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How Yoga and Stretching May Prevent Injury

Yoga Running


While running has many well known and rightfully touted health benefits, running without performing any other form of exercise can unfortunately lead to injury according to the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, nearly 70% of runners will experience injury during the course of their running career. This is the bad news. The good news? Many of these injuries can be resolved (and even avoided) with a few easy additions to your running program.

Why do running injuries occur so frequently?



 

Running is primarily linear motion, which means it takes place in the frontal plane going forward. There is minimal lateral (side-to-side) or rotational movement occurring. This results in overuse and over-development of specific muscles of the leg, primarily the quadriceps and gastroc/soleus complex, as well as underuse and weakness of other muscles.

The quadriceps muscle is the large muscle in the front of the thigh which is responsible for hip flexion (bending) and knee extension (straightening). During running it is one of the main shock absorbers when the foot lands on the ground, slowing down momentum and preparing the leg to take off for the next stride.

The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles make up the calf muscle group. The calf muscle is responsible for pointing the toes and extending the foot towards the ground. During running, it’s role is to produce explosiveness and power. 

Because these muscles are overdeveloped and over used, they benefit from stretching and lengthening both before and after activity, to prepare for running and recover from use.

 

How can you avoid the chance of injury?

 

 


Although there is no clear correlation between stretching and reduced incidence of injury, studies have proven that a lack of flexibility does lead to higher risk of injury. In addition to improved flexibility, stretching and yoga increase available joint range of motion and muscle length which can lead to improved running. With potential outcome of improved performance as well as injury prevention, the benefits of proper warm-up, cool-down, and additions to your exercise routine (such as yoga and stretching) are well worth your invested time.


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