Just 30 minutes on the treadmill is proven to lift our mood and alleviates the symptoms of depression. Running simply makes us happier and along the way, it teaches us the value of persistence, of overcoming our obstacles and our limitations. But what happens when we reach a dead end in our training? According to the New York Times, up to 79% of runners become injured each year. That’s a lot of injuries that could potentially be avoided in the first place.
Runner’s knee is the most common problem that athletes run into (no pun intended). The painful injury breaks down cartilage around the kneecap, creating a great deal of irritation and pain in the area. Some runners even hear a popping sound. Many times, runners will develop this injury over the course of long runs, especially those involving descending hills or stairs. Any extra pressure placed on the knees makes runners even more vulnerable. To prevent runner’s knee, athletes should consider strengthening the glutes and stretching the hip flexors. Recovering athletes should reduce mileage and avoid downhill running as well.
Number two on the list of most common running injuries is Achilles Tendonitis. Runners with Achilles Tendonitis will experience tightness and irritation around the tendon that connects the calf muscles to the back of the heel. Weak calves are the biggest culprits, something that can be remedied with strength training exercises such as calf raises. Although, it is important to consider that footwear has a lot to do with it as well. Runners should be sure to wear supportive, high-quality sneakers when they run and avoid wearing flip-flops and high heels for long periods of time outside of training.
Accounting for 15% of all running injuries, Shin Splints, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome develops painful tears around the shinbone. People with particularly high arches or flat feet become most susceptible to this injury as do new runners who are coming back from a long break in training.
The Common Solution for Common Problems
If you have ever experienced an injury such as Runners Knee, Shin Splints, or Achilles Tendonitis or something from the longer list of runner’s injuries (Stress Fractures, Plantar Fasciitis, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, hamstring issues, etc.) you know the answer to all your problems. RICE RICE RICE! The “go-to” treatment stands for Rest Ice Compression and Elevation and is often the recommended method for injury recovery. And to think, with all of this new technology out there, shouldn’t there a better, more innovative solution?
Fitness and Wearable Tech
This is where motion sensor wearable company, dorsaVi comes in. Fitness and wearable technology isn’t exactly a new concept and for many runners, a tool like the FitBit is their greatest fitness companion. Only today, wearable tech has become even more sophisticated, developing real time insights with lab quality output. In the wearable market, dorsaVi is racing ahead and providing athletes with the kind of insight needed to prevent injury, enhance performance, and ultimately understand their bodies on a deeper level.
The FDA-Cleared Solution
DorsaVi is an FDA-cleared solution that combines biomechanical instruments with smart sensors that measure the body’s muscle activity and every movement. “The dorsaVi wearable sensor solutions allow many aspects of detailed human movement and position to be acutely captured, quantified, with the same level of accuracy as a biomechanics lab – but with the benefit of it being simple to use, low cost and accessible for use in real situations in real-time,” says Megan Connell, Chief Marketing Officer at dorsaVi.
Healing From Objectivity
What’s lacking in today’s clinical space is often a sense of objectivity. This is exactly the reason why practicing Physiotherapist Andrew Ronchi and his brother Dan Ronchi set out to create dorsaVi. Feeling limited in the objective care they could provide, the pair wished to carve out a new, more sophisticated market for wearable technology and it appears they have succeeded. “These are certainly exciting times in professional health and safety as well as elite sports. Coaches, ergonomics experts and physical therapists and chiropractors now have access to a veritable crystal ball. Never before have they been able to make choices that are so well informed,” Connell adds.
Our bodies are all different and there is really no one-size-fits-all solution to prevention and rehabilitation. They say exercise is the best medicine, but I say objectivity is the smartest medicine of all.