Tragically HIPBY MACKENZIE

LOBBYfrom controlling your femur effectively. This isthe root cause of much of patellofemoral painsyndrome, or runner's knee. "There's a mis-alignment occurring atthe knee jointwhere it'sgoing to collapse too far in because you don'thave the strength to control how quickly itmoves orhowfaritmoves in," Ferbersays. Thisis when misdiagnosis often occurs. Weakhipsleadto a collapse inwards ofthe knee and thusthe foot, called "induced pronation," becausethe foot is being forced inwards. Since thisappears to be an excessively pronating foot,high-stabilityshoes or orthotics are prescribed.While this will relieve knee pain for some,manywill continue to struggle regardless oftheir shoes because their hips lackstrength.

HtP, HtR HooRAYFerber drives the point home by referring toresearch out of the University of Wisconsin,Milwaukee. JENNIFER EARL, PH.D., ATC,and colleagues prescribed a hip-strength-ening program to a group of healthy femalerunners for eightweeks. In addition to show-ing a predictable increase in hip strengthat the end ofthe program, the runners alsoexhibited significantlyless pronation (mea-sured byhowfar the heel collapsed inwards).

Iontinued on paqe Z

NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS WEAK HIPS AREBEHIND INJURIES THROUGHOUT THE BODY

=SEE lF THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR: First your Achilles flares up. The-'l,next week your knee starts bothering you. Then your hamstring gets all'lhitchV. And all on your left side. lt can't be a coincidence. lt's gotta be the/-l shoes, right?

Conventional wisdom has cast atypical pro- to identifying the source of running inju-nation, or the inward roll of the foot upon ries. REED FERBER, PH.D., and colleaguesstriking the ground, as the running injury looked at 283 studies that examined run-scapegoat. Andwhile the torsional forces ning-related injuries and concluded thatcaused by atypical pronation shouldn't the connections between weak hip stabi-be disregarded in diagnosing an injury, lizationmusclesandrunninginjurieswere

- new research suggests we look deeper, or far more conclusive than those of atypical-E rather, higher. foot pronation.E A recent literature review published in Ferber, the director at the Running Injuryg Sports Health calls for a top-down, rather Clinic in association with the University ofE than ground-up, approach when it comes Calgary, describes the kinetic chain that

rakes up a human body on the run: "Tlpicalmechanics are foryour foot to pronate or col-lapse inwards, the lower leg then internallyrotates, and with that, your upper leg inter-nally rotates as well."

He says the foot will automatically col-lapse inwards because ofthe force created byits contact with the ground. Since the lowerIeg must follow the foot, it also internallyrotates upon foot strike. "It's like a wrenchand a bolt," Ferber says. "Ifthe bolt turns,

"By strengtheningthe core and hips, Icould handle moretraining, and wasstronger and morepowerful as a runnet."that being your ankle, the wrench is goingto move with it, the wrench beingyour shin."

So, no matterwhat, your foot and lower legrespond to the impactforce ofthe foot hittingthe ground byrolling. The upperlegis anotherstory. While you want your upper leg to movein conjunction with the foot and lower leg,weak hip stabilization strength prevents you

lmproved core and hip strenqth led to new 5,OO)m and lO,OOOm PRs for Alli Grace.

RUNNINGTIMES / 21

N4osl imlrressiVe, 1he llal ticipants experi-enr:ed 5T perccnt lcss pronation at thernklc ioint

"MIKE SMlTll, n'ho coaches the distancesquad at liansirs St;rtc, as n'ell as OlvnrpianCHRISTIAN SMITH, savs lbat this is one ofthe l-rlohlern are:rs he Ioctrses ortr,r''ith nrnnels.

"\\k: often scc poor h ip strength coincidinglvitl'rpoor ovcrall slrength," he says. As such, Smith'sr-rr n n er^s sg.lencl lo ls of timc on rvh at man\r peo-ple cotrsicler supplemelttal exercises, bututhichSrl ith, co creatrlr of rllinlli.qdi,r.Ts.corn, sees aslundament:rl fol anv nrnner $ranting to colr-si stcnlll' t rai r.r i n.jLr rl'-free.

ALLI GRACE, rvho rur.ts for ZAP Fitness, isa tcstarncnt 1o Ihe iilrportance of lhis tYpeof stlengthenirig. Aftervears of stmgglingrvith IT band svnclrorne at the ljnir,ersitv ofI(cntr rckr,, she fi n al lr, id errtifiecl hip r'r'eakn essas th(-'io()1 of thc. problem. "l corrlcl tell mvh ips anrl hr rtt areas \\'ere u,eak because onceI startcrl rlrring mole cole and clr jlls at ZAP, Irrrould fe r-.1 nrv h ip flerors, tensor fasciae latae,ancl glutc.irs merliris/rnaxirnrrs rnrrscles tenserrp clrlriilg th6.qe exercises," Grace savs.

Shc acitls, " By st rr-.n gthening the core andh jl-rs, I r:rrrrJcl haurlle nrole. 1r-aining, andnrass1r'onger: artrl ntore pou'erftr I as a runnt'r. It'ss ( ) ; nl) ()r1;lr1t 1o lr arre-. strr:ngth ilt th ese a reas,osl]ccialir: al tire later stages of a race -voucilll p()\\'er tht'ritlgh hettel'." Since regularlvirrcornoratirrg hip -stx:ngthcri ing \4'ork intoi.rol loritine arrrl rlot losing clou'r.t time toir.rirrr\', (}'ar:o has set PRs at 5,000ni (15:,17)a nd ltl,0{lOnr [:l:l: I 2).

Thr: rnailr hip r.nrrsclers to focus or-rs1 rengl hcninq ;l'r: the lrip adductors, hipabrlrrciors, glrrlerrrs rnedirrs, tensot fas-r:iae latne, pirilornris, ancl hitr-r l'lexors. If\,orr'r'e alrcadr, in;ure<[, Ferber er.nphasizes1hc inrporlanr.'t' of "positivc dailv s1ress."'I'r'arrsinl irtn : J)o I hc crercises ltelon' erretVrlar,,. ()rtcc \.or)'i'.. r)uf of the uroods, trvo tof ltrcc tilrt.ts a u'eek is srrfficierrt.

i )cr lot'11 1 0 r elte-'tition s of each of the iol I olr.ing crc!'r:ises. Ii)r those that reerrireyou to rtorkr-'ar:h sidc irtrli..'ich rallr', f in ish the I () rcps beforesl^,'itchirrg to t lre otlter sidt. llo thc crelcisesi n snrool h, corttrol lccl tnotions. I Iold cach lepfbl tr'vo sr:cotrcls. Start ivith onc sct oi l0 thefirst dav, t\vo scts thc sccontl anci thirtl tlays,and three scts 1l-orn the lbrn'th ciay onrvarcls.Once vou're lanr i l ial rvith these cxcrcises, thevshou ld takc aborrt 20 rninirtes to corr.rplete. SaysFerber, "\Ve tel I ou r patients th at t hey are actu-irJlvgrrirtg lo n()ti( e ir posili1g inrpluterrrcnln,itliilr l0 t() 1,1 clavs."

RUNNINGTIMES lrlllF l"jBFR 20rlot/. I

01 ,'"* i:;.,Fri:or:Lying on vcrur back u'ith vorlr airms at vol.rrsides and vour knees bent, slorvlv lift vorrrbottorn off the floor'. Think of drarving a

straight line lrorn vour should€lrs, thror.rghr,orrr hips, ending at yorlr knees. Hold fortruo seconds and lon'el vorlrself back tothe ground.

02 L;:E*.!j, r

Stat, or-r yotrr b:rck \\,ith voLlr al'ms at yoursides and votrr knees bent. Straighten oneJeg and raise it upu.ards to reach a 45-degreeangle r'vith the ground. Be sure vour foot jsflexed ancl rour toes are facing the sky. Lowerslorvlv antl re.peat.

0tl iii) [iTi:];irc]"Lying face-dou'n r;ith r.ou l legs extcnded, l i ftone leg and hold for lrvo seconds. r\s vou lift,\rol lr glllteus rlrerd ir rs nr r sclcs shou ld respondbv tightening.

0t+Lie on one side ofvour bodv ivith vour armc-losest to the ground extended and voul'legs straight. IIse vour other arm to bracevour boch'. Lifi the upper leg in a scissor-likenrotion. Hold and lo$'er.

0 5 rru* nrNs rdrF,ia*rl!-rfl ri{lriPlace your right hand olt yorlr hip and theIcft on a chair ol table to help balance yor.rrbody. \\rith vour left leg straight and plar-rtedfi rrnlv on thc ground, lifi r.our light lcg to thesicle and hold for trvo secoucls.

06Rer.nain standing by the cl-rair or tablc tostabilize vour bodv. \{hile vorr balatrccvorrrselfn'ith the hand closest to thc chair,lilt the o1-rposite leg and bend the knee to a

!10 dcgrec an gle',vith vout' torso.

( )itct, 1,1111'1,1' r;tnslered the .f r.sI .si-r, con.sirier// r'lrrg //lc.\c tttore oduonced c,tcrclsr:.s:

07\\rith t'orrr'hancls on volrr hips, take aIrexaggerated step ol1t, bend the knee, atrclloiver vorrl bodv so vour front leg i s bent at a90-clegree angle. You shoulcl bc able to dran'a straight Ii ne fronl vout toes up to vorr r knee.Once you reach that 90-degree angle, slon'h'raise vour bodt'back up and step back to vouroriginal position. Alternate sides.

&MOBAs in tl-re oliginal blidge, lie on votrl backr'vith vour hands at vou r sides. \Vith one kneebent and tlre otlier straiglit, raisc vonr bottornoffthe glor.rnd. Be strre a straight line follo'.t'sfrom vour- shoulders, to the hip, knee, ancltoes ofthe extendecl leg. IJold, Iou'cr, repeatar-rd sruitch sides.