Tag: running

Is overpronation of the feet a problem?

The way in which the foot functions or works may have a an important influence on the rest of the body. The feet are widely considered as the foundation of the body and just like the tall building analogy, if that platform is not correct, then something might go wrong higher up. There are various types of biomechanical problems that can impact that foundation and how the feet interact with the surface. That interaction will have different affects higher up the body.

One of the problems that may go wrong is something that is commonly termed overpronation. This term is frequently used and misused, so should probably not be used. The word refers to the foot moving inwards at the rearfoot and the mid-foot (arch) of the foot collapsing. This really is quite a normal movement and is only a issue if there to an excessive amount of it. Why the word is such a problem is that there is no understanding as to what is too much and what is normal. This leads to plenty of uncertainty about overpronation in research as well as in clinical practice, especially when decisions have to be made if the overpronation should be addressed or not.

The outcomes that this issue can have on the body are believed to vary from bunions and heel spurs in the foot to lower leg and knee joint conditions in runners. There are several methods to treat it, again with a lot of difference of opinion between health care professionals as to the best way to deal with it. Rationally dealing with the overpronation really should be geared towards the cause and there is no such thing as a one size fits all. When the condition is due to tight calf muscles, then stretching of those muscles would be the sensible approach. When the issue is the control of muscles at the hip, then the therapy ought to be aimed towards that. If the problem is because of weak foot muscles, then that is the best place to start the rehabilitation with exercises. If the problem is due to a bony alignment trouble in the foot, then foot supports tend to be used.

Have you done a parkrun?

The parkrun (having a lower case “p”) is a number of in excess of 2000 5-kilometre (or 3.1 mile) runs for walkers and runners which take place just about every Saturday morning in 22 countries all over the world. Additionally there's a junior parkrun over 2 kms (1.25 miles) for kids aged 4 to 14 held on a Sunday morning. The parkrun’s happen to be free to take part and are staffed and put on by volunteers, though there can be a a few employed staff from its head office. The parkrun was started by Paul Sinton-Hewitt with the very first one getting held at Bushy Park in London, the UK on 2 October 2004. The event increased following that getting replicated in many other UK venues. They were at first referred to as UK Time Trials with the brand, parkrun, first getting used in 2008 when growth began to occur in additional countries. The parkruns take place in many different types of sites such as recreational areas, nature reserves, forests, rivers, lakes, shorelines, as well as in jails. Those participants who have finished 50, 100, or 500 of the runs receive a free T-shirt. Once a participant has signed up on the parkrun web site and gets a barcode, they're able to go to and take part in any of the parkruns worldwide where they are often generally known as "tourists". The world record holder for the run for men is Andrew Baddeley who has a time of thirteen minutes and 48 seconds and the female fastest is Lauren Reid who has a time of fifteen minutes and 45 seconds.

Paul Sinton-Hewitt was awarded a CBE by the Queen for the services to grassroots sports activity in 2014 for that which parkrun has grown to become. Currently you can find almost 7 million runners listed worldwide with the run. This rapid growth is principally due to its simplicity and convenience. Participants just need to register online just once and then just show up at any parkrun event and run. The inclusive idea is additionally most likely a consideration as runners vary from competing and fast club athletes to those that only walk the 5km. Wheel chair users, individuals running with strollers with young children and people running with their dog are welcome. The events have been lauded among the list of greatest public health initiatives in our time regarding promoting exercise and being a social movement to the common good.

Each parkrun event is run and carried out by volunteers with the required accessories given by the parkrun head office. The volunteers are considered the heart of the parkrun movement along with their work is recognized on the parkrun’s site every week. Just lately the writer, Eileen Jones went about the UK and went to lots of the 730 parkrun venues there and spoke with runners and walkers and spelled out how a 5km event held on a Saturday morning had changed their own life. Jone's writings was published as a book by the title of “how parkrun changed our lives”.

At the beginning of March 2020, the majority of parkrun events were shut down worldwide a result of the coronavirus epidemic. At the start of 2021 some events did start to return, mainly because the crisis started to be taken care of in some nations around the world.