, ,

Searching for a Personal Trainer in Victoria to Help You Achieve Your Goals?

Searching for a Personal Trainer in Victoria to Help You Achieve Your Goals?

Are you on the search for a personal trainer in Victoria? Whether you’re a gym novice who needs help designing a fitness program or a seasoned athlete who is aiming to improve performance or rehabilitate following an injury, here’s how our personal trainer and certified kinesiologist, Angelina Schaaf, can help you get on track, stay the course and achieve your optimal fitness and performance goals this year.

How to Choose the Right Personal Trainer in Victoria for You

There are a lot of personal trainers in Victoria to choose from, and selecting the right one for your specific needs can be a challenge. People often ask their friends for recommendations, but that doesn’t always result in a good match because what works for one person may not lead to a successful outcome for another. Fitness training isn’t one-size-fits-all. You need a trainer with the right experience to understand where you are in your fitness journey now, what tweaks and adjustments may be required to avoid injury, and the specific volume and stimulus required to ensure continual progress. For example, here are just a few of the main reasons people choose Diversified Health Clinic’s personal training services:

  • Certified kinesiologist: Angelina Schaff is an experienced personal trainer and a certified kinesiologist. Her in-depth knowledge enables her to identify, correct and ensure optimal lifting techniques, posture and movement patterns that avoid injury and effectively isolate the right muscles. Angelina also knows what each fitness program requires to balance muscle groups for optimal results and performance. 
  • Injury Rehabilitation: When embarking on a new fitness routine or exercise, the last thing you want is to compromise an old injury. Personal training at Diversified Health Clinic can be tailored for safe and effective injury rehabilitation and improved strength and mobility. 
  • Sports conditioning and training: On-season and off-season, Angelina Schaaf offers bespoke fitness programs that improve speed, strength and performance while correcting suboptimal movement patterns to avoid muscle imbalances or injury. Our programs can be tailored to each sport, including pre and post-season conditioning. 
  • Goal Specific: Angelina will design your fitness programs according to your immediate and long-term goals. A client whose goal is to lose weight and build lean muscle will require a program that is vastly different from a client whose goal is to increase power, combustive strength and muscle mass. Personal training at Diversified Health Clinic starts with a thorough health assessment to clarify your goals, followed by a physical evaluation to determine your current conditioning before custom-designing an effective program just for you.

Fitness programming isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach — it has to be tailored.

Ensuring Good Habits Stick

It’s no coincidence that the post-holiday period between January and February brings many people to the gym, full of enthusiasm about improving their fitness. While getting started is half the battle, the real challenge is making new habits stick. Consider how many resolutions you’ve made in the past that fell to the wayside when other things got in the way. Working with a personal trainer gives you an accountability partner and helps motivate you long after your natural enthusiasm has worn off. 

Focus and Privacy

Diversified Health Clinic has a private gym space with everything needed for a comprehensive training program. Clients appreciate the one-on-one focus they receive from our personal trainer, and our safe and uncrowded gym space is ideal for injury rehabilitation programs and sports conditioning. 

Building Optimal Outcomes

How to choose the right personal trainer in Victoria.

Why hire a personal trainer when you can show up to the gym and simply “wing it” as you go? As the old adage goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” While it’s true that you can still benefit from working out without a program, if your goal is to make improvements and other changes, you’ll likely require a plan to see results. Fitness programming is crucial because our body always seeks homeostasis and the path of least resistance. Training without a plan can often result in a lot of time spent exercising with few physiological changes to show for it. It can also result in performance plateaus due to the body becoming accustomed to stimulus. 

An experienced personal trainer such as Angelina will know which exercises are best suited to your current situation and goals and how much volume, intensity and change are required to deliver ongoing and progressive results. And let’s face it, a few things are more motivating than noticing a positive change from the time and effort you put in at the gym. 

Take the First Step Towards a Happier, Healthier and Fitter You This Year!

Call Diversified Health Clinic today at (250) 382-0018 to book with Angelina Schaaf, our kinesiologist and personal trainer in Victoria, BC., or book an appointment online.

/by
, , , ,

Don’t Let Running-Related Pain and Injury Stop You 

Don’t Let Running-Related Pain and Injury Stop You 

It’s running season again, with several running events happening in Victoria between May and October. Significant upcoming running events like the Oak Bay Half-Marathon and the Victoria Goddess Run have many running enthusiasts ramping up their conditioning and noticing running-related pain as a result.

Addressing Pain and Preventing Injury Will Take You Far

While most running-related pain can be alleviated with rest, it’s never a good idea to ignore pain, especially if it persists and interferes with the activities you love. Addressing suspicious pain early on can prevent more serious damage and permanent injury. 

A Few of the Most Common Causes of Running-Related Pain and Injuries

Runners Knee: (otherwise known as patellofemoral pain syndrome) is an umbrella term used to describe one or more causes of knee pain. One of the leading causes of runner’s knee occurs when the cartilage of the kneecap is compromised, resulting in an aching pain that’s often accompanied by stiffness and a popping or grinding feeling when the knee is bent. Runner’s knee can also be caused by strained tendons from overuse or direct trauma due to a hit or bad fall. In addition, gait issues and muscle imbalances are contributing and aggravating factors. 

IT Band Syndrome: (which is often associated with runner’s knee), is experienced as a sharp, burning, clicking, or aching pain on the outside of the knee. IT Band Syndrome is caused by inflammation and irritation of the iliotibial band that runs down the outer part of your thigh, connecting your pelvis to your knee. Gait issues, muscle imbalances, overuse, and running downhill or on irregular surfaces are all contributing factors.

Shin Splints: describes that hard to mistake aching and burning pain at the front of your lower leg, which is caused by repetitive strain of the tibia and its connecting tendons. Contributing factors include gait issues that affect ankle alignment, weight, and running downhill or on irregular surfaces.

Nerve Pain with Sciatica: often experienced as a sharp pinching or shooting pain in the lower back and upper glutes that can radiate down the back of the thigh. Sciatica pain occurs when the sciatic nerve becomes inflamed, pinched or compressed due to a herniated spinal disc or tight lower back or glute muscles.

Plantar Fasciitis: a common running injury that results in burning or stabbing pain in the heel or midsole of the foot due to inflammation of the plantar fascia that runs from your toes to your heel bone.

Stress Fractures: a common cause of running-related pain and injury. Stress fractures from running occur when muscles become strained and cannot sufficiently absorb the impact of a runner’s feet striking the ground, resulting in small cracks in a bone. Symptoms include sharp pain and swelling that worsens during activity and often persists at rest. The contributing factors are running on hard surfaces, unresolved gait issues, poor footwear, and muscle overuse. In runners, the bones of the shins, ankles, and feet are most commonly affected.

Achilles Tendonitis: experienced as pain, tension, and stiffness of the back of the ankle and heel caused by inflammation of the Achilles tendon due to tight calf muscles, bone spurs, and overuse. Achilles tendonitis typically occurs when running distance and intensity increase.

Muscle Strains and Sprains: includes muscle tears and pulls that cause pain that persists despite rest, which can be accompanied by swelling, bruising, redness, weakness, and obstructed mobility of the affected muscles. Hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and groin are the most common muscles affected by tears and pulls from running. 

Sore Hips: burning or aching pain and stiffness of the hip joints and surrounding area is often caused by muscle tension, overuse, muscle imbalances, and unresolved gait issues. In some cases, hip pain may be caused by stress fractures or cartilage tears.

Bursitis: caused by inflammation of the fluid-filled sacs (bursae) that protect the joints. Bursitis pain typically manifests as intermittent (flare-ups) of sharp, shooting, or aching pain, stiffness, swelling, and redness of the affected joints and is often a result of overuse injury.

There Are Several Things You Can Do Now to Prevent Running-Related Pain and Injury While Training

  • Take time to warm up, hydrate, and stretch before more strenuous activity.
  • Adequate rest
  • Proper footwear
  • Vary running surfaces (running on turf or softer trails versus road running to reduce shock on your joints).
  • Addressing possible gait issues, pain, past injuries, and muscle imbalances.
  • R.I.C.E.

How to R.I.C.E. Away Running-Related Pain

At the first indication of pain and swelling, follow the RICE method to help alleviate pain, swelling, and further injury:

Rest: Immediately stop the activity to prevent further damage.

Ice: If swelling is present, apply a cold pack in 10-20 minute increments (wrap cold pack in a towel to avoid causing ice burns to skin).

Compression: Painful joints can be carefully wrapped in a compression bandage to help with pain and swelling. Ensure you don’t wrap the area too tightly! Numbness, coldness, a change in colour, or swelling in the area below the wrap indicates your bandage is too tight, negatively affecting circulation. Compression should not be used over broken skin, while sleeping, or by people with diabetes or compromised arterial circulation without direction from a physician or health practitioner.  

Elevation: To help reduce swelling, use pillows to elevate the affected limb above the level of your heart. 

If Pain Persists

It never hurts to have things checked out by a health professional. Consider that catching concerns early and the right course of treatment can alleviate pain, prevent further injury, and improve your performance.

Treating running-related pain and injuries may include a combination of

  • Physiotherapy, 
  • Chiropractic care, 
  • Gait analysis and Customer Orthotics, 
  • Massage Therapy, 
  • Kinesiology and Athletic Therapy 

The proper course of treatment depends on the nature of the injury and what’s needed to alleviate pain, address muscle imbalances, and correct movement patterns to prevent recurrence and further damage. 

Take the Next Step towards Running Without Pain and Injury

Whether you are a seasoned athlete or a novice runner, when pain or injury slows you down, our practitioners at Diversified Health can help. Take the first step on your road to recovery by booking an appointment with one of our practitioners today. Call (250) 382-0018 or book an appointment online. We offer direct billing and weekday and weekend appointments. Please view our hours of operation and location details here.

Adopting the right approach to your overall health and wellbeing helps ensure you’ll be able to participate in running events for years to come!

/by
, , ,

Is Personal Training for You?

Is Personal Training for You?

Yes! Personal training is for everyone! At Diversified Health Clinic, our Personal Trainer and Certified Kinesiologist, Angelina Schaaf, works with individuals at all levels and different goals to help you achieve your best self. With our private gym space, Angelina will work one-on-one with you on strength training, cardio training, mobility, or whatever your own personal goals may be. 

What Personal Training Can Assist With

  • Helping you lose weight
  • Learn new skills
  • Train for sports
  • Rehab of an injury
  • Strength training
  • How to safely perform exercises 
  • Improve balance and mobility

There’s a difference between being fit versus being active. No one, not even elite athletes, is born knowing which specific exercises their bodies will respond most favourably to — let alone how to design a complete program that can deliver results within a realistic schedule. Different people have different needs and priorities, and because of this, fitness has never been a one-size-fits-all endeavour. A personal trainer takes the guesswork out of how to obtain your fitness goals by custom-designing an action plan for you (from beginner to advanced), taking into account your personal fitness status now versus your personal fitness goals.

A Personal Trainer Can Help You Start With the Basics

  • Suggesting activities that will work for your body, schedule, and available equipment
  • Showing you how to choose exercises, weights, reps and sets
  • Help teach you how to get the most out of your workouts
  • Help you to figure out how hard to work and how to monitor your intensity

Even if you are a more experienced exerciser, a personal trainer can be the element that takes your workouts to a whole new level, by:

  • Providing a fresh perspective and identifying key areas in your current exercise program that could be adjusted to increase the intensity, effectiveness and fun
  • Challenging you and helping you push harder through plateaus safely and with good form
  • Generating new ideas and uses for the fitness equipment you have access to

We believe everyone benefits from living a more active and healthier lifestyle, and we work with individuals of all fitness levels and ages. In addition, we can work with your schedule to provide you with a customized workout plan to meet your goals.

Suffering from Chronic Health Problems?

For most chronic health problems, exercise can often help people manage the condition and reduce symptoms. For example, chronic conditions that cause pain or other aggravating symptoms may make you less inclined to exercise. However, movement and strengthening specific parts of the body may help alleviate those symptoms in the long run. For example, people with different types of arthritis benefit from learning how to increase strength and joint stability while remaining mindful not to cause further damage to cartilage and joints.

A significant role of personal trainers is to help reduce the risk of injury, regardless of who they are working with or what training they are providing. Acute and overuse injuries commonly occur when people follow a one-size-fits-all program that is not tailored to their needs. Personal trainers are experts in human physiology who tailor specific exercises to people’s varying physical abilities and limitations.

What Are the Mental Health Benefits?

Exercise is beneficial for everyone’s mental health, whether you suffer from a diagnosis or not. Exercise promotes all kinds of positive changes in the brain, including releasing endorphins, which are powerful chemicals that energize your spirit and make you feel good. In addition, exercising can help to relax muscles, relieve tension, and boost the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which affect mood, focus, and attention. Other mental health benefits include:

  • Sharper memory and thinking
  • Higher self-esteem
  • Better sleep
  • More energy
  • Stronger resilience
  • Uplifted mood

What You Can Expect at Your Appointments

During your first visit: 

A complete health assessment will be taken to understand where you currently are, what you would like to improve on, and any injuries or issues you are currently experiencing. Next, we will do a physical assessment to get a baseline of where you are to create a customized training program for you. 

During subsequent appointments: 

We will work one-on-one with you through your customized training program in our private gym space. Angelina will focus on ensuring that you have the correct posture, form, and ability so she can modify any exercises as needed. 

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Contact the clinic for more information on Personal Training or to book with Angelina Schaaf. Call us at 250-382-0018 or book your appointment online today!

#personaltraining #fitness #victoriabc #kinesiology #physiotherapy #gym #healthandwellness #training #mobility #strengthtraining #loseweight #rehabexercise #stressmanagement #stronger #self-esteem

/by
,

Managing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Following Activity 

Managing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Following Activity 

Lack of motivation may be the most significant barrier to approaching a new workout, but delayed muscle soreness (DOMS) doesn’t help either — after all, pain isn’t particularly motivating. Still, there are things you can do to help manage delayed onset muscle soreness and aid recovery as you approach new or increased activity.

First, What Is DOMS?

DOMS is the acronym used to describe Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness – a phenomenon that typically occurs one or two days following new or increased activity. 

Common Signs & Symptoms of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

  • Sudden and increased onset of muscle stiffness and soreness within one to two days following activity
  • Muscle soreness that typically peaks 12-48 hours following activity and gradually subsides in the days that follow
  • Muscle tenderness upon palpation or massage
  • Slight swelling or water retention in the affected muscles
  • Muscle soreness and stiffness that’s worse in the morning

Unlike the burning feeling you experience from acute muscle soreness during strenuous activity (such as the last few reps of a weightlifting exercise), delayed muscle soreness isn’t typically felt until 12 or more hours following activity. 

What Causes DOMS?

While Delayed onset muscle soreness is harmless, it can vary in intensity and duration, which can be explained by the physiological process responsible.

Muscle fibres grow via a process of microscopic damage and repair. When your muscles are stimulated from progressively increased intensity, duration, repetition, or load, the stress creates microscopic tears in your muscle fibres. These small tears result in temporary inflammation and soreness while your body works hard to recover and repair. The good news is, pending you give your body sufficient rest and nutrition, your muscles are one step closer to growing stronger and more efficient. 

Who is Prone to Experiencing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?

Everyone suffers from occasional DOMS following activity, from elite athletes to exercise newbies. Delayed onset muscle soreness typically occurs one to two days after a physical activity that your body hasn’t adapted to yet. Activities that trigger DOMS includes anything from an intense workout or hike to a day of golf or gardening. Over time, and as your muscles adapt to the simulation you are placing them under, DOMS becomes less intense, requiring shorter recovery periods. 

Delayed onset muscle soreness is more pronounced when:

  • You engage in a new activity after periods of inactivity
  • You engage in eccentric exercises (exercises that place tension or load on a muscle when it’s lengthened, such as slowly lowering the weight during a biceps curl or the stretched position of a deadlift).
  • Your workout is harder or more intense than usual
  • You start a new sport or exercise routine
  • You add a new exercise to your workout
  • Your hydration, nutrition, or recovery is compromised
  • You overdo it during a workout or favourite activity

While it’s okay to return to light activity despite still being sore, it’s important to pay attention to the signs your body sends you about whether its ready engage in certain activities yet. While light activity can help relieve DOMS-related stiffness and pain, sometimes the best thing you can do for your fitness is knowing when to rest.

Pushing your muscles to perform beyond exhaustion and before they’ve had a chance to sufficiently recover can lead to injury and more serious conditions, such as rhabdomyolysis. 

Signs and Symptoms of Something More Serious

While delayed onset muscle soreness can leave you feeling pretty beat up for a couple of days, it’s important to be aware of signs and symptoms of other more concerning causes of muscle pain and soreness (that warrant prompt medical attention). 

If your muscle pain is severe, worsening, or accompanied by any of the following signs and symptoms, contact your physician immediately.

Intense muscle pain or soreness accompanied by:

  • Flushing, fever, or chills
  • Dizziness or nausea
  • Dark, tea-coloured urine
  • Decreased thirst and urine output
  • Swelling, tightness, and redness of the affected area
  • Intense cramping or crushing pain in one affected limb
  • Rash, wound, or red streaks on or near the affected area
  • Sharp or shooting pain when you place weight on a limb or move the affected area
  • Stiffness and tingling or decreased circulation of the affected limb (e.g., extreme pain and swelling in calf muscle accompanied by numbness and pins and needles feeling in feet) 
  • Sharp, shooting pain when moving or placing your weight on the affected limb. 
  • Muscle pain and stiffness that get worse and don’t subside within 3-5 days of rest
  • Sudden intense crushing-like pain or pain that travels from one area to another

Managing DOMS

While delayed onset muscle soreness can’t be avoided entirely, there are things you can do to manage the discomfort and facilitate a faster recovery from DOMS.

Ease into activity and intensity: It can be tempting to jump into an activity you enjoy or a new exercise routine with enthusiasm and a desire to push yourself well beyond your comfort zone, but moderation is key! Overdoing things too early leads to increased muscle soreness and longer recovery periods. 

Adequate recovery and light movement: It seems counterintuitive when you’re already sore from activity, but one of the best ways to decrease delayed onset muscle pain and tension is by engaging your muscles in light activity. If your DOMS is particularly intense, it’s best to give yourself a day or two of complete rest. But resume light activity (such as yoga, swimming, or walking) as soon as you can to ease muscle stiffness and increase circulation. 

Eat and hydrate well: your body needs ample hydration and nutrition, including amino acids and glycogen from carbohydrates, to repair your muscle fibres and recover from inflammation. You’ll still experience occasional DOMS, but you’ll be helping your body to recover faster.

Take a bath or sauna: The magnesium your skin absorbs from an Epsom salt bath and increased circulation from a warm bath or sauna can help with muscle stiffness and soreness.

Therapeutic massage: while your muscles may feel sore to the touch, a massage therapist will know what techniques to use to help facilitate lymphatic circulation and release tension in your muscles and fascia.

When in doubt, seek help: If delayed onset muscle soreness persists and interferes with your ability to return to activities after a few days of rest, it’s best to have things checked out to rule out muscle injury. A consultation with one of our practitioners can go a long way in helping you improve your physical strength, endurance and abilities while preventing pain and injury. 

Take the Next Step 

Give our team of practitioners a call at Diversified Health Clinic today at (250) 382-0018 or book an appointment online. If you’re not sure who to book your appointment with, ask us when you call. We’re happy to help answer your questions, address the cause of your pain and discomfort, and get you on the road to recovery.

/by
, , ,

Fall in Love With Fitness Again. The Right Personal Trainer Makes It Possible

Whether you’ve taken a long hiatus from your fitness routine or you’re questioning the effectiveness of your current exercise program, there are a few common barriers that may be hindering your results and souring your relationship with fitness. The good news is that the right personal trainer can make a difference. Here’s how:

Common Fitness Barrier #1: You Don’t Know What You’re Doing

A personal trainer takes the guesswork out of your workout routine.

Perhaps it’s your first time visiting a gym, or maybe it’s been so long since you’ve picked up weights that you can’t remember what to do and how to do it properly. You know how that saying goes: when you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Winging it at the gym may feel productive, and it’s certainly better than doing nothing, but for your relationship with fitness to really stick, it needs repetition and consistency. But first, you need to familiarize yourself with the exercises you’ll be doing and why you’ll be doing them — you need a plan! Personal training takes the guesswork out of your workouts with a formula for success. 

Common Fitness Barrier #2: Your Workout Routine Is Painful, Boring, or Both!

The right personal trainer will identify what your workouts need to deliver results.

If your current workouts feel like a slog:

Something needs to change fast before boredom makes you part ways with your gym and question your commitment to fitness. There are several ways to get to your goal without suffering through workouts that make you feel like a hamster on a wheel (hey, hour-long treadmill sessions, I’m talking about you). If you hate what it takes to see results, heading to the gym won’t stand a chance at competing with other, more pleasure-inducing priorities such as Netflix. 

Even worse, pain puts the brakes on activity and progress faster than boredom:

When something hurts, your body screams, “stop!” And often for a good reason. Past or impending injuries, including your general health, should always be assessed before starting a new activity. And, if something hurts, have it checked out by a practitioner before proceeding. One of the key roles a good personal trainer plays in your relationship with fitness is to help you avoid injury by ensuring proper form and addressing any muscle imbalances.

A good personal trainer will also help you know how hard to push and how long to rest, which helps you feel less sore between workouts. While pain means “stop,” muscle soreness is part and parcel of muscle growth, but the right balance of personal training and rest can make delayed onset muscle soreness less severe and more manageable.

Common Fitness Barrier #3: You Stopped Seeing Results

Let’s face it, relationships stick when needs are met, and if your current workout routine is making you feel stuck, it’s time for an intervention. Time, after all, is your most precious commodity, so it makes sense to want to get something out of all the time you invest in the gym and your workouts. 

A good personal trainer and exercise plan takes into account your level of fitness now and what needs to be done to achieve your attainable goals. Personal training is more than jotting down a series of exercises.

The right personal trainer is a skilled strategist that considers:

  • Your current fitness level and abilities
  • Your lifestyle and time constraints
  • Your rest and nutrition 
  • Habits and attitudes towards food and activity that sabotage progress
  • Whether your goals are realistically attainable for your physiology
  • What exercises are best suited to your abilities and goals
  • Exercise frequency, duration, and intensity needed to achieve your goals within the time you can allot to fitness
  • How often your exercise plan needs to change to warrant progressive results
  • How to do each exercise safely and effectively, with proper form that takes into account your body’s dynamics, past injuries, and range of motion – slight adjustments can make a world of difference

Ready to Fall in Love With Fitness Again?

It’s easy to put off making changes, but the sooner you do, the closer you’ll be to attaining your goals (and enjoying your workouts). Our Personal Trainer and Kinesiologist, Angelina Schaaf, is here to help. Imagine how great you’ll feel seeing results from a customized workout plan designed specifically for you and your goals. 

Take the next step:

Book a consultation with our personal trainer and kinesiologist, Angelina Schaaf. Call our clinic today at (250) 382-0018 or book your appointment online.

/by
,

Trail Running Versus Road Running: Which Is Better?

Trail Running Versus Road Running: Which Is Better?

Over the past year I’ve gotten a lot more into trail running, largely because of getting a puppy who loves to get out in nature even more than I do. Doing so has given me a chance to reflect on how running on the trail differs from running on the road and how doing both can complement one another and allow someone to progress their training volume while potentially mitigating risk of overuse injury. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of trail running and road running.

First, Let’s Talk About Trails

Trail Running Pros

An obvious pro of trail running is the scenery–variable terrain and conditions make it tough for a trail run to feel monotonous, and getting into the calm of the forest or mountains is therapeutic in and of itself. Let’s assume that your average trail run has more elevation gain than a similar distance road run. Elevation gain is particularly challenging on the heart and lungs, as it is easy to work close to your maximum heart rate on a prolonged climb. Spending time close to your maximum cardiac output is the best way to increase your cardiorespiratory fitness (it is no wonder that cross-country skiers have the highest cardiorespiratory fitness among endurance athletes). Herein, trail running may be superior in improving the capacity of our heart and lungs (Tabata et al. 1996).

Now, Let’s Consider Terrain

Running Terrain

It is common to hear that hills are hard on the knees, and this holds some truth. Running uphill taxes your quadricep muscles more than any other muscle group, while running downhill puts heavy load on your patellar tendons (just below the kneecap). These add up to trail running more likely contributing to the development of sources of knee pain such as patellar tendinopathy and patellofemoral pain. Uphill running also places added strain on the Achilles tendon, another common site of overuse pain for runners. Additionally, research has shown that the prevalence of low back pain is higher in trail runners. If you are currently experiencing patellar or Achilles tendinopathy or low back pain with your trail running, it may be wise to temporarily move away from the trail and on to level ground to better allow these areas of symptom to settle down. It should also be noted that the risk of traumatic injury such as knee or ankle sprains may be higher in trail running due the uneven surfaces typically run on (Malliaropoulos et al. 2015).

Compared to the Benefits of Road Running

Road Running Benefits

Road running has some obvious pros as well–it is tough to beat the convenience of hopping out your front door and right into your run. If you are someone that finds motivation in time and pacing, running on the road is ideal for you. It can be a bit easier to monitor and progress your training volume and intensity on the road if you are running similar tracks each time, which can assist with motivation. Running on hard surfaces such as pavement is not inherently bad, but it does create more ground reaction force that must be absorbed by the body in comparison to soft surfaces. Overuse injuries that are contributed most significantly by impact volume such as plantar fasciopathy, shin splints and stress fractures are more likely to come up when running on hard, non-variable surfaces. If you have a history or are currently managing any of these ailments, you may want to consider moving your training on to softer surfaces (Tschopp and Brunner, 2017).

Variety Wins for More Reasons than One

Ultimately, I believe overuse injury is best avoided by bringing variability into your training. Using a combination of trail and road running may allow for a higher relative volume of training while potentially reducing the risk of developing an overuse injury contributed by the surfaces you are running on. It is important to note that modifying the terrain you run on is likely less significant than modifying overall training volume/programming and biomechanics in relation to managing and avoiding overuse injury. It is also important to ensure your training matches your running goals. If you are training for a marathon road run, you should absolutely put most, if not all, of your mileage on the road leading up to the race, and the same goes for the trail. But if you are running to stay fit and for the agonizing enjoyment of it, adding some variability to your training may be a nice change of pace!

Luke Miles | Physiotherapist

Author: Luke Miles, MPT, BSc KIN | Physiotherapist 

Book Your Appointment With Luke Miles

If you have questions about your training and how to prevent or recover from overuse injuries, contact our clinic today at (250) 382-0018 or book an appointment online with physiotherapist Luke Miles at Diversified Health Clinic in downtown Victoria.

References

Malliaropoulos, N., Mertyri, D., and Tsaklis, P. 2015. Prevalence of injury in ultra trail running. Human Movement, 16(2): 52-59.

Tabata, I., Ogita, F., Miyachi, M. 1996. Effect of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO(2max). Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 28(10): 1327-1330.

Tschopp, M., and Brunner, F. 2017. Disease and overuse injuries of lower extremities in long distance runners. Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie, 76(5): 443-450.

 

/by