Strengthening these overlooked muscles can help runners prevent injury and improve performance!
o Most runners understand the importance of cross-training to improve overall strength, body composition, power, and flexibility…but are they getting the most out of those sessions? When strength training, many of us tend to focus on and isolate the big guns in our legs… AKA the glutes, hamstrings, and quads. That sounds great because we definitely want to keep them strong…but we cannot neglect the tiny muscles in our feet that are equally as important for powering our strides!
o Running is considered a high-impact exercise and your feet are the first point of contact with the ground making them responsible for absorbing a lot of force. One study observed 47 long-distance runners and divided them into 2 groups(normal arches and flat arches). The participants in this study completed a 35-meter sprint to assess anaerobic power as well as an evaluation of torque, work, and power of their knee flexors and extensors (Hamstrings and Quads). Both groups participated in a 6 week training program targeting plantar(sole of the foot) short foot muscles with the goal of improving foot posture, boosting running performance, and decreasing injury risk. The runners performed these exercises for 30 minutes per day, and prior to the exercises they rolled out the bottom of their feet with a tennis ball (myofascial release). Results demonstrated that both the normal arch and flat arch groups recorded higher power, but the over-pronators (flat arch) showed the greatest improvement. As a result of the program, the over-pronators experienced an improved foot posture, decreased time on their sprint test, and increased peak torque of their knee flexors. The results of this study indicate that exercising the plantar short foot muscles can help improve energy transfer and lead to a reduced injury risk in all runners, but it is especially important for those demonstrating poor foot posture.
o Why do we care if someone has a flat arch? Over-pronating causes the foot to roll inward which forces the big toe and second toe to push off the ground without help from the rest of the midfoot. This then causes excess stress on the foot, lower leg, and knee and can potentially lead to injury (i.e. plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, runner’s knee etc.) Additionally, lack of mobility at the big toe or ankle can lead to compensatory movement patterns in other joints of the body, increasing risk of injury.
o So, fellow runners, give these exercises a try: Myofascial release (using tennis ball, golf ball etc. realizing the harder and smaller the ball the more intense it will be), towel scrunches, seated toe curl to down dog, toe lifts, heel lifts, toe splaying, single leg balance, wall squat with heel rotations. Want more info on these exercises? Have questions? Contact us!
o References:
Lapinski, Ray. Strengthening the foot core system for the rehabilitation and prevention of injury in distance runners: The importance of strengthening foot structure for long-term success in running and the desirable goal of minimalist shoes. Track Coach, Issue 221, 2017, pp. 7048-7054.
Middlebrook Hailey. "Strengthening These Overlooked Muscles Can Prevent Injury.” Runner’s World, Vol. 15, No. 4, 2020, pp. 14-16.
