HEALTH & NUTRITION
It’s normal to feel sore and fatigued after a long run. But that soreness should dissipate in 24 hours. If you’re having trouble walking or see swelling, it might signal something more. “That should a least raise that spidey sense that there’s something more going on,” Goldenberg says. “If there’s some pain that seems atypical for you and your training style, and it’s not going away as quickly as you would expect it to, then maybe it’s time to see your doctor.” There are things you can do to prevent knee injuries from happening, and one of the biggest includes incorporating active rest. Active rest doesn't mean sitting on the couch all day; it's about engaging in lowimpact activities like swimming, cycling or yoga. However, while you do need to give your body the recovery it needs, you still need to keep your muscles strong, Goldenberg says. “Think about a core-to-floor program. Cross training is an excellent example,” he says. “You should choose an activity that helps strengthen muscles that will make you a better runner.” According to Goldenberg, when runners are able to progress during active recovery, they can jog a lap or two and assess how they're feeling. However, it's important not to ramp up too quickly or run every day. “I typically use the rule of no more than 10% a week; you shouldn’t increase your mileage by more than 10% a week,” he says.
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We typically overwork our quads and underwork our hamstrings. A great way to strengthen your hamstrings is to do a hamstring bridge. — Ben Biskovich
❜❜ He's worked with patients looking to
While he says many orthopedic special-
regain function post-surgery and has con-
ists tend to blame a particular tendon or
ducted gait analyses and strength-training
ligament for knee pain, most injuries are
programs for runners of all ages.
actually spread evenly throughout the body.
Like Goldenberg, he says the most com-
Poor form can lead to overpronation,
mon cause of knee pain is doing too much,
which can cause hip bursitis, Achilles
too fast, too soon. Knee pain also results
tendonitis, IT band syndrome and patella
when runners overtrain in some areas but
tendonitis. Band walks, in which runners
develop weaknesses in other parts of
place a band around their midfoot and walk
their body.
sideways, can activate external rotators and
“Eighty to 90% of running injuries are overuse injuries due to repetitive strain,” he says.
strengthen hip external rotators and abductors, which in turn control knee alignment. Wall-sits can also help runners build leg
Biskovich wrote his master's thesis on
strength without gym equipment. By sitting
the benefits of high-intensity strength train-
against a wall until your legs are shaking
ing in the elderly. He says that runners who
from fatigue, you can release hormones that
swap cardio time for strength training can
build muscle fibers.
better protect their knees in the long run.
“We typically overwork our quads and
Today, he focuses on helping people, mostly
underwork our hamstrings. A great way
between the ages of 50 and 80, get back to
to strengthen your hamstrings is to do a
activities they once enjoyed.
hamstring bridge,” Biskovich says.
“I had a client go from falling and walk-
Cycling can also serve as a strength-
ing with a Tim Conway shuffling gait with a
ening exercise as well as a cross-training
Strength Training for Runners
walker to walking independently within six
activity. Instead of only using an elliptical
Ben Biskovich, a 15-time marathon runner and founder of Heal Strong for Life, spent 20 years as an orthopedic physical therapist before founding his own practice in Nashua.
to eight weeks,” he says. “Just from doing
machine for cross-training, Biskovich says
three exercises — a leg press, compound
that runners who bike can get a better range
row and a bench press — he went from us-
of motion and build muscles around the
ing a quad cane to a single-point cane, and
knee through cycling.
then to no assistive device at all.”
Run NH | 44 | Fall 2024
“Research on the bicycle shows that it
PHOTO BY RIMMA BONDARENKO
When Soreness Signals Overuse