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- From: gontang@electriciti.com (Ozzie Gontang)
- Newsgroups: rec.running,rec.answers,news.answers
- Subject: rec.running FAQ, part 4 of 8
- Followup-To: rec.running
- Organization: Int'l Assoc of Marathoners (IAM)
- Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu
- Reply-To: gontang@electriciti.com (Ozzie Gontang)
- Summary: Information about Running
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- Date: 11 May 2004 10:50:29 GMT
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- Archive-name: running-faq/part4
- Last-modified: 10 Mar 2003
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- ===============================================
-
- Medical / Injuries
-
- -------------------------------- Achilles tendonitis (sorry, forgot the
- author)
-
- General advice:
-
- 1. Warm up before you stretch. This could be in the form of a slow jog as
- you start your run. When I feel it necessary, I stop for a few minutes and
- stretch during the early stages of a run.
-
- 2. Stretch after your run. This has proven the best solution for me.
- Whenever I skip this part, I end up stiff the next day. The muscles are
- nice and warm after a run and respond well to stretching. My flexibility
- has improved as a result of this practice, too.
-
- 3. With regards to an injury, you've got to be tough and rest it in order
- for it to heal. This might be a good time to concentrate on strength
- training with weights.
-
- --------------
-
- The good news: since this seems to be your first injury, and your training
- load is light, your tendinitis is probably due to the most simple cause -
- leg length imbalance. Get someone to mark how far you can bend to each
- side, if these are different heights then you might find a heel raiser
- under the bad leg will both even out the side-bend _and_ speed up the
- recovery.
-
- The bad news: achilles is notoriously slow to heal even with the correct
- treatment. And the chances of recurrence are quite high. However the
- condition you describe shouldn't prevent your training, as long as you
- promote healing with stretching, massage (calf/inner thigh/groin), ice,
- etc...
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Shin splints (Harry Y Xu hyx1@cunixa.cc.columbia.edu) (Doug Poirier
- os2user@dougp.austin .ibm.com) (Rodney Sanders rdsand@ccmail.monsanto.com)
-
- Excerpts from _The SprotsMedicine Book_ G. Mirkin, MD. and M. Hoffman:
-
- ``Shin splints are....condition that can result from muscle imbalance. They
- are characterized by generalized pain in front of the lower leg and are
- particularly comon in runners and running backs.... The most common cause
- is a muscle imbalance where the calf muscles--which pull the forefoot
- down--overpower the shin muscles--which pull the forefoot up. As the
- athlete continues to train, the calf muscle usually becomes proportionately
- much stronger than the shin muscles.
-
- The treatment for shin splints is to strengthen the weaker muscles (shins)
- and stretch the stronger muscles (calves).
-
- To strengthen the shins, run up stairs. To stretch the calves,...(do
- stretching exercises for the calves, et. the wall push-ups)'' *end of
- exerpts.
-
- _________________________________________
-
- In my experience, I have found that stretching is the real key to avoiding
- shin-splints. I believe there's a book with stretches by Bob Anderson that
- you may want to check. Also, back issues of running magazines sometimes
- have helpful information. Basically, I do the standard "lean on the wall
- stretch" and a stretch by standing flat-footed on one leg and bending at
- the knee to stretch the achilles. I then top these off with a few toe
- raises (no weights!) before I head out to run... If you're having trouble,
- I'd recommend stretching 2-3 times a day until you get over the problem.
- Start slowly!
-
- Also, you probably should avoid hills and extremely hard surfaces until the
- situation improves. I've known several people who've had shin splints and
- gotten over them by stretching. (Of course, you should be careful in case
- the shin splints are the result of a more severe problem...)
-
- ------------------------
-
- Help with shin splints.
-
- 1. Try picking up marbles with your toes and holding onto them for a few
- seconds.
-
- 1A. While recovering from shin splints, it may help to use a wedge in the
- heel of your shoes. By raising the heel, you are reducing the pull on the
- muscles and tendons on the front.
-
- 2. Stand on the stairs with your heels out over the edge. Lower your heels
- as far as they will go without undue discomfort, and hold for 15 seconds.
- Slowly raise yourself up on your toes. Repeat 5 million times. (Sherwood
- Botsford sherwood@space.ualberta.ca)
-
- 3. If you can, rig something with either surgical tubing or a large
- rubberband. For example: put the tubing around one of the back legs of your
- desk in some sort of a loop. Reach under the tubing with your toes, with
- your heel as a pivot pull the tubing toward you. This will work the muscle
- in the front of the shins. Repeat 6 million times. It's easier than the
- stair exercise
-
- 4. Run on different terrain, preferably grass. It'll absorb the shock.
-
- 5. This normally affects knees, but it might affect shins. Don't run on the
- same side of the road all of the time. It is sloped left or right to let
- the water run off. Running on the same slope for long periods of time will
- cause adverse effects to the ankles, shins...etc.... If you are running on
- a track, alternate your direction of travel, as the lean when you are going
- around the corners is at least as bad as the crown slope of a road. This is
- especially true of small indoor tracks.
-
- 6. Strenghening the front muscles: Make a training weight by tying a strip
- of cloth to a pop bottle. Sit on the kitchen counter top, hang bottle from
- toes, and raise it up and down by flexing your ankle. Weight can be
- adjusted by adding water or sand to the bottle. (Sherwood Botsford
- sherwood@space.ualberta.ca)
-
- 7. Scatter a few chunks of 2x4 around the house where you tend to stand,
- say kitchen and bathroom. Now everytime you are at the stove or at the
- bathroom (in front of either fixture) stand on 2x4 and rest your heels on
- the floor. One in front of the TV and used during every commercial will
- either stretch you, or stop you from watching TV. sherwood@space.ualberta.ca
-
- ------------------------------ Side stitches (Jack Berkery
- berkery@emmax5crd.ge.com)
-
- The Latest Word on Stitches
-
- In the May-June 1992 issue of Running Research News there is an article by
- Dr. Gordon Quick about the causes of and cures for stitches. To summarize:
-
- 1) Stitches are a muscle spasm of the diaphragm. The cause of the spasm is
- that the organs below it are jouncing up and down and pulling down as it
- wants to pull up. The liver being the largest organ is the biggest culprit
- which is why most stitches are on the right side. A stomach full of food
- may also contribute to the problem for the same reason. Stitches also occur
- more often when running downhill or in cold weather.
-
- 2) The cure seems almost too simple. Breathe out when your left foot
- strikes the ground instead of when the right foot strikes so that the
- organs on the right side of the abdomen are jouncing up when the diaphragm
- is going up. The organs attached to the bottom of the diaphragm on the left
- aren't as big, so exert less downward pulling strain. If this is not enough
- to get rid of it, stop and raise you arms above your head until the pain
- goes away and when you resume, be a left foot breather. (Conversely, if
- your stitch occurs on the left side, switch your breathing to exhale on the
- right foot.)
-
- 3) Do not eat anything for an hour before running if you are prone to
- stitches, BUT PLEASE DO DRINK WATER. Water empties from the stomach faster
- than solids and the risk of complications from dehydration far exceed the
- problems one may have with a stitch.
-
- 4) In the long term, exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles will
- help prevent stitches because tighter abs will allow less movement of those
- internal organs. Practice belly breathing instead of chest breathing as
- recommended by Noakes. For the most part, stitches diminish over time.
- While they are not strictly a novice runner's problem (about 1/3 of all
- runners get them from time to time) they usually will go away after a few
- weeks of conditioning.
-
- --------------
-
- By Tim Noakes Oxford Uni. Press, 1985. Quoted from "Lore of Running"
-
- Proper breathing prevents the development of the `stitch'. The stitch is a
- condition that occurs only during exercise and which causes severe pain
- usually on the right side of the abdomen, immediately below the rib margin.
- Frequently the pain is also perceived in the right shoulder joint, where it
- feels as if an ice-pick were being driven into the joint. The pain is
- exacerbated by down-hill running and by fast, sustained running as in a
- short road race or time trial. For various complex anatomical reasons, the
- fact that the stitch causes pain to be felt in the shoulder joint suggests
- that the diaphragm is the source of the pain.
-
- It has been suggested that when breathing with the chest too much air is
- drawn into the lungs, and not all is exhaled. This causes a gradual and
- progressive accumulation of air in the lungs, causing them to expand which
- in turn causes the diaphragm to be stretched and to encroach on the
- abdominal contents below it. During running, the over-stretched diaphragm
- becomes sandwiched between an over-expanded chest above, and a jolting
- intestine pounding it from below. It revolts by going into spasm, and the
- pain of this spasm is recognized as the stitch.
-
- Although there is really not a shred of scientific evidence for this
- belief, I have found that diaphragm spasm is almost certainly involved in
- the stitch and that belly-breathing can frequently relieve the pain.
-
- The runner who wishes to learn how to belly-breath should lie on the floor
- and place one or more large books on his stomach. He should concentrate on
- making the books rise when he breathes in and fall when he exhales. As it
- takes about two months to learn to do the movement whilst running fast, it
- is important to start practicing well before an important race.
-
- A change in breathing pattern may help relieve the stitch. Within a short
- period of starting running, breathing becomes synchronized with footfall.
- Thus one automatically breaths in on one leg and out when landing either on
- the same leg - that is 2, 3 or 4 full strides later - or on the opposite
- leg - that is 1 1/2, 2 1/2, or 3 1/2 strides later. Thus the ratio of
- stride to breathing may be 2:1, 3:1, 4:1; or 1.5:1, 2.5:1, 3.5:1.
-
- This phenomenon was first reported by Bramble and Carrier (1983). Of
- particular interest was their finding that most runners are `footed', that
- is the beginning and end of a respiratory cycle occurs on the same foot,
- usually in a stride to breathing ratio of either 4:1 whilst jogging or 2:1
- whilst running faster. Runners then become habituated to breathing out on
- the same let, day after day. This produces asymmetrical stresses on the
- body and could be a factor in both the stitch and in certain running
- injuries. I am `left-footed' and have also suffered my major running
- injuries only on my left side. If changes in breathing patterns do not
- prevent the stitch then the last step is to increase abdominal muscle
- strength. The correct way to strengthen the abdominal muscles is to do
- bent-knee sit ups with the feet unsupported.
-
- --------------
-
- EDITORS NOTE: Readers response to "Belly Breathing" definition above.
- "Belly Breathing" (Lamont Granquist lamontg@u.washington.edu)
-
- While I wasn't breathing with my chest, I wasn't really "Belly Breathing".
- When I exhaled, what I was doing was pulling my stomach muscles in. I found
- out that this is *not* the way to "Belly Breathe". The idea is to throw
- your gut out as much as possible -- try and look as fat & ugly as you can
- when you run. For the suggestion in the FAQ of lying on your back and
- lifting a book, it should probably be noted that when exhaling you want to
- try to keep the book lifted up (of course naturally, you don't want to try
- to do this all so hard that it becomes difficult to exhale -- the idea is
- that breathing this way should be comfortable).
-
- --------------
- Stitches continued (Sunil Dixit sd007b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu)
-
- 1. Since it is a cramp, I try not to drink or eat too soon before my runs,
- and I try to limit my intake during runs.
-
- 2. I stretch my abs extensively before a run. Putting my arm over my head
- and leaning to the opposite side until I'm pulling on the side of my
- abdominals works well.
-
- 3. I regulate my breathing by breathing in through my nose, and out through
- my mouth. This sounds like zen-crap, but believe me, it works amazingly
- well in eliminating all types of cramping. When you first do it, it'll feel
- like you're not getting enough oxygen, but if you persist the technique
- will become very comfortable.
-
- 4. I run with my back fairly straight, even up hills. This keeps the lungs
- from bending over in my body, and makes it much easier to breathe.
-
- 5. If none of these work, I keep going anyway. After about 3 miles, it
- usually goes away . . . if you're lucky.
-
- ------------------ Lactic Acid (Rob Loszewski
- loszewski_im@sage.hnrc.tufts.edu)
-
- "Lactic acid buildup (technically called acidosis) can cause burning pain,
- especially in untrained muscles. Lactic acid accumulation can lead to
- muscle exhaustion withing seconds if the blood cannot clear it away. A
- strategy for dealing with lactic acid buildup is to relax the muscles at
- every opportunity, so that the circulating blood can carry the lactic acid
- away and bring oxygen to support aerobic metabolism. ...much of the lactic
- acid is routed to the liver, where it is converted to glucose. A little
- lactic acid remains in muscle tissue, where it is completely oxidized when
- the oxygen supply is once again sufficient." Understanding Nutrition, 5th
- ed., Whitney, Hamilton, Rolfes., West Pub. Comp. 1990, pg402- 403.
-
- ------------------ Loose Bowels (Rodney Sanders rdsand@ccmail.monsanto.com)
-
- Some general advice to take care of loose bowels.
-
- (1) Look for offending foods in your diet. For example, many people have a
- lactose intolerance which can cause all sorts of fun if you had a triple
- cheese pizza the night before the run...
-
- (2) If you run in the morning, eat lightly and early the night before... I
- try to make sure I eat the least problematic foods close to my workouts...
- I've personally found baked chicken/fish, baked potatoes, and pasta with
- light sauces (no alfredo!), to be pretty good...
-
- (3) I read that Bill Rodgers drinks a cup of coffee in the morning before
- heading out...The caffeine stimulates one to take care of things completely
- before getting out...This has helped me when I run in the morning....
-
- (4) Carry a wad of toilet paper with you!
-
- I suspect that if you monitor your diet closely, you'll probably find
- something that makes the problem worse than at other times and you can
- avoid that food...
-
- Some other advice: (Sanjay Manandhar sanjay@media-lab.media.mit.edu) 1.
- Less fiber in the diet 2. Run repeats on small loops.
- 3. Note all the washrooms along the route. 4. Time of day. For me, mornings
- are bad. In the evening runs the problem is infrequent. 5. A primer run. If
- I have to run in the mornings, I run 1 mile of primer run so that the
- bowels can be taken care of. Then I start my real run.
-
- ----- Diabetes & Running (Timothy Law Snyder tim@normal.georgetown.edu)
-
- Oops, here is what makes virutually every person with diabetes bristle:
- MYTHS of diabetes!
-
- Not to flame Jay, but diabetics can (and do) eat as much sugar, drink as
- much booze, and run as many marathons as anybody else. The challenge is
- that they must manage the delicate balance between insulin (which lowers
- blood sugar), food (which raises it), and exercise (which, because it
- stokes up the metabolism and makes the insulin "rage") lowers blood sugar.
- Timing is important, and sometimes, due to the millions of factors that are
- at play (and _not_ due to negligence), the blood sugar will go too high or
- too low.
-
- Before a run, a person with diabetes (nobody in the know calls them
- "diabetics" any more) must make sure that the blood sugar is somewhat
- higher than normal. This gives a "pad" so that exercise does not result in
- a low-sugar crisis. Often the runner will take less insulin the day of the
- run. Before (and for long runs, during) the run some food must be eaten.
- For short runs, carbos will do, but proteins and fats are also necessary
- for the longer hauls.
-
- For a marathon, one must take some sort of food during the run. A high-
- carbo source like a soda works well, for the sugar is taken up immediately
- and, since the beverage is concentrated, it is easily digested (relative
- to, say, the caloric equivalent in whole wheat : ).
-
- Sugar does absolutely _no_ harm to the person with diabetes (provided, they
- do not ignore insulin requirements). That's right: The person could knock
- off twelve sodas, an entire chocolate cake, and a bag of M&Ms, and be as
- "fine" as anybody else (quotes intended---yuk!).
-
- While I am at it, here are a couple of other myth corrections: There is no
- clear evidence that diabetes is hereditary. Diabetes has _nothing_ to do
- with how much sugar the person ate before acquiring the condition. People
- with diabetes can (and do) drink as much alcohol as anybody else. (Alcohol
- lowers the blood sugar a tiny bit, so one must be careful to not forget to
- eat [and too many cocktails tend to...].)
-
- Hope this helps. Oh, by the way, NO, the taste of something sweet does not
- cause the release of insulin (save a possible [and rare] placebo effect).
-
- ===========================================================================
-
- Nutrition and Food (Bruce Hildenbrand bhilden@unix386.Convergent.COM) [Ed.
- note: Originally appeared in rec.bicycles]
-
- Oh well, I have been promising to do this for a while and given the present
- discussions on nutrition, it is about the right time. This article was
- written in 1980 for Bicycling Magazine. It has been reprinted in over 30
- publications, been the basis for a chapter in a book and cited numerous
- other times. I guess somebody besides me thinks its OK. If you disagree
- with any points, that's fine, I just don't want to see people take
- exception based on their own personal experiences because everyone is
- different and psychological factors play a big role(much bigger than you
- would think) on how one perceives his/her own nutritional requirements.
- Remember that good nutrition is a LONG TERM process that is not really
- affected by short term events(drinking poison would be an exception). If it
- works for you then do it!!! Don't preach!!!!
-