at www.inbalancechiro.ca and click on exercise of the month.

The psoas iliacus is only one example of muscle imbalances. Muscle imbalances are detectable with proper testing and treatable with proper treatment, stretching and strengthening exercises. By preventing imbalances from happening in the first place you can improve your running performance and prevent injuries.