This is Part 9 in the Egoscue and Running Injuries blog series.

Sometimes running has to take a back seat to more important issues.  Although overcoming my running injuries with Egoscue has been a huge focus for me, I have had to take care of a health issue that has a longer term impact on my health – my gums.

Excuses, Excuses…

My periodontist has repeatedly told me that a need the gum graft surgery for my receding gums – a trait that runs in the family – but I always found excuses to put the surgery off.

One month the excuse was that I was in the middle of training for an important race.  The next month I convinced myself that my job schedule just made it impossible to take time out for the surgery.

On and on….

But in reality, I was scared of the procedure.  The thought on having parts of my upper palate cut out and sewed into my lower teeth’s gums was really unsettling.

However, I finally made the commitment to have the surgery on Friday and got it done.  Fortunately, the surgery went well and I haven’t had any major complications.

Effect on Running and Egoscue

The periodontist made it clear that I would have to take at least one week of running off after the gum graft surgery. The concern is that running could cause increased bleeding in the area that could negatively affect the healing process.

I am also going to take a few days off of the Egoscue e-cises because some of them can actually be pretty strenuous and I want to follow the periodontist’s warning to avoid exercise.

Anyway, that’s the current update.  I hope to continue with the Egoscue menus next week. In the meantime, let me know if you have had gum graft surgery and whether you have any recovery advice. Thanks in advance!

Visit Oregon Exercise Therapy for more information about the Egoscue Method.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a collaboration with Oregon Exercise Therapy. All opinions are my own.

The post Egoscue and Running Injuries Part 9: A Break In The Action appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

This is part 8 in the Egoscue and Running Injuries blog series.

There is no doubt that this last menu of Egoscue e-cises has been the best menu that Matt has provided to me.  I feel so much more mobile and the aches and pains in my hips and upper back are feeling much improved.

The ability to run five miles without any nagging pains holding me back is incredible and something that I have not experienced in five years.

Granted, five miles is not running a marathon, but it is a massive improvement from where I was and things are just continuing to get better.

The Ultimate Pre-Run Routine

I think the best part of the most recent menu is a series of four different exercises that really an amazing job of getting me loose. They work so well that I have incorporated them into my pre-run stretches. The routine is the following:

• Hip Crossover Stretch – Palms Down: This is a great stretch that works the outer quad and glute/piriformis.  These are both areas in which I have tightness issues.

• Spread Foot Forward Bend: This is an awesome stretch that really targets the inner thigh muscles and adductors.  The key is to have a slight arch in your back so that it is not compensating.

• Runners Stretch: I spoke about this stretch in a prior post and it is an amazing way to really target the hamstrings.  Similar to the Spread Foot Forward Bend, it is critical to keep the arch in your back throughout the entire exercise. I don’t have a video to embed for this one, but the image below shows the sequence:

• Downward Dog: This stretch is essentially the same as the yoga pose called Downward Facing Dog.  It is a great stretch and strengthening exercise for the back.

Check back for more about my progress to pain free running with Egoscue.

Visit Oregon Exercise Therapy for more information about the Egoscue Method.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a collaboration with Oregon Exercise Therapy. All opinions are my own.

The post Egoscue and Running Injuries Part 8: The Ultimate Pre-Run Routine appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

This is Part 6 in the Egoscue and Running Injuries blog series.

One of the interesting things about dealing with chronic running injuries is that aches and pains can become so common that you can forget that you have a problem.

For example, I have long known that my hamstrings are incredibly tight.  However, due to compensation from my lower back and quad muscles, the tightness of my hamstrings has been masked for a long time.

Instead of feeling the hamstring tightness, I feel pain in my lower back muscles which are forced to take over for the inflexible and weak hamstrings.

My hamstrings have been able to hide out for a long time. Fortunately, thanks to the last e-cise menu from Matt, the path to fully functioning hammies has begun.

The Egoscue Runner’s Stretch

The e-cise that really woke up my hamstrings was the Runner’s Stretch. At first glance, this stretch doesn’t look that bad:

The goal is to kneel down with your front foot touching your back knee . Curl your back leg toes under. With your hands on each side of your font foot, stand up while keeping your knees straight.

Now for the hard part: Roll your hips forward to place an arch in your low back. Hold for one minute.

Let me tell you something. There is no WAY I could do what that woman in the picture is doing.  It is impossible for me to straighten my legs while my hands are still on the ground.

In order to get my legs straight, I need to prop my hands on a bench.  My plan is to gradually reduce the height until I am able to place my hands on the floor.

Benefits of the Runner’s Stretch

According to the description of the e-cise, the purpose of the runner’s stretch is to “isolate the hamstrings under bilateral pelvic demand to promote coordination with the hip.”

For me, the real benefit of this exercise is that it enables me to stretch and lengthen my tight hamstring without any compensation by my lower back muscles. The cue to “arch the back” with the legs straight is critical in achieving the desired hamstring isolation.

Other common non-Egoscue hamstring stretches, including the hurdle stretch and the standing hamstring stretch permit the back to take much of the flexion that should be reserved for the hamstring.

One of the key indicators that the runner’s stretch works is that the Downward Dog e-cise is much easier after the runner’s stretch.  I don’t have to bend my knees quite so much in order to get the arch in my back while performing the Downward Dog.

Of course, in order to achieve maximum benefit, the runner’s stretch needs to be done together with other Egoscue e-cises designed for your imbalances.  For example, I am sure that gravity drop and a hip lift e-cises are helping to release other tight muscles thus making the runner’s stretch easier.

I’m definitely excited about my new hamstring flexibility and reduction in pain. More to come!

Visit Oregon Exercise Therapy for more information about the Egoscue Method.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a collaboration with Oregon Exercise Therapy. All opinions are my own.

The post Egoscue and Running Injuries Part 6 – The Incredible “Runner’s Stretch” appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

This is part 5 of the Egoscue and Running Injuries blog series.

The work to get stronger and correct my postural imbalances continues.  As I have been discussing in prior posts, the focus of my Egoscue e-cises has been to strengthen the hip and glute muscles while trying to turn off the lower back muscles.

I can already report that my right trapezius pain is getting better! I have been able to run up to 30 minutes without pain instead of the usual 20 minutes. Exciting stuff!

Unfortunately, I’m still experiencing some pain and think that it’s related to my lower back.

The Lower Back: An Over-Protective Parent

At this point, I am starting to view my lower back muscles as an over-protective parent for my hip muscles.  Let me explain.

For the past seven years, I have been sitting at my desk at work for eight to nine hours per day.  This has caused my hip flexors to shorten and weaken and my glutes to atrophy.

However, during these seven years I have continued to run and occasionally have done some pretty difficult workouts.  Without properly functioning hip and glute muscles, my lower back has been forced to compensate for my weak hip muscles in order to allow my body to run.

My back is basically an overprotective parent for my hip flexors and glutes – it so concerned that my glutes and hip flexors won’t properly stabilize the hip that it does the work that other muscles should be doing.

My lower back has become so accustomed to taking the function of a hip flexor and hip stabilizer that it is very difficult to turn it off during the Egoscue e-cises involving hip flexors and glutes are especially difficult, including the Sitting Isolated Hip Flexor Lifts, Supine Leg Raise, and the Hip Lift.

A Targeted Approach to Convincing the Back to “Let Go”

I told Matt at Oregon Exercise Therapy about the issues with my over-protective back muscles, and he suggested a new menu of e-cises to target my weaknesses while in manner that does not activate the low back.

This new menu includes the following e-cises:

• Static Back Knee Pillow Squeezes
• Gravity Drop
• Airbench
• Hip Lift
• Upper Spinal Floor Twist
• Cats & Dogs
• Kneeling Groin Stretch
• Runners Stretch
• Downward Dog
• Flutter Kicks
• Supine Groin Progressive in Tower
• Supine Foot Circles & Point/Flexes

One takeaway from this menu is that includes the Downward Dog exercise, which is a common in yoga routines. One of the great things about Egoscue is that it takes some of the best parts of a variety of different disciplines, including yoga and pilates.

After performing this e-cise menu a few times, I have already felt less tightness in my lower back.

One of the e-cises that was especially difficult was the flutter kicks.  Matt emphasized that the flutter kicks should only be performed with the back flat on the floor.  This exercise really works the hip flexor and abdominal muscles.

The runner’s stretch is also a difficult one due to the tightness in my hamstrings.  My left hamstring is incredibly tight during this exercise – especially when I properly flatten my back.

I’m excited about this new menu and hope it will help target my muscular imbalances while not engaging the muscles that have been over-active.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Visit Oregon Exercise Therapy for more information about the Egoscue Method.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a collaboration with Oregon Exercise Therapy. All opinions are my own.

The post Egoscue and Running Injuries Part 5: My Back Is An Over-Protective Parent appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

This is part 3 of the Egoscue Method and Running Injuries series.

As I described in my last post, Matt of Oregon Exercise Therapy provided me with a menu of Egoscue e-cises after I sent him a description of my running injuries and photos of my posture.

Are These E-Cises Too Easy?

On the surface, the e-cises appear like they should be easy. For example, the quad lift e-cise merely requires you to sit against a wall, create an arch in your back, and raise your leg off the ground.

However, it was extremely hard for me.

I could barely get my leg off the ground and felt my lower back engage to help with lifting the leg.  I informed Matt about my trouble with this e-cise and he told me that it showed that my hip flexor muscles were extremely weak.

Another e-cise that seemed like it should be easy was the standing glute contractions.  This e-cise simply requires you to stand with your hands at your sides and flex your glute muscles – making sure that your hamstring and back muscles are not the muslces that are flexing.

Just standing up and flexing my rear end? Should be no problem, right?

Nope!

I found it very hard to isolate my glute muscles with my hamstring or lower back muscles taking over.  Matt told me that this shows that my glutes are very weak.

So based merely on these two exercises, I got a pretty good idea that my glutes and hip flexors are very weak and that other muscles (i.e. lower back muscles) are picking up the slack for them. Clearly this could create all sorts of overuse problems for my hip and back.

In fact, it’s kind of amazing that I am able to lift my leg and propel myself forward during running. The primary muscles responsible for these motions are basically non-functional!

Egoscue Tower

One e-cise that did not require a lot of muscle strength was the supine progressive stretch in tower.  Matt does a great job of explaining this stretch on his web site. The overall goal is to promote proper flexion and extension of the leg.

The basic idea is that you lie on the floor with one leg over a block or chair, bent to 90 degrees.  The other foot is placed in the highest rung of the Egoscue “tower.” You stay in this position for five minutes, then place the foot in the next lowest rung of the tower and wait another five minutes.

There are 6 rungs of the Egoscue tower, so this entire stretch takes one hour for both legs.  Definitely a major commitment of time, but I have already felt looser in my hips.

In addition to the time commitment, there is also the monetary commitment to buy the tower.  It currently runs around $100 at crookedhuman.com, but I found one cheaper through e-bay.

Takeaways

In summary, this first e-cise menu has showed me the incredible tightness and weakness of my hip flexor and glute muscles. I’m really looking forward to doing the exercises and seeing if I can address the longstanding imbalances throughout my body.

There is no question that doing the entire menu of e-cises everyday takes some time (currently from 80-100 minutes), but I am sick of being in pain and willing to make an investment of time to hopefully run without chronic injuries.

Visit Oregon Exercise Therapy for more information about the Egoscue Method.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a collaboration with Oregon Exercise Therapy. All opinions are my own.

The post My First Egoscue Menu: Getting Stronger To Run Faster appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

This is Part 2 in the Egosuce blog series

As I stated in my prior post, my eagerness to use the Egoscue Method to treat my recurring running injuries led me to Matt Whitehead from Oregon Exercise Therapy.

Although Matt lived too far away from me to schedule an appointment at his office, he told me that he would still be able to help if I described my injury history and sent at pictures of the front, back, and side of my body.

I e-mailed the photos to Matt with a description of my past and current running injuries. It was actually amazing to summarize the injury issues that I have experienced over the last few years.

1. Right Upper Trapezius/Neck Area: I have had persistent pain in this area for the last five years that restricts running. The pain gets especially bad about 10-15 minutes into a run and flares up when I do any track workouts or tempo runs.

2. Right Mid and Low Back: My right back, including the erector spinae and quadratus lumborum muscles, is very tight and gets sore during runs.

3. Torso Rotation: I have been told that, when running, my torso and shoulders rotate considerably to the left and do not rotate as much to the right.

4. Hips: I have had left sacroiliac joint (si-joint) pain for a long time. The pain often is worse during runs or when I lift heavy objects.

5. Left Knee: Throughout my running career, I have had major bouts of “runner’s knee” in my left inner knee. It is especially bad during speed workouts.

Wow! And to make things even worse, I have been actively trying to deal with these issues (without success) with multiple physical therapists, chiropractors and massage therapists.

After receiving this information and the photos of my posture, Matt provided me with the following “menu” of Egoscue exercises (called “e-cises”) to combat my dysfunctions:

• Kneeling Aztec: Should help with decreasing rotation throughout your body
• Standing Glute Contractions and two types of Ankle Squeeze exercises (kneeling and prone): To help with getting my femurs and pelvis to line up and work more symmetrically
• Quad Rotations and Quad Lifts: To help get the hip flexors to work evenly and stabilize my SI joints
• Foot Circles and Foot Point/Flexes: Restore normal range of motion and strength to my ankles and balance my hip function
• Supine Groin Progressive: Restore proper length and tension to my hip musculature and load joint position
• Airbench: Stabilize my hips and pelvis symmetrically and balance quad strength and load both sides of my body evenly

The goal of the e-cises is to combat my hip disparity (imbalance in SI joint stability/mobility, hip flexors, IT band, etc) that causes my upper body to compensate for (torso rotation, right shoulder dropping forward and down, etc).

Even though I have not started the e-cises yet, it was really interesting that Matt’s plan is to combat dysfunctions throughout my entire body instead of limiting treatment to places where I have pain.  However, this makes sense because the body is an integrated, connected system.

After performing the e-cises everyday for a week, I’ll provide Matt with an update and e-mail four new pictures of my posture. Check back for more updates.

Visit Oregon Exercise Therapy for more information about the Egoscue Method.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a collaboration with Oregon Exercise Therapy. All opinions are my own.

The post Egoscue and Running Injuries – My First E-Cise Menu appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

Five physical therapists, two chiropractors, and two massage therapists. All of these individuals are highly trained in treating injuries. All of these individuals have years of experience helping athletes get back to doing what they love to do.

Unfortunately, none of them could help me.

As I mentioned in previous posts months ago, I have been dealing with hip and neck pain during running for over five years. Some of the therapists that I have seen focused more on my upper back and told me that I needed to engage in strengthening exercises.

Some focused more on my hip and told me that the lack of strength in my glute muscles contributed to my hip and lower back pain. Nothing has been able to get me back to where I was as a college runner.

However, I am excited about a new opportunity: The Egoscue Method.

I first learned of The Egoscue Method while reading the LetsRun.com message board about a month ago. In one of the threads, an individual asked for any recommendations related to pain from one hip being higher than the other. One of the posters suggested looking into the Egoscue Method to help eliminate muscle imbalances.

After doing a bit of research, I learned that the founder of the Egoscue Method, Pete Egoscue, believes that people with postural dysfunctions generally fall into three different categories: Condition 1, Condition 2, and Condition 3.

Condition I Posture: This posture is generally caused by tight hip flexors. Common traits of this posture include:

• Forward pelvic tilt (increased arch in back);
• One or both feet pointed outward; and
• Head tilted forward and down.

Condition II Posture: This posture has the issues of Condition 1 plus a rotational dysfunction:

• Hip and/or shoulder rotation;
• One hip higher and/or more rotated than the other;
• Uneven position of hands, knees, or feet.

Condition III Posture: This posture is the most serious of the three.  Commons traits are:

• Posterior pelvic tilt
• C-curve of spine
• Forward rounding shoulders and head that tilts forward.

With my forwardly rotated right shoulder left hip, I clearly fall into Condition 2. From my Google searching, I learned about a specific menu of exercises that are designed to address the muscle imbalances and movement dysfunctions for Condition 2. I performed these exercises religiously for two weeks.

In a short period of time, I achieved a level of pain relief in my hip and upper back that I had not had with all of the physical therapists, chiropractors, and massage therapists.

Excited about a new opportunity to get back to running pain-free, I contacted one of the top Egoscue therapists in the nation, Matt Whitehead of Oregon Exercise Therapy and signed up for eight therapy sessions. After reviewing pictures of my posture and my injury history, Matt provided me with a menu of exercises to target my imbalances.

In the coming weeks, I will share my experience with Egoscue and provide updates about whether it helps relieve the running injuries I’ve been dealing with for five years. Stayed tuned.

Visit Oregon Exercise Therapy for more information about the Egoscue Method.

Disclaimer: This post is part of a collaboration with Oregon Exercise Therapy. All opinions are my own.

The post Eliminating Running Injuries with Egoscue appeared first on The Runner's Resource.