Road race running is a relatively injury-free sport for the most part. There is no contact with other bodies or objects, no quick bursts of speed and sharp turns to stop on a dime to change direction. There are outside issues such as running in hot weather and dealing with lightning on rainy days, but these can be prevented with proper care. To say running is injury free is not always true, as a sprained ankle from stepping on an uneven surface, or twisting a knee when the foot hits a slippery spot in the road, are common causes of injuries in running.
The problem with an injury is that there is always an unrelated issue with another part of the body. I had a friend that had an injury that caused his upper body to lean to the right about 20 degrees. He walked like this to ease the pain when he walked. The injury became better after about four weeks and there was no pain. I saw him about six weeks later and he was still walking with that 20-degree lean to the right. He had developed a habit of walking like that. I took him to his home where he had a long hallway with a full mirror at the end of the hall. I stood behind him and told him to look in the mirror as we walked toward it. He was amazed that he could see my head and shoulders over his left shoulder as we walked. He did not realize how far his posture had developed into a habitual pattern when he walked.
In my classes in Adapted Physical Education I explained how the body will often develop a weakness in another part of the body from an injury. I challenged any student that had a previous injury to the knee that I could tell them which side the injury was on. In a few classes there were no knee injuries and I resorted to any student that had sprained an ankle. I would do a simple muscle test on them and I was right about 98% of the time telling them which leg was the injured leg. In some cases, the injury occurred six or more years ago. My maximum time was an injury from a student that had the injury 10 years ago. I could still tell them which leg was the injured leg. I would have the student sit on the examining table and lift each leg up as I pushed down on the knee. Invariably one knee was weaker and easier to push down than the other knee and that was the injured leg. I determined which knee was hurt by the hip flexor muscle (ilio-psoas) weakness.
What happens is that when the knee or ankle is injured the leg does not come forward in the usual manner. The knee is not lifted as high and the forward motion is more from thigh muscles or a movement of the hip. From lack of involvement in walking the hip flexor muscle weakens and unless given strengthening exercises will remain weaker than the opposite hip. This weakness can remain for many years if not corrected. To strengthen the muscle put a light weight on the ankle or foot. No more than 1/10th bodyweight. Do high knee lifts with this weight for 15 reps. Add three every day (15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30) and then add weight. Having done this I can tell you when you get in that 27 to 30 rep range you think your hip will fall off. Do this for a few weeks and then try the test again. There is a good chance both knee push downs will be equal. It often helps to do both legs. Since the resistance is the same the strength is equal.
The only athletes that I couldn’t push the knee down were the NHL hockey players. If I could push the knee down, I asked him what injury he had last year in his knee or ankle. While the hockey players had tremendous strength in the hip flexor muscle, it had its drawbacks with muscle weakness in another part of the body. One of the major injuries in hockey was a lower abdominal muscle strain. When I checked the hockey players for lower abdominal strength most of them had less than 50% strength and if not corrected had the potential for injury.
