Stop Running. Your Body is Broken - Fix It First!

Running can be a joy, but it can lead to serious setbacks without proper maintenance and injury prevention.

Imagine hitting the Vancouver seawall and noticing runners with overpronation and misaligned knees—these common imbalances can spell trouble.

With my three decades of experience in the wellness industry, I spotlight the alarmingly high injury rates among runners and the tendency to overlook body maintenance until it's too late.

I even recount a personal story from a fitness tour in Israel to underline the necessity of proper recovery and maintenance. Just as a car needs regular servicing to run smoothly, your body does, too.

This episode highlights the critical role of assessing and correcting movement patterns with professional help, whether from a physical therapist or a qualified coach.

We delve into targeted exercises that enhance body function, reduce injury risks, and emphasize the importance of core and hip strength training in supporting your runs.

Regular mobility exercises can make a difference, and active recovery methods like light walking or gentle cycling can help with muscle repair.

Throughout the episode, the message is clear—listen to your body, address pain promptly, and use the expert guidance and resources we share to keep yourself running smoothly.

Resources:

1. American College of Sports Medicine
2. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy
3. National Institutes of Health
4. The Ready State
5. Ido Portal

Chapters

• 0:08 Preventing Running Injuries With Mobility
• 9:50 Optimizing Mobility for Injury Prevention

Transcript

Dai Manuel: 0:08

Good day my 2% Collective Warriors. Welcome back to another episode of the 2% Solution. I'm your host, diamond, and today we're tackling a toplet, toplet Topic that will hit home for many of you, me included, and this is to all the people that are out there that think running is awesome, right, stop running your body's broken. Fix it first. This episode is for you. If you're out there pounding the pavement with injuries, this episode is for you. If you're out there pounding the pavement with injuries, poor movement patterns and or imbalances. We're going to dive in and discuss why fixing those issues is crucial before lacing up those running shoes.

Dai Manuel: 1:09

I live in Vancouver, kent, right downtown, on something known as the seawall, beautiful pathway that literally runs along the water all around Vancouver downtown core and then some, and it's beautiful, arguably one of the nicest places on the planet. I know I'm biased, but I've traveled, I've lived other places around the world and I keep coming back to Vancouver for a reason. But here's the thing on the seawall, especially when the weather gets nicer in Vancouver, lots of people just start running. They just start running. I've never seen them out there. I'm out there daily, sometimes twice a day, whether I'm cycling, walking, sitting in the sun those that are connected with me on Instagram that I tend to post a lot, instagram that I tend to post a lot. It's my happy place. But I see a lot of people out there running and I see these crazy little imbalances, when I shouldn't say little, but I'll see, like, the feet kicking out to the side, I'll see the knees turning inward knees and knocking, uh, this overpronation of the ankles. It's just, it's crazy. Just all these very poor movement patterns where I know it's creating a lot of strain and it will eventually create repetitive use injuries as well. And yet we seem to think I'll just persevere, I'll push through it. I'll push through the discomfort because it's worth it, because I want to lose a few LBs or whatever. It might be the motivation and I'm not here to poo-poo the motivation I think it's wonderful, but it's unfortunate because I know it's just a matter of time and injury will arise and when it does, will you be able to get through it? Will you be able to get through it on the other side and be stronger for it and learn from it?

Dai Manuel: 2:37

Because in my experience, especially in the wellness space for about 30 years now, a lot of times when we have one of those big upsets, those big roadblocks, challenges, especially physical injuries. It becomes a big reason why we don't maintain any physical activity. It becomes almost an excuse or a permission slip to just do nothing. And the mindset I want to promote all right. So let's just get real for a second.

Dai Manuel: 3:04

How many of you are running with some sort of pain or injury? Because you're not alone. According to the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, up to 70% of runners will experience an injury at some point in their running career. That's a staggering number. It's not just like minor aches and pains. We're talking about serious issues like stress, fractures, tendinitis, ligament injuries. You're setting yourself up for a world of hurt when you run with poor movement patterns or imbalances, basically like driving a car with misaligned wheels. Sure, you might be able to get from point A to B, but eventually something's going to break.

Dai Manuel: 3:49

So a few years ago, I had this crazy idea it wasn't really my idea I got invited to go to Israel and participate on this fitness tour, and it was through Vibe Israel, which was an extension of their tourism board, and they were trying to show the world by inviting certain I guess we'll say influencers, people that have basically a voice online in the health and wellness space and they invited us, these five individuals. I was one of the people. I was the only Canadian to go on this trip and we got to do all this cool, healthy and fitness and mindful type of activities and it was just a trip of a lifetime. It was truly just amazing. Also okay, so this is neat. Part of the culmination of this trip was we would all do the marathon in Jerusalem.

Dai Manuel: 4:41

Now I said I was only going to do the half because I those that know I'm not a big runner I do love outdoor obstacle course races. Spartans, tough Mudders, absolutely love those. You can get me doing half a marathon distance with that, no problem. But man, throw me on a roadway with just my own mind to keep me occupied. It can be challenging. Buzz is just very monotonous and my body just doesn't really like that, that repetitive action and long and short of it. This is also when I was competing in the open and at CrossFit and really quite active within that community and I wasn't really giving my body the recovery nor the maintenance that it needs.

Dai Manuel: 5:24

We know with our cars nowadays it's funny we wait for the red light to come on that little engine light or whatever the cue light is. Nowadays these diagnostics are rather impressive, but we wait for a light to come on before we do something about it, and I think all of us have the intention. Oh yeah, we know X amount of miles and I need to change the oil and fluid, yada, yada. So there's just general maintenance. But I think most of us will agree we often will just push those periods until we absolutely have to and unfortunately, when we take that sort of mindset with our health, that can lead to a world of problems later. When we're younger, our bodies are just more resilient. We've got things just operating a lot more efficiently. We might be able to get away with a little bit more, but this eventually will catch up if we don't do anything to maintain it. And we see this just because, as we age there's something called decrepitude if we're not careful and that's just literally our body deteriorating from lack of use or abuse.

Dai Manuel: 6:24

And so here I am doing this half marathon and I did zero training up until other than my CrossFit, and there was a lot of things I shouldn't have done. But the little caveat I got here is I did enough mobility that even though I was hurting, a couple of days after I didn't really have anything beyond just the sort of muscle soreness and also a few, let's just say, my Achilles didn't look very good. It looked a little bit like hamburger meat because I also wore a brand new pair of shoes that was given to me by a brand, and that's something that you just don't do. As my marathon runner friends will maintain, and they've all called me out on this, I don't need any mail writing me how stupid I was doing this 10 years ago, but I did it anyways. I did blog about it. Five things you should never do before you run your first half marathon.

Dai Manuel: 7:14

Anyways, maybe, if you're interested, just comment, let me know if you want me to do a podcast on that story specifically and that experience. But here's the thing I was able to get through the run. I'd spent a lot of time on my mobility, so I knew my I had everything tracking properly. The knees are tracking well, the ankle mobility, inflection is great, my hips fluid. So, all said and done, I was able to do this and it was challenging, but I got through it and I was good for it at the end of it, and I think that's the thing If we can maintain our bodies, so we can trust our bodies, count on them to perform when we need them to.

Dai Manuel: 7:55

I think that's a beautiful thing. But most of us spend time on the performance end of things, which is the actual training part. But I'm going to ask you to flip the script here. Even if you can just reclaim 15% of your fitness time during a week your healthy, fitness, focused, intentional time and apply that to general maintenance, okay, like mobility work and recovery work, holy smokes, your life will change. That's all I got to say. All right, the research backs everything I'm saying up too. Okay, a study published in the Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy found that runners who incorporated strength training and mobility exercises into their routines significantly reduced the risk of injury. When you take the time to fix your body and ensure it's moving well, you're not just preventing injuries, you're enhancing your overall performance.

Dai Manuel: 8:49

Proper mobility and recovery are critical. Okay, american College of Sports Medicine emphasizes that regular stretching and mobility can improve your range of motion, reduce muscle stiffness and boost athletic performance. It's all about setting a strong foundation, right? We know this, and yet do we do it? I know it's not as much fun, right? So let's talk about some practical tips, because I always like to leave you with some actionable ideas and tips and strategies and, of course, please share your ideas. You can simply click on the note section of wherever you're listening to this podcast. You'll notice there's a link there that says text me. Click that. Your app on your device will open up and you can just send me a message. And if you want me to respond, make sure that you sign off with either your email or your cell number, because, as a security, I can only receive right now, unless you give me permission to message you back. But you got to tell me how to do that. So anyway, long and short of all, here's some practical tips.

Dai Manuel: 9:50

Number one assess and correct movement patterns. So work with a physical therapist or a qualified coach who has some specialization in movement assessments, right, to assess, basically, your movement patterns, identify any imbalances or weaknesses and address them with targeted exercises. I know it's boring at times having to do these types of exercises, but they will change your life. All right, they'll change your life. I just know it, because all of a sudden, your body's working in a much more optimal state less pains, less aches, less of those groaning moments. Plus, you'll have more resiliency and greater recovery when you do stress those body parts and under certain instances, and you know what You're going to have way less injuries. Hello, sounds pretty good to me.

Dai Manuel: 10:38

Then number two is strength training. I know we talked about this a lot, but incorporating strength training into your routine is critical. Focus on building a strong core and balanced muscles. This will support your running and reduce the risk of injuries. Focus a lot on the hips too. Don't forget your hips. I think a lot of people think ankle knees, but your hips are massive joints and you think about it. Your trunk, that's what connects your legs to your trunk. It's a joint that gets a lot of use. Work on those hips, work on your hip. Mobility, especially 90-90s, are a great movement as well, as there's a lot of other types of ones, like the iguana.

Dai Manuel: 11:16

If you haven't checked out my mobility video, it's about 24 minutes done with you. I posted it on YouTube. I also shared it in the last episode where I was talking about mobility a bit. Check it out. If you did that a few times a week, your body will thank you. All right, regular mobility work is a hammered that home. I think already even talking about the strength training aspect.

Dai Manuel: 11:36

But make mobility exercise just a part of your daily routine. Just do it five minutes a day, 10 minutes a day, it doesn't take much. You can do it while you're waiting somewhere. I remember while we were traveling as a family, I would more often than not have my roller with me. I have a little travel roller and on top of that I just I'd wear easy, loose, fitting clothing because it was more comfortable to travel in that. But we're waiting to board a plane. I'm there doing some mobility work sitting on my roller, like why not, rather than sitting on a device and sitting there in a chair with my neck all out of whack? I'm going to use that time, why not? So again, where can you fit that in your day? Is there little opportunities where you can stretch it out for two minutes or so? I think there is.

Dai Manuel: 12:23

Number four active recovery. Don't forget to give your body time to recover. Active recovery, like light walking, gentle cycling. This will help promote blood flow, reduce inflammation, aid in muscle repair and regrowth. So active recovery, I'm not saying do nothing. I'm saying do something that's light, that your body will thank you for it.

Dai Manuel: 12:42

Number five listen to your body, like really listen to it. Pay attention to what your body's telling you. If you're experiencing pain, don't push through it. Address the issue before it becomes a bigger issue. And all the guys I'm talking to you because I know what we're like and we're like we can just it'll be fine. It'll be fine, because we remember when we were young and we just we would, we pushed through it, we'd be okay, it doesn't work, I got. When you get older, it looks I'm 47, almost 48. It doesn't work, I got anymore.

Dai Manuel: 13:10

I spend a lot more time on the maintenance side of things and it's it actually helps my performance. So on those days where I train extra hard, I'm able to push it and I feel fine for it. The next few days after I'm not paying for it. Also, I I knock on wood I've been very fortunate. I haven't really experienced any injuries for the last few years and the last one I did I tweaked my back, but what would normally affect me? For maybe a week or two? It was just a matter of about 48 hours. And again I did some mobility work, some very specialized movement patterns and bam, I was fine. But I also took it easy. I didn't lift anything for a couple of days and even was light the first few workouts back. Just to add that extra precaution Doesn't take a lot, just be a little bit mindful. But it'sopedic and Sports Physical Therapy and the National Institutes of Health those are all great places to start your own journey toward better mobility and recovery.

Dai Manuel: 14:14

There's also great individuals online like Ido Portel, my friend Ashley Gass, who's out of Florida. She does all sorts of really cool stuff in the online space, especially with calisthenics. We've got the Astrogas guys Knees Over Toes, ben over at Knees Over Toes. If you don't follow them on Instagram, I highly recommend it. And of course, the Starretts at ReadyStay. You know Kelly and his partner in life and wife Juliet. They've got some great information when it comes to mobility work. So I'll link to all those resources in the show notes. So feel free if you want to go check those out. They're there for you. And other than that, thanks for tuning in again to another episode of 2% Solution. If you enjoyed this episode, share with a friend who might like a little reminder to focus on their mobility and recovery. Don't forget to follow us on social and if you love the podcast, a review and subscription would mean the world. Stay strong, stay flexible and keep pushing your limits. I'm Diamond and you've been listening to the 2% Solution. Let's keep thriving together.