Be a thriver: Get ready for outdoor sports

As the weather warms up, we are so ready to take our running and cycling workouts outdoors. Before you hit the streets, trails and roads, follow these tips to prevent injury and enhance performance.

If you haven’t been working out on a treadmill or stationery bike, it’s especially important to ease in and gradually build up to where you left off in the fall. If you’ve been working out indoors, we tend to push ourselves a little harder on road and trail. So listen to your body.

Cross train

Virtually all athletes will benefit from strength training. Strength training does not mean you will bulk up or slow down. Strength training helps your muscles work more efficiently, prevent injury and enhance performance.

Many injuries occur from overuse and repetitive motions. Running and cycling are repetitive in nature and strength training is a great way to add variety to your training and resiliency to your muscles. It can be as simple as adding body weight squats and lunges to part of your routine and can become more detailed to meet your specific needs.

Running and cycling are very one-directional sports, meaning our legs move primarily in a forward-back motion when running and pedaling. As a result, muscular imbalances are very common. The glutes tend to be neglected in both the runner and cyclist. One way to address this would be to add some single leg stability training such as a single leg step up to address hip and glute strength.

For cyclists, we spend a lot of time in the saddle in a hunched over posture with forward rounded spine and shoulders. To avoid excess back or neck pain, add some mobility work to offset extended time in this position. Try yoga especially variations of child’s pose and upward facing dog pose to keep the spine mobile and avoid excess pain or stiffness.

Check out Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. With a quick search on her channel, you will find several yoga sessions for runners and cyclists that are 6-30 minutes long.

Rest

In endurance sports, we are prone to overuse injuries and overtraining. Making time to recover can be just as important as workouts for your overall progress and longevity. Rest periods ensure you are giving your body adequate time to recover, adapt from the stress of training and prepare for the next workout. Give yourself 1-2 days every week for rest. Along with weekly rest days, consider having an “off week” every 3-4 weeks. You don’t have to take a full week off from your sport, but you can lower your average intensity.

Injuries and medical care

With any endurance sport, some degree of suffering is expected during or after training. If pain or soreness is lasting greater than 1-2 days after training, then it may be time to take some time off or decrease your

Dr. Sreelatha Spieker, Mankato Clinic Department of Psychiatry, ran a half marathon in Las Vegas in 2019.

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intensity or volume. Also, if you begin to cut your workout short or modify it due to pain, it may be time to address the issue.

While brief rest may be helpful in the short term, it is often more important to understand why or where this pain is coming from. For the runner, it may help to check your shoes. Check for any unequal wear patterns, or you may be overdue for new shoes altogether. For cycling, you can check the condition of your seat and its positioning; you could possibly make some small adjustments to the fit of your bike.

If your pain doesn’t improve with some simple modifications, it may be time to see a physical therapist or specialist in sports medicine. We can assess how you move as a whole and identify any restrictions or imbalances that may be leading to these issues in the first place.

Visit www.mankatoclinic.com/ physical-therapy. Call 507-389-8760.

Always wear a bicycle helmet to protect your brain. If you are running or riding in the dark, which is more dangerous, wear reflective clothing and make sure you have reflectors and a bright light on both the front and rear of your bike.

Happy running and cycling!

We got game

The Mankato Clinic Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy team works one-on-one with athletes to help regain range of motion, flexibility, strength, balance, control, endurance and power. Whether recovering from a sport injury or preventing future injuries, we can help you stay in the game.

Thomas Finn, DO, Sports Medicine

Dr. Thomas Finn has specialized training in the body’s muscles and bones as a Sports Medicine physician. His focus is on non-surgical treatments for muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments. He evaluates and treats injuries with the goal of helping athletes get back to performing at their best. The vast majority of sports injuries do not require surgery, but Dr. Finn works closely with the Orthopaedic and Fracture Clinic for injuries that may require surgery.

Mankato Clinic Sports Medicine 507-389-8587 www.mankatoclinic.com/sports-medicine

If you are a Mankato Clinic patient, please contact your primary care provider as a referral is required to see a physical therapist. Always check your coverage before making an appointment with a specialist.

Mankato Clinic Physical Therapy 507-389-8760 www.mankatoclinic.com/physical-therapy

1230 East Main Street, Mankato

Expert Advice

Teeing Up

Spring weather may be calling you to the golf course. First, find some open space outside for practice swings. No golf balls required. Start with 50% swings to warm up and loosen up the muscles in your back and torso after a winter layoff. Move slowly toward 75% swings and then full 100% swings. It may take several sessions before you get to 100%. When you do hit the links, remember that you can begin by playing 9 holes. You don’t need to jump right in to 18. Don’t swing at 100% unless you are ready.

Jake Nienow, PT, DPT

Mankato Clinic Physical Therapy