Squatters, Runners, Lungers, lend me your ears. . . And feet and knees.
Your feet should not collapse in when you run, squat or lunge. But boy oh boy, if you are a runner, there is a good chance they are. When they do collapse in, your knees tend to follow, which can lead to some nice MCL snapage and meniscus tearing.
But WAIT! THERE’S MORE! Collapsing the knees inward can put stress on the hip joint, and lead to a pinching at the greater trochanter (hip bone) because your poor glute muscles are being yanked to the point of wanting to tear.
Good times!
So what you should you do?
Running (when done with the correct biomechanics) is awesome for your body. So let’s keep you sprinting, but let’s make sure your body is doing it safely. The Sidewinder Banded Mobilatzion will help you in a big way.
You will need a long yoga strap or long piece of elastic for this, around 4-6 feet (Voodoo Floss works great). Simply pin the elastic strap under your sesamoid bone (the ball-of-your-foot-bone right under your big toe), then run it up behind your knee and wrap it around the outside of your leg. Use your opposite hand to pull laterally on your leg. What happens is the combination of pinning the sesamoid bone prevents the foot from supinating too much, and the external rotation of the knee prevents the foot from flattening. The result?
- A powerful arch in the foot that can transmit force better and produce more force
- A knee that moves more efficiently, saving your energy and making you faster, and that keeps all those knee ligaments and menisci (that the plural form of meniscus BTW) happy.
Give this a try to improve your running game and your leg workouts. As always, let us know if you have any questions- We are here to help!