How to protect yourself from kicking
Kinking is the most common cause of injury while running. The most important remedy, however, is prevention through stabilization exercises for the feet.Tens of thousands of recreational and recreational runners have already made it: The buckling. It is the most common cause of injury in running sports - and the most underestimated. Especially in the frequency is the problem. "Kinking is the most common injury in running sports and is unfortunately far too often trivialized by athletes," says Professor Gert-Peter Bargeman, director of the Institute for Biomechanics and Orthopedics at the Sport University Cologne. He distinguishes two basic types of instability that lead to the buckling, the morphological and the functional. The morphological instability arises for example from pre-lesions of the ligamentous apparatus or cartilage in the ankle. "Precisely because the risk of re-injury is so high, kink injuries must be taken so seriously,"
How big is my risk of turning around?
There is a simple procedure to estimate the risk of kinking: the equilibrium test on one leg: with your eyes closed, stand each time for ten seconds on the left leg and then on the right leg, without the unloaded foot touching the leg. If you fail to maintain the balance over the specified period, your risk is 2.5 times greater than those who pass the test.Stabilizing muscles are often underdeveloped
The functional instability is based on the lack of control of the peroneal muscles, which is so underdeveloped in some runners, as if they had "run their whole lives in ski boots," said Brüggemann. The peroneal musculature lies in the front and outside of the lower leg. It is controlled by mechanoreceptors in joint capsules and ligaments and stabilizes the ankle, More receptors are located in the tendon and muscle joints. If a runner violently kills, not only the ligaments and cartilage but also the receptors located there are damaged, which only heal very slowly and in the worst case, not at all, because nerve structures are only partially regenerative. The result: Even if the ligament injury has healed, sufferers tend over and over again to kinking, because the ankle can not be optimally stabilized via the receptors.Reduce the risk of kinking by practicing motor patterns
"If the kinking happens so often that the feedback strategies of the body no longer work, a so-called feedforward strategy must be used to reduce the risk of injury," said Brüggemann. While a hiker may still be able to correct a threatening twisting of his knee, a runner does not manage to respond to kinking in the ankle by feedback. It just happens too fast: Often less than 50 milliseconds, about half as much time as in the case of a threatening knee twist, between the triggering moment and the twisting of the foot, the distortion."Because the response time is so short, motor patterns have to be applied in appropriate situations, such as runningon uneven ground, grip and restore balance, "Brüggemann explains the meaning of the feedforward strategy. These patterns are created by stabilization training. These include, in particular, exercises on a balance pad and a wobbly board as well as one-leg stance and barefoot running. These exercises reduce the risk of injury and improve performance because it can run more effectively.
Double benefit: fewer injuries, more speed
Regular stabilization and coordination training for the foot and calf muscles not only reduces the risk of injury. By strengthening the foot muscles, the ground contact time can be reduced - and thus you can run faster.The best exercises to prevent kinking while running
These simple exercises help you to improve the stability of your feet to prevent missteps.Important: Do not do these stabilization exercises after running, but in front of a loose unit.
Stick
on a chair and place five crayons in front of your right foot. With the toes of the left foot, grasp the pins individually and place them in front of the original position of the left foot. Then do the exercise with your right foot and place the pins in front of the original foot position of your right foot. Exercise with both feet three times.Einbeinstand with mini squat
Can best be done on a soft pad. Alternately put on the left and right foot and lead the unloaded leg stretched backwards. While doing so, bend the trunk slightly forward and position your head between your outstretched arms as if you were about to dive into the water . Perform five light squats in this position.Prellhopser
The body is upright, knee joints only slightly bent. The feet are facing in the direction and parallel apart at a distance of about a hand width. It hops short and flat, with a short ground contact time, as if you were bouncing a basketball quickly and just above the ground. After jumping off, put on the toes, land on the bale. The heel touches the ground very briefly. The strength must be developed from the ankles, not from the thighs. Run three times for 30 seconds, with a break of 30 seconds in between.Heel and heel stand
Can also train the most effective on the Soft Pad. Stand with both legs on the surface and, with your knees bent only slightly, place alternately on the heels and toes and hold the position for three seconds. Exercise three times with six positions each.Do not focus on material
Unfortunately, instead of stabilizing the ankles, many runners only seek salvation in footwear, tapes or orthoses. This is not recommended. On the contrary, stable support elements on running shoes can even increase the danger of tipping over because the supports can act as potential toggle levers. As far as avoiding kinking, flexible running shoes with a low stand in the shoe are the best choice. In this shoe, you have a secure appearance and a direct feel, so you better feel the ground. Especially in the field this is important. There, the danger of turning over is even higher than on the road.After the kinking: impatience is punished
However, if the buckling happens in spite of all prevention measures, compression and cooling are of particular importance within the framework of the well-known PECH rule - ie break, ice, compression and elevation. The bruise must be quenched quickly and the swelling be curbed. This accelerates the healing process and the regeneration of the damaged structures. If you have to bend over a lot when running, you should do without the hero number and not continue, but rather organize a pickup - or take the next bus. As soon as possible, a sports doctor should be consulted, who may be able to rule out bony injuries by means of X-ray findings, which may need to be treated surgically.The period of convalescence also depends on the severity of the injury. In the first phase, a physio-therapeutic care should be ensured accompanying the specialist. As a rule, semi-rigid compression bandages help in the first week, followed by physiotherapy and a total of around six weeks of running time.
In some cases, it may be useful to complete the first months of running after the injury with ankle braces or orthoses. Impatience does not pay off: Those who get back to running training too soon and too thoughtlessly punish the renewed injury in the truest sense of the word.
