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October 1, 2001
Article # 4 (Read about the series)
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WATER RUNNING - A SECRET WEAPON.
by GlennVenturini MS, MPT
An in-season injury can be devastating for a runner, especially if the
athlete is told they canĚt run during the early stages of the rehabilitation
process. Some types of injuries do not allow athletes to run or perform
other types of cardiovascular training because of pain, decreased weight
bearing on the injured leg, casts or surgery. As a result, the runner begins
to lose conditioning and falls behind his or her competition. Water running
is an underutilized training exercise when an injury prevents full weight
bearing. Additionally, many times the cardiovascular conditioning exercises
performed in the water are not achieving maximum benefit for the athlete.
This article will explain how to train in water if land running is prohibited
due to an injury. Remember to first check with your medical professional
to determine if water running is appropriate.
Previous practices in rehabilitation have focused on biking, cross country
skiing, swimming, stair climbing and other forms of low impact training
to help maintain conditioning if the athlete is injured. While these types
of cardiovascular exercises are good ways to condition during rehabilitation,
they are not the same as running. In order to maintain or improve your
"running shape" you must run. The law of specificity of training
tells us athletes must train the way they compete to maximize conditioning
for a race; Lance Armstrong trains by cycling, Alan Webb trains by running,
Ian Thorpe trains by swimming. In simple terms, the way you choose to train
(running, biking or swimming) produces specific changes in your muscles
for the chosen activity. If your physician tells you land running is on
hold, ask them about water running.
Water running has been used by many injured world class runners and
other athletes who participate in sports that require running. The benefits
of water running include; decreased stress to the injury site, improving
or maintaining your fitness level, ability to perform resistive exercises
in the water to strengthen the injured area and a positive attitude because
you can continue to train. Some examples of training in water include duplicating
the land workouts. For example, letĚs say the cross country coach had planned
for 6 repeat 800Ěs to be run in 3 minutes with a 3 minute slow jog recovery.
You would run in the water for the same amount of time and perform the
same recovery. If the coach calls for a long steady run of 30-45 minutes
you can do the same in the water.
Water running is challenging because every movement pushes against the
resistance of water. Match your effort of land training to water running.
Fatigue will be overwhelming if you attempt to match speed. Your coach,
athletic trainer and /or physical therapist together can put together a
custom program to continue training and rehab the injury at the same time.
Some things to remember about water running:
1.A lifeguard should be present,
2.Wear a flotation device,
3. Run in deep water so your feet do not touch the bottom,
4. Run in place with high knees, do not bike pedal in the water,
5. Lean slightly forward while running,
6. Keep hands in a thumbs up position with open palms and,
7. Run as many days in the water as you would have on land.
Give yourself time to adjust to water running, when you return to practice
you may find your self in front of, instead of behind the pack!
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this website is from third party sources that we believe to be reliable.
However, we have not independently verified any of the claims, facts or
opinions contained in any such material. The owner of this website, and
its agents, employees, officers, directors and representatives therefore
disclaim any liability for any persons's reliance on this information,
and this information is presented without any warranty whatsoever. Before
making any change to training or treatment, or otherwise taking any action
in reliance on the information presented, an athlete should consult with
his or her parents, coach and physician.
For more information,
or with questions, please email:
PaulR@PainRelief-PT.com
