<span style="font-weight: 400;">Injuries can affect us all regardless of age, sex, fitness or ability, but we can manage or limit the number of times we get injured; and we can do this by going back to basics. A topic which has been written about numerous times, but we are not talking about strength levels, stretching or core stability, we mean back to your basic intrinsic biomechanics.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">By regularly assessing your intrinsic biomechanics you can help eliminate and prevent many injuries and problems. One of the fundamental causes of injury is the body compensating for weak biomechanical links in your kinetic chain which can cause unaccustomed load that in turn result in pain and injury.</span>

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<h2><em><b>One of the most common injuries in running is to the hamstrings. Or typically, the pain or tension that often presents itself in the hamstrings due to biomechanical load from another area of the body that is not functioning correctly. Even if you tear the hamstring during sprinting, the underlying cause is usually biomechanical, and unless that cause is addressed, the problem will become recurrent or simply just not go away. You could even just have a hamstring that feels tight or won’t stretch out properly, either way the cause is usually biomechanical.</b></em></h2>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Example:</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Hamstring ‘issues’ are common in runners and are caused by a number of different issues. Flat feet, tight calves, dysfunctional pelvis, poor preparation and previous injury to the hamstrings or calves or associated joints are all typically considered when trying to prevent hamstring  injuries. One commonly overlooked, but very relevant cause is a tight sciatic nerve.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">If the sciatic nerve is tight or not moving freely within the structures that surround it, then the muscles in the area of stiffness provide the nerve with protective spasm during movement. In other words they contract to minimise the pressure on the nerve while you move at speed. If the nerve is loaded or stretched too much, the muscles can spasm enough to cause themselves to tear or cramp up - which can feel like a tear. The stiffness in the nerve may well be near the point where the nerve runs through the hamstring muscle, and so that can be why you have the injury in the hamstring.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">To check to see if your hamstring ‘issue’ is related to your sciatic nerve, try this test:</span>

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<h2><strong>Test</strong></h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Lay on your back and gradually lift your leg up straight with your ankle fixed at a 90 degree angle. Stop when you start to feel a tension or stretch in your leg. Notice where this tension is felt. You could feel it in the hamstring area, but also anywhere below the knee, or indeed in your buttock or back. If you feel it anywhere outside your hamstring area, the stretch you feel may be nerve related. In this example the stretch may be in the calf, which might indicate that the nerve is tightest there and can be causing the calf injuries. However if you feel the tension in the hamstring area you can test for nerve tension by pointing your toe. If this movement alters the tension in your hamstring this can indicate that the nerve is tightest there and can be causing hamstring issues. </span>

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<h2><b>Understanding nerves</b></h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The nerves have been described as the software of the body and to be able to understand this more thoroughly we have to understand ‘nerve tension’ and ‘Adverse Neural Tension’. These concepts have been recognised for over 100 years in terms of treating patients clinically, but their full potential has never been understood until now. An analogy with the invention of the wheel is an interesting one. The discovery of nerve tension and it being used for the treatment of injuries is like the wheel being invented and placing it on its side, putting 4 legs around the underside and using it as a table. It makes a great table, but the idea to use it in the way we know it today was groundbreaking. The same applies to nerve tension and its application to athletic performance and fatigue relief.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">The entire nervous system is a single continuous tract, so it follows that if any part of this continuous tract is trapped or tethered (as with an injury for example) then it also follows that there will be some restriction of the mobility of other parts of the nerve system. So a problem with one part of the nerve can cause pain in another – this is the clinical application. However, we have discovered that this is not always represented by pain but also by a reduction of joint range of movement and altered joint biomechanics which can affect a whole host of problems that can cause restricted performance and may ultimately lead to injury. Moreover, with the increased muscle spasm and associated factors, local fatigue increases and so understanding these principles can lead to benefits not only in human performance but also fatigue relief.</span>

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<h2><b>Research</b></h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">We know this happens from research performed at Liverpool Hope University College and the studies demonstrate astonishing results. One experiment showed that a muscle can increase its force output by 14% after a brief preliminary warm-up (just one 15 second workout using this concept). Another experiment showed that by following the same concept a 2 minute programme performed daily for 10 days increases muscle output by over 50%.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">It has been demonstrated that after 15 seconds of the programme, muscle fatigue is reduced by up to 14% immediately and sustained use led to significant and prolonged increase in muscle output. These studies have been validated at the highest level. A paper was submitted at the 6th Asian Biomechanics Congress (one of the world's most credited) and was enthusiastically received.</span>

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<span style="font-weight: 400;">Remember in most cases we are not even aware we have a problem, but even so you can still achieve these remarkable results. Just imagine what these figures could do for your performance in your sport or indeed, on a sedentary level, how the fatigue relief can help after a hard day at the office.</span>

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<h2><b>Example</b></h2>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Let's take a hamstring stretch as an example, we are not trying to stretch the hamstrings when we extend the leg out in front of us, we are trying to improve the range of hip flexion and knee extension by stretching the structures on the back of the leg and back. This brings in more than just the hamstrings, it can also be limited by a tight sciatic nerve, a rotated sacro-iliac joint in the lower back, tight gastrocnemius, tight spinal cord and indeed almost any nerve in the chain given the continuum concept described earlier.</span>

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<h1><a href="https://www.biomechanicseducation.com/product/running-biomechanics-workshops/#tab-description" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Running Biomechanics Workshop </a> teaches you;</h1>
<ul>
 	<li>The correct terminology to approach your local running clubs</li>
 	<li>Understanding the mechanics and sequencing of running gaits</li>
 	<li>Extrinsically look at different styles or idiosyncrasy’s and Intrinsically look at what restrictions and dysfunctions can cause them</li>
 	<li>Screenings will be discussed as well as key exercise interventions to help prepare your runners for their chosen style</li>
</ul>
<p class="p1"><b>Who is it suitable for?</b></p>

<ul class="ul1">
 	<li class="li1">Running coaches &amp; practitioners who wish to enhance their skills to help runners</li>
 	<li class="li1">Any professional looking for an understanding of running biomechanics</li>
</ul>
Created by<a href="https://www.brytespark.com/portfolio/biomechanical/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Martin Haines Founder of Brytespark</a>
<h1><a href="https://www.biomechanicseducation.com/product/running-biomechanics-workshops/#tab-description" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&gt;&gt;TO BOOK CLICK HERE &lt;&lt;</a></h1>
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