414-483-1060414-483-1060
5133 S. Pennsylvania Ave Ste 103 | Cudahy, WI 53110
Dr. Kenneth Koch has been in practice for 27 years. He became interested in Chiropractics because of the benefits he received while in his youth. Read more...
Office Hours:
| Monday | 8:00am - 11:00am | 1:00pm - 6:00pm |
| Tuesday | 1:30pm - 6:00pm | |
| Wednesday | 8:00am - 11:00am | 1:00pm - 6:00pm |
| Thursday | Closed | |
| Friday | 8:00am - 11:00am | 1:00pm - 6:00pm |
| Saturday | Closed | |
| Sunday | Closed |
By Dr. Kenneth Koch, Milwaukee Chiropractor
Running injuries are a common complaint among patients visiting Koch Chiropractic. Milwaukee runners trust Dr. Koch for gentle chiropractic adjustments to relieve leg and foot pain. As a runner himself, Dr. Koch understands the types of pain experienced by runners.
The following is Dr. Koch's thoughts on minimizing stress injuries with running technique.
Remember Tim Allen as Tim the tool man Taylor. This was a man never satisfied with the status quo. He always had to see if he could modify and tinker to improve whatever he was working on. Sometimes it didn’t work out but you could never fault him for trying.
I consider myself a tinkerer, a person who likes to fix or modify things to get more out of it. This has transferred to my running. Unfortunately I have met runners who haven’t varied a workout for years. Not only would I find this boring, I also think it limits ones potential. Every year about this time I sit down and come up with a number of goals I would like to hit in the next year. These goals range from personal records with 400 and 800 meter and mile times as well as 5K’s, half and full marathons. If I don’t improve on some previous times this becomes a red flag, and something needs to change. We’ve heard of the definition of insanity – to continue to do the same thing time after time and expect different results. Unfortunately, this is how many runners approach this sport.
Legitimate research studies showing preference to any particular running style, type of shoe or training programs are slowly starting to be published. Presently the best approach is a combination of looking at some of these evidence based studies along with identifying the characteristics typically seen in elite runners and try to emulate them.
There are so many aspects of our running that we can tinker with. For example stride lengths are usually shorter and cadence (the gait cycles in a given amount of time) is usually higher in elite runners. There is some support that a mid foot strike may produce better ballistic energy (elastic push off) and decrease certain types of injuries. This may be enhanced with more of a minimalistic shoe type (which has a decrease heel height). There are numerous books, such as Mat Fitzgerald’s Brain Training for Runners that describe proprioceptive cues used during our runs to produce greater effectiveness in our strides resulting in greater endurance and speed.
Most elite runners also vary their program using base runs, tempo runs (sustained segments of moderate fast runs interjected into a base run), interval runs (short segments of high intensity running separated by recovery periods) and Fartlek workouts (using scattered durations and pace). Many runners like to introduce hills to their running. I live in southeastern Wisconsin near the Kettle Moraine forest which has some excellent and very challenging hills, which I try to incorporate every week or two. There are several books, such as the Pose method of Running and Chi running which deal with specific gait styles to enhance efficiency and speed. These are just a handful of things a runner can work on. These topics are easy to find on the computer along with running magazines and books. As we approach 2014 consider incorporating some of these ideas. They can be fun to tinker with and you may just find your times improve.