This no-nonsense guide shows you how an understanding of anatomy and biomechanics, coupled with the latest strengthening exercises and rehab protocols, can keep you running injury-free for a long time to come. Each time your foot hits the ground while running, an impact force averaging three times your weight travels through your body at more than 200 miles per hour, causing your bones to vibrate and tendons to stretch. When you consider that the average runner strikes the ground more than 10,000 times per hour, this translates into a remarkable amount of force that needs to be absorbed and explains why nearly 50% of recreational runners are injured each year. The purpose of this book is to show you that impact forces are not necessarily harmful. By modifying your running form and doing specific exercises to improve tendon resiliency, not only can you effectively absorb these forces, but you can also store and return a significant percentage of them in the form of elastic recoil. Besides reducing your risk of injury, efficiently storing and returning energy can allow you to run faster and with less effort. With more than 200 illustrations and 300 references, this book will help you do the following: Perform an at-home gait analysis to make specific changes in your running form that can reduce impact forces and improve performance Decrease your risk of injury by identifying problems with strength, flexibility, and neuromotor coordination using specific functional tests Incorporate new exercises to enhance the storage and return of energy in your tendons Select the running shoe that is right for you Treat 25 of the most common running-related injuries with the most up-to-date, scientifically founded treatment protocols available
Since graduating from the University of Western States Chiropractic College, Dr. Tom Michaud has published numerous book chapters and dozens of articles on subjects ranging from biomechanics of the first ray and shoulder to the pathomechanics of vertebral artery dissection. In 1993, Michaud's first textbook was published: Foot Orthoses and Other Forms of Conservative Foot Care, which was eventually translated into four languages. His next book, published in 2012, Human Locomotion: The Conservative Management of Gait-Related Disorders, was a textbook used in physical therapy, chiropractic, pedorthic, and podiatry schools around the world. In addition to lecturing on clinical biomechanics internationally, Michaud has served on the editorial review boards for Chiropractic Sports Medicine and The Australasian Journal of Podiatric Medicine. Over the past 35 years, Michaud has maintained a busy private practice in Newton, Massachusetts, where he has treated thousands of elite and recreational runners.
Chapter 1. A Review of Anatomy and Three-Dimensional Motion Chapter 2. The Biomechanics of Walking and Running Chapter 3. Risk Factors Predisposing to Running Injuries Chapter 4. How to Develop the Ideal Running Form for Endurance, Sprinting, and/or Injury Prevention Chapter 5. Selecting the Ideal Running Shoe Chapter 6. Treatment Protocols
