Stay Loose and Stay Strong

Stay Loose and Stay Strong

For years I have struggled with the occasional lower back issues, tight piriformis and most recently a pinched sciatic nerve. Which if you have never had, it’s incredibly painful and debilitating and you won’t be running for a while.  It started with a tight lower back which I knew was going to be trouble. I had been putting in the miles but not doing my core strength training and very little stretching. For me, if I don’t keep a strong core, stretch and stay loose, it’s a recipe for disaster.

If you don’t know, the piriformis muscle is in the glute area and the sciatic nerve runs very close to it. So if the piriformis is tight and inflamed it can pinch off the sciatic nerve. When it’s pinched the pain radiates from the low back, through your glute/piriformis, down through your groin and the front of the leg. The pain is intense, unrelenting and no amount of ibuprofen helps the pain. It will however help with the inflammation. So I spent days rolling around on my Grid Foam Roller, my Addaday stick, Grid Massage Ball and doing every stretch I could Google for piriformis and sciatica. Which interestingly enough are all the stretches every runner should be doing.

After 3 weeks of not running and doing all the things I should have been doing prior to the injury, I am happy to say I’m back to running and injury (I’m knocking on wood) free.  The majority of runners I talk to here at Fleet Feet Stuart, admit they don’t spend nearly enough time stretching and doing core strength training.  It’s always a time issue, they’re in a hurry and neglect the things that keep them strong and injury free.

 There are some great core strengthening exercise online that will keep you strong. Debra Daley has yoga at Fleet Feet Stuart every Tuesday morning at 8:30. Plus there are a ton of great stretches that you can do to stay loose. Just spend 5-10 minutes after every workout to stretch.  And don’t forget to use those Grid Foam Rollers and Addaday sticks laying around house. 

Edgar