I received this question from a reader posted to a recent blog entry:
Here's another one for you. If you've already answered this, I apologize, but I just did a quick search of your blog and didn't find anything.I'm a decent runner..well, not really. But my heart and lungs are in decent shape. What trips me up are the muscles in my legs. I could keep going for much much longer if it was just my cardiovascular system I had to worry about, but very quickly into a jog I start getting pains up my calves and thighs that make it really uncomfortable to continue. Are there strength-training exercises you recommend that can help my legs catch up to the rest of me?
My first instinct is to say -- check your shoes. Non-running shoes (cross-trainers, walking shoes, etc.) or worn-out shoes can cause myriad problems -- beginning in the foot and working their way up.
That said, so can overtraining...or a muscle pull in your back...or running on a cambered road or...well, let's just say almost anything.
I asked a running friend who always seems to have the answers to everything and this is what he said:
"That's a tough one. Without seeing her gait, the first thing that comes to mind is over-tight calves. That issue would not allow her knees and quads to absorb the shock of impacts. If her shins were hurting her I would suspect shoes, but really would need to see her in stride."
Any other veteran runners/doctors/exercise gurus (Dr. Willow) care to chime in?
Comments (1)
Hi Heather,
I concur with your friend, without seeing this individual's gait, its really difficult to determine the source of pain. My inclination, like yours, is that the person is wearing inappropriate footwear especially given that they are saying they feel pain shortly after starting a run. Another thing that I would look at is the person's gait mechanics as, contrary to popular belief, there is a right way and a wrong way to run for distance. My thoughts there include...is the person a heel striker, how does their posture look, do they have an incomplete or inefficient gait pattern. I'd also consider circulation issues, some runners are prone to venous pooling where the pounding of running forces the blood into the legs and can create a host of issues in addition to pain. If I had any recommendation, I'd say make an appointment with Dr. Greg Coppola over at St. Vincents Sports Medicine in the Yorktown Plaza, or, depending on how the person's insurance handles Physical Therapy (some allow 40 visits per year without a physician's referral), make an appointment with Curt Cardman out at Barabas Physical Therapy in Girard who, in my opinion, is one of the most knowledge individuals in the area when it comes to running issues.
Posted by J. Willow | January 19, 2008 8:27 AM
Posted on January 19, 2008 08:27