Prevention of injuries in young competitive orienteers
Workshop presented in Andalo, Trentino, Italy on 2 July 2024
by Martin Krause (Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist)
Orienteering, especially at an elite level, requires a combination of physical, mental and cognitive agility. Essentially, its a task which requires the ability to move 'fleet of foot' through uneven terrain at optimal speed, whilst navigating sequential 'check points' using a detailed map (1:2500 -> 1:15000) and reading a compass.
Physical attributes required include
- foot/ankle, knee, hip and body stability
- balanced 'inverse dynamics' from the ankle to the torso and arms
- endurance - resistance to fatigue 'slow twitch' muscle fibre stability (Work = Power x Time)
- agility - co-ordinated power (Power = Force x Velocity)
- strength - ability to produce force (Force = Mass x Acceleration)
Good training techniques, need to be achieved for competitive results, This involve cognitive goal setting, using mental and physiological considerations, that result in the avoidance of injuries and the minimisation of lost training days through ill-health.
- Endurance : 'resistance to fatigue' and hence reduced risk of movement breakdown and injury : Work = Power x time
- Power : ability to produce movement under load without compromising stability : Power = Force x velocity
- Force = muscle mass and cross sectional area : mass x acceleration
- Acceleration = change in speed in varying terrain : velocity/time
- Velocity = displacement/time
Physical attributes should be differentiated from the physiological and neuro-immune attributes required for elite sporting performance.
Causes of injuries
Injuries in orienteering can occur within and without competition. Generally, athletes feel that injuries occur due to 'bad luck'. If we consider the inverse 'good luck', then consider it's definition 'when good preparation meets opportunity'.
Injuries occur as a result of
- fatigue (mechanical and metabolic)
- lack of co-ordination and strength
- inexperience - lack of technical and physical experience in various terrain and cognitive loading conditions
Fatigue can be
- metabolic - insufficiently trained oxidative capacity
- cardiac - output as a result of heart rate and stroke volume
- mechanical
- insufficient hypertrophy of 'passive' soft tissue and bony structures
- insufficient muscle adaptation of contractile and synergistic systems
- immune - under appreciating the importance of considering muscle as one of the most important organs of the immune system
- gut - energy species and biome interacting with muscle in a symbiotic relationship
Cognitive
- adaptation to physical and mental stress through training (not over-training)
- map reading and other psychological conditions to perform functionally in both sport specific and non-sporting environments
Injuries can be avoided by adaptive loading the body through sports specific
- Periodisation of training
- Nutrition - both energy, immune and anti-oxidant considerations
- Specific exercise tasks
- Progressive resistance gym training
- Plyometric exercises
Endurance training
Orienteering is an endurance sport. Coaches as well as individuals will place a lot of emphasis on the physiological requirements (Heart Rate Max = 220 - age) which makes an endurance athlete. These zones are taken from road and track cycling programs in the 1990's.
Zone One (<70% HR max): very low level light exercise, too low in itself to induce physiological adaptations. Minimal sensation of effort or fatigue. Easy to hold a conversation. Used as a recovery strategy between bouts of exercise (intervals) or as a recovery strategy after a hard training session or long race.
Zone Two: (endurance 71-80% HR max): classic long slow all day long distance training. Good for gaining and endurance base. However, if too much time is spent training slow, you become slow. Recovery from 2 hour sessions should be quite rapid, whereas longer sessions with some moderately fatiguing climbs may take 1-2 days to recover
Zone Three (tempo 81-85% HR max): intensity as a result of speed. Frequent sensation of fatigue, concentration required, conversation becoming difficult. Daily sessions possible so long as adequate energy requirements are met. HR recovery may be a good test to indicate how well you have recovered.
Zone Four (lactic threshold 86-94% HR max): efforts similar to time trials on a bike. Continuous conversation very difficult. Continuous sensation of effort or fatigue in muscles being exercised. Mentally very taxing and generally performed in blocks or repeats of exercise with some recovery between bouts but not too long e.g. running 1-3 minute blocks with 1-3 minute rest in between; cycling 10-30 minutes with 10-30 minute recovery between blocks of exercise. Consecutive days of training possible, but check HR recovery every morning and also maintain an immune enhancing diet. Not wise to do just before a big race. Also unwise to do if there is a lot of other stress in your life. Recovery is super important.
Zone Five (95-120% HR max): short intense bouts of activity. Running 10-30 seconds, Cycling 3-8 minutes. Strong to severe sensation of fatigue. Laboured breathing. Repeated consecutive days of training not recommended and considered undesirable
You want to get to a point in your training and elite sporting career where lactic acid is not a performance limitation but a useful energy substrate
Elite Swiss orienteers run 5000m track at under 15 minutes. Matthius Kybutz qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics running sub 2hrs07mins. You need to be fast to be an elite orienteer and elite performance takes time. Goal setting can be a weekly, monthly, yearly or even something which evolves over a decade. Most successful elite sports people knew what they wanted to achieve as teenagers. It takes 10000 hours of quality practice to reach expertise.
A by-product of physiological loading is mechanical loading of muscles that activate an inflammatory - immune response
These extreme physiological training principles of zone 3 -> 5, carry the risk of severe mechanical over loading unless prior muscle conditioning has been achieved. Well prescribed exercises can 'fine tune' muscle immune responses. Conversely, over-training, from poor preparation, can lead to immune and mechanical compromise within muscles, leading to under-performance, lost training opportunities and potential injury.
Heat shock proteins (HSP's) as well as several immune substances and neuropeptides (TNF - Tumour necrosing factor, IL - Interleukins, IGF - Insulin Gene Related Factor, NK - natural Killer Cells, T - lymphocytes, etc) reside within muscle and it's myofascia. These substances are released during physically demanding activities, due to mechanical and/or metabolic strain/stress to induce, either a positive (anabolic) or negative (catabolic) training impact, Therefore, the response can be 'fine tuned' depending upon the appropriateness of loading and recovery, based on the preparation, stage and stability of the athletes mechanical and metabolic conditioning.
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
Muscles contract using a sliding filament mechanism, whereby two filaments - actin and myosin use a 'ratchet' 'cog and rack' like mechanism to shorten and lengthen muscles. These filaments are held together by various cross bridges. DOMS can occur, when unaccustomed exercise is introduced to the training program. Frequently, these are activities which involve muscle contractions whilst the muscle is lengthening (eccentric contractions). Running downhill would be a good example of quadriceps controlled lengthening through muscle contraction. (later it will be explained why running downhill using the hamstrings and gluteal muscles as a synergy to the quadriceps is so important). One simple theory behind DOMS is the 'broadening and streaming' of the Z discs. This can lead to swelling within muscles as a result of the release of inflammatory neuroimmune peptides. Microscopic changes to the cross filaments can last 28 days. Whilst it may seem simple to say, avoid such contractions, training to change the mechanical efficiency of muscles does require some 'damage' and remodelling into a more loading tolerant system. To reduce the risk of mal-adaptive changes, specific functional exercises that involve components of, as well as, entire muscle synergies are required. These exercises should introduce optimisation of the mechanical loading of the entire limb, ideally for downhill and uneven terrain running.
Differentiation of the metabolic and mechanical demands of training for a positive training effect, thereby avoiding or reducing the risk of injury
When considering such a model, ideally the joint loading is minimised through the use of bi-articular muscles. In the case of downhill running, the hamstrings and calf bi-articular muscle 'energy straps' circumventing loading on the knee joint. Additionally, this action simultaneously reduces the loading of the quadriceps near the knee, whilst increasing it's loading in the upper 2/3 towards the hip. Thus a series of stabilising contractions in the lower limb. leading to further mechanical energy dissipation in the gluteal and core muscles of the pelvis. This stabilisation and optimisation, is particularly important, as the loading around the knee can reach up to 3 - 7 times body weight, when running downhill. Exercises, involving actions which mimic 'downhill skiing', 'reverse lunges' and 'nose behind toes' plyometrics box activities will be described later in the exercise section.
Mechanical - metabolic - immune conversion
Importantly. muscles are an organ of the immune system as well as an organ of locomotion. Beside, optimisation of mechanical loading capacity, protective principles to avoid immune compromise, inflammation and injury include
- periodisation of training
- progressive resistance weight training
- power and agility training using kinetic chain 'sling' synergies and plyometric type exercises
- environment - don't go into crowded spaces in the immediate 2 hours post training.
- nutrition - carbohydrate and protein loading before, during and immediately after physical activity. These factors are particularly important during periods of intense training and/or competition. Periodization of training can aid in avoiding 'breakdown' as a result of insufficient recuperation and adaptation to training regimes.
Heat and Cold Shock Proteins
Saunas and cold immersion baths have been advocated for recovery from training and competition. Both are considered to improve the immune system through the release of either heat or cold shock proteins (HSP, CSP). These basic short peptide chain substances are considered to be the basic building blocks of evolution and the development of multi-cellular life on this planet. Inside our muscles, these can be considered basic building blocks of healing and repair. They form complex synergistic relationships with other longer chain HSP (eh HSP 27 and HSP 72), within muscles (mechanical stress, e.g. delayed onset muscle soreness DOMS) and potentially through oxidative stress (metabolic fatigue) for another synergy with (HSP) immune and energy species in the gut? Furthermore, cold immersion therapy can also be used to potentiate microcirculation, reducing clinical and sub-clinical swelling. Although, the precise relationship is complex and still not fully understood, the fact that this form of therapy has been used for thousands of years, in many parts of the world, at least on the face of it, makes the use of sauna and cold immersion baths, a valid strategy to use
Categories of causes of injury
Adverse biomechanical conditions as a result of misuse, disuse, overuse, abuse results in damage which can cause a vicious reciprocating cycle of muscle-tendon atrophy, degenerative changes, and immune-metabolic dysfunction.
- Misuse - poor technique e.g. asymmetrical push off, from previous ankle sprains, resulting in Achilles Tendonopathy
- Disuse - prolonged periods of rest as a result of illness or injury
- Abuse - trauma such as ankle and knee sprains, muscle strains
- Overuse - poor periodisation of training volume resulting in over-loading. Usually as a result of over-reaching. Fail to plan, then plan to fail. Use a training diary for transparency and accountability, which should avoid over-training syndromes including mood disturbances (3 bastards in a day)
Periodisation of training in the prevention of overuse injuries
Periodisation of training and correct technique reduce the risk of over-training, 'staleness', immune compromise and injury by considering the importance of rest, nutrition and correct biomechanical and physiological loading.
- Preparatory ; Training phases may be separated into various stages depending upon the age of the athlete and whether the athlete is a novice or experienced. General physical abilities may include multilateral/dimensional development of endurance e.g. using bike riding and swimming or even a team sport like soccer, to develop agility, as an adjunct to running training, to prepare for the volume of training required during sport specific orienteering training and competition. Specific physical training may mean more time devoted to the particular run e.g. 5000m vs 10000m vs hurdles vs orienteering and less time devoted to other sports. Importantly, these forms of training need to be monitored as their intensity could lead to injury before the competitive season has begun.
- Competitive : As training proceeds into the competitive phase some athletes place a higher proportion of their loading on intensity whilst reducing the total volume of training. Cycles such as this one may be biannual or biennial. Importantly, periodisation and cyclic loading is not restricted to any particular time frame. Although, it does place emphasis on incremental loading moreover it places emphasis on optimal regeneration and recovery. Additionally, such a methodology provides a 'base' for the next cycle of training activities. Each macrocycle may be made up from micro cycles which can last days, weeks, months or years. Remember, each time you train to change your bodies abilities you are stressing the system and therefore recuperation and repair is important.
- Transition : seasonal - 'time out', regeneration/recovery, multi sport during 'off season' or a micro cycle of the low volume/intensity day/week/month, working back into the preparatory phase
Training phases
Protective exercises can be prescribed for the different training phases. Generally, a good endurance base is considered important to prevent injury from much higher mechanical loads which can occur during power and speed work outs, or during periods of intense competition.
Fast and Slow twitch muscle fibres - the 'floppies' and the 'stiffies'
Anatomically, endurance muscles are deep muscles, close to the joint, generally only cross one joint and are slow twitch red muscle fibres. Muscles for power are 'fast twitch' white fibres which are more superficial and cross more than one joint and even multiple body segments.
People tend to be divided into two categories - the 'floppies' and the 'stiffies'. Floppies tend to be inherently ballistic in their movements - sprinters. Conversely, stiffies tend to be endurance athletes. Frequently, stiffies need to do speed, flexibility and agility training, whereas floppies need to do endurance training, to protective themselves from injury.
- specific endurance exercises use the principle of 3 sets of repetitions to metabolic fatigue, with a short recovery period between sets, with low loads
- specific power exercises involve few repetitions using high loads to mechanically fatigue muscle cross fibres and tendon
- plyometrics speed rebounding exercises provide a mechanical and immune protective mechanism against the stresses of training and competitions
Musculoskeletal stress and the immune system
Recovery may involve analysis of technique, examination of training load (duration, frequency, intensity), adequate rest and nutrition, as well as a sound state of mind (mental strength). Over-training has been shown, within 4 weeks, after the onset of training, to be associated with increased oxidative stress both at rest and during submaximal exercise in a group of men after they underwent 7 weeks of intense military training (Tanskanen et al 2011, Med Sc Sp Ex, 43, 8, 1552-1560)
Overtraining - over reaching = immune compromise
A common symptom of over-training is non-restorative sleep, immune compromise and stress fractures. Approximately, 1/3 of young athletes have experienced 'non functional over-reaching (NFOR) or over-training (OT) at least once in their sporting life (Matos et al 2011, Med Sc & Sp Ex, 43, 7, 1287-1294). The rate was higher in individual sports (37%) when compared with team sports (17%). Individual sporting endeavours tended to consume more than 2 hours per day, 6-7 days per week, which was significantly greater than the training volume reported in team sports. Females were more prevalent in the OT cohort (36% vs 26%). Moreover, even in low physical intensity sports such as golf individuals may suffer from NFOR/OT. Training load and volume alone wasn't the sole contributor to OT, as sporting individuals appeared to devote more time to their sport and less time to socialising and other school activities. Thus, they are at risk of developing a uni-dimensional personality which seems to place them at risk for NFOR/OT. Self esteem, identity and self-worth become intertwined which is fine whilst they are gaining sporting success, however sporting failure may result in stress and anxiety. Hence, young athletes should be encouraged to form multi-dimensional personalities through encouragement of a range of hobbies and interests.
Over training in female athletes can be particularly severe as O-T leads to alterations in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle which results in dysmenorrhea and potential reductions in bone mineral density and metabolic dysfunction due to reduced Oestrogen levels.
Heart rate variability
More precise monitoring of the rate of recovery can be achieved by examining 'Heart Rate Variability' whereby the response of the heart from 3 minutes prone to 2 minutes of upright posture is measured. High variability dictates a fresh response - low variability indicates a 'stale response' or high stress related fatigue. This allows the athlete to more objectively determine which days should be recovery days and which ones are days where they can train a little harder. Importantly, chronically reduced HRV is suggested to be a 'red flag' for sudden cardiac arrest in otherwise fit and healthy individuals. Such individuals should have further testing by a cardiologist before recommencing their training regime.
Metrics should be used in the evaluation of fatigue, just as they are used in the evaluation of performance.
Sleep and irritability - the 3 B's
Sleep is particularly important for adaptation to training. There are essentially two immune systems
- adaptive - the one we develop in response to environmental stressors
- innate - the one we are born with and has a very strong genetic pre-determination
One immune system is more active during the day and the other more active at night. At night immune and inflammatory reactions to the physical and mental loading of the day are activated for tissue building, healing and repair.
Hormonal balance at night should be anabolic (testosterone, progesterone, oestrogen) muscle building vs catabolic (cortisol), muscle depleting.
A sign of overtraining is non-restorative sleep, waking in the morning and feeling tired. This can lead to the 'three bastards in a day phenomenon'. When we meet one person in the day, whom we don't particularly like, we might think that's unfortunate, when we meet a second maybe doubly unfortunate, if we meet a third, then it's not them but you. Overtraining can lead to immune compromise and ill health. Ask your partner, spouse, close friends if you're in over-training.
Don't train when you are sick
Muscles have a dual role of
- locomotion
- immune conversations
When you are sick, muscle protein and immune substances are required for recuperation. Training isn't only unwise, it's probably a complete waste of time.
- importantly muscles interact with the gut and it's energy deriving species, as well as with immune substances inside the gut, including heat shock proteins.
Nutrition
Nutrition should consider
- energy substrates (carbohydrate, fat and protein)
- anti-oxidative (Vit C, Blue Berries, etc)
- pro-biotic (Sauer Kraut, Kim Chi, etc)
- nitrogen balance
Endurance training (volume) - periodization
How to develop endurance and volume of training without over-training.
Periodisation of training allows the athlete to gradually build up their training volume and/or intensity, whilst allowing time for regeneration. Gradual increments of loading can occur, whilst reducing the risk of excessive over-loading and hence injury. Additionally, training of various intensities allows the metabolic systems to develop in parallel. Thereby the anaerobic and aerobic metabolic systems can be used to drive endurance, reduce fatigue and the risks of injury associated with movement breakdown from fatigue.
On a micro level an orienteering competition is similar to periodisation, with intense anaerobic intervals, such as running uphill, requiring a medium or low interval for heart rate recovery, which can occur when running downhill or on flatter terrain. Even after coming out of the forest and spending a short period running on a track or road, may potentially be considered a transition phase?
Flexibility
Hatha flow yoga is a good form of stretching without compromising stability. Can be done by both 'floppies' and 'stiffies'. A lot of emphasis is placed on the mobility and strength of the thorax through breathing, rotation and side bending movements whilst the limbs are either loaded or unloaded. A general rule of thumb, is that flexible people should draw stabilising forces inwards into the body, whilst stiff people should be mobilising outwards. It should be noted that people can have stiff muscles and loose joints. In many cases this is because the body is trying to protect a weakness. Therefore, with every mobilising exercise, the stabilizing component should also be considered. If nothing else, yoga will teach you to breath properly as well as relax and become more in tune with your body. This should mean that the 'self-awareness' gained by flowing through yoga positions will act like an internal monitoring system, alerting the person about potential problems before they arise rather than the first awareness being that of pain.
Strength : fast twitch mobilizing muscles
Strength training usually involves a gym program where the ability to move loads (mass) progressively improves. Benefits can be attained within 6 weeks. Fast twitch muscle fibres tend to cross more than one joint and act as 'energy straps' across different parts of the body e.g. hamstrings cross from the shin to the pelvis thereby transferring energy to the pelvis without compromising/over-loading the knee or hip. These energy straps or slings are very important in the prevention of injuries but also in the approach to rehabilitation.
Endurance : slow twitch stabilising muscles
Endurance training involves developing 'resistance to fatigue' over a 12-16 week period. Slow twitch muscles usually lie very deep and close to the joint. They tend to cross only one joint and provide localized stability over very long periods of time. Progression of training as well as recovery from injury shouldn't ignore endurance at the expense of 'ballistic power'.
Misuse : repetitive incorrect microtrauma through non optimal loading
In orienteering and running in general this results in tendonopathy, commonly involving the hamstrings, quadriceps and Achilles. A common example is a chronically unstable ankle causing asymmetrical loading of the Achilles tendon. Localised, endurance stabilising muscles can be used to improve the localised alignment around the foot and ankle. Frequently, ankles are unstable due to weakness of hip muscles. Hence, multi-joint energy strap muscles incorporating the 'sling' concepts are trained here. Running slowly in soft sand with good technique can also address both issues whilst improving form and function.
Abuse : trauma
Running through uneven terrain can result in ankle, knee and hip sprains of ligaments. Importantly, power and agility training can be used to improve stability. Ultimately, plyometrics can be used to improve stability in uneven terrain. However, muscles need to have other attributes such as length to produce velocity, which in turn improves acceleration of mass and force ultimately producing power.
Consider a chain which has some 'rusty' links. When you move the whole chain, movement occurs in the non 'rusty' links. Eventually, those loose links, taking all the movement load, will become weak, Similarly, in the body, restricted movement in one part of the body can lead to excessive movement and over-loading in another.
Certain joints have a specific movement function in a given kinetic chain. Consider, the ankle and knee to be essentially 'hinge' joints with a small amount of rotation. Generally, when we injure either one of these, it's because of an uncontrolled twisting action. The hip on the other hand, is a 'ball and socket' joint designed to rotate. Therefore, prevention of ankle and knee injuries must consider exercises which stabilise the hip. The other 'ball and socket' joint is in the talo-navicular joint in the arch of the foot. Running bare foot on soft sand can strengthen both the hip and the foot, thereby protecting the ankle and the knee. Failing soft sand, the exercises below are designed to improve kinetic limb co-ordination and hence dynamic stability.
Take home message : "the whole kinetic chain needs to be in rhythm and harmony with each other"
Sling like exercises for the optimisation of the two joint muscle 'energy straps'
Whilst the joints can be considered like the wheels of a 'pulley' system, the axel as the 'slow twitch stabilizing muscles', whereas the 'fast twitch ballistic muscles' can be regarded as the ropes of the system, conveying tension from one body part to the next, whilst circumventing forces applied to the joints in between the body parts. An example, is the use of the hamstrings to extend the knee (closed kinetic chain such as downhill skiing, reverse lunges, downhill running leaning forward), bypassing forces applied to the knee, whilst transferring energy from the shin/calf to the pelvis/glutes.
The muscular slings can be divided into
- front and back : quadriceps upper 2/3 with the hamstrings and gluteal muscles as in reverse lunges and reverse squats and quads hover
- oblique spiral : abdominal muscles as in planking forwards and sideways, Swiss Ball exercises
- medial and lateral : hip hitches with the non standing leg in various positions simulating running positions
Repetitions : 3 sets to fatigue
Calf muscles are particularly important for propulsion but also for shock absorption, as they can absorb up to 70% of the forces going into the knee when running down hill. Skipping and hopping can be very useful exercises to improve calf function.
Other examples of sports which can be used to activate neuromuscular 'slings' include indoor/outdoor rock climbing and the bouldering gym.
The 'Butt' comes before the core.
Gluteal contractions activate abdominal core muscles as well as enhance the upper limb strength.
Core and back exercises
Progressive Resistance Weight Training
- Strength : 3 -> 4 sets of 5 repetitions with several minutes rest between sets. Promoting mechanical fatigue
- Conditioning -> endurance 3 x 20-30 repetitions with only 60 seconds rest between sets. Promoting metabolic fatigue
- Power : Proactive potentiation resistance squats followed by box jumps. 2 -> 3 days between workouts. Promoting ballistic mechanical rebounding (potential energy into kinetic energy). a bit like a stretched rubber band recoiling back to the shortened position
Generally, muscles who perform an eccentric contraction (jumping down) prior to a concentric contraction (jumping up), enhance the concentric contraction. However, if not conditioned appropriately, athletes will suffer DOMS within 8 hours which will gradually worsen up to 48 hours post exercise.
Doing alternative sports during the transition phase can aid in attaining strength, endurance and power. Such sports need to be ballistic fast reactive multi-directional. Examples are soccer, squash and serious table tennis.
Plyometrics : "nose behind toes"
Plyometrics uses the physical concept of turning kinetic energy (KE = 1/2mv2) into potential energy (PE =mgh) and vice versa
Various heights depending upon size of person and ability to jump : 40 vs 50cm
Hands from behind to the front
Important to land in 1/4 squat.
Hip wide feet - with emphasis on the knees staying above foot/ankle whilst the pelvis stays back on landing
Sideways step ups can be progressed to sideways jump ups as well as 'cross overs' to the other side
Reverse lunge step down - pelvis drops and knee stays above ankle and mid foot - emphasis is on the posterior sling : hamstrings and gluteal muscles. No tension in the knee.
loading upper 2/3 of thighs and glutes. Taking the knees back, takes tension out of the knee joint.
Note the pelvis dropping vertically
Again the emphasis is on the pelvis dropping vertically. Note : the knee moves forwards and backwards horizontal to ground (NOT up and down). Sensation of strain should be in the upper hamstrings, glutes and upper 2/3 of quads (NOT in the knee)
Pelvis drops down and back whilst the knee maintains alignment in the hip and ankle
Progression
- preloading resistance training
- weighted vest or ankle weights
- using a dumbbell in each hand or a kettle bell
Sports such cycling, cross country skiing, telemarking, and speed skating can have similar effects on activating the muscular slings across the body, when done correctly.
Importantly, for transfer of learning from exercise to sport specific task, visualisation and internal mental imagery of the task should be performed. For example, whilst doing the plyometrics box, visualise a forest and the map whilst doing the task. Later in training, whilst running up or downhill, visualise, from within, the plyometrics box. Further reading on mental training and orienteering can be found here : https://www.back-in-business-physiotherapy.com/sports-performance/orienteering.html
Summary
- muscles have a dual function as a mechanical organ of loading and movement as well as an important immune function
- muscle mass allows for the adaptation to training and sport loads as well as providing a reservoir of protein for immune function
- muscles have a synergistic function with the gut
- recuperation is the ultimate goal of any sporting endeavour
- alternate sports can be used to improve ballistic performance capacity as well as to engage the muscular slings across the body
- muscular slings are inherently 'innate', they just need to be 'woken up' and activated
- the Glutes activate the core, which gives both upper and lower limb strength by providing a stabilising point of inflection in a system which oscillates
- elongation through the upper neck (Alexander Technique), broadens the shoulders, lifts the pelvic floor, thereby stabilising the core, opens the diaphragm to lateral breathing, which allows hip flexors to work independently, as well as encourages the pendular movements of the arms which create the rhythm of the legs
Conclusion
Injuries can be avoided by adaptive loading the body through sports specific
- Periodisation of training
- Nutrition - both energy, immune and anti-oxidant considerations
- Specific exercise tasks for activating the neuromuscular slings for dynamic stability in uneven terrain
- Progressive resistance gym training for running uphill
- Plyometric exercises for running up and downhill, as well as for one legged and two legged jumping, landing and take-off
- Train to run and compete uphill for resistance to metabolic fatigue
- Train to run and compete downhill for optimal biomechanical performance and avoidance of injury
- Contrast baths (ice bath and sauna) for optimisation of recovery (heat shock and cold shock proteins, as well as micro-circulation)
Races can only be won by running fast and especially fast downhill. Injuries are more likely to occur as the intensity or volume of loading increase. The same exercises which improve mechanical efficiency and performance are therefore the same exercises that reduce the likelihood of injury.
Further reading on mental and mechanical stress and the immune system can be found here : https://back-in-business-physiotherapy.com/physiotherapy-teaching/rome-presentation.html
Uploaded by Martin Krause on 16 June 2024
Updated : 10 July 2024