Discussion: relief from soreness

I was telling coach about this a couple of weeks ago, when we were interrupted by a medical emergency.

The May issue of O/NA had an article "Sore No More" by Owen Anderson which turned around my training problems. Beginning around November I had some hamstring soreness following a couple of races. I applied the usual approach of running more gently and taking a rest day when the muscles were particularly sore. This helped sporadically, but in the long haul I was getting fewer miles each month. Any attempt to get back to "normal" mileage was met with too much soreness.

I wondered if this was just my age (58) getting to me, and considered seeing a doctor, when the magazine arrived in the mail, and the article caught my attention. It talks about surprising benefits from special training that involves eccentric contractions, preventing soreness. I didn't grasp the technical physiology well, but I needed to try something.

So I started at-home strength training of the hamstrings once per day, in addition to my usual running. A couple of good runs following the initial strength training were encouraging, so I've kept it up. The result over the course of a month has been that I can run about as much as I wish (i.e. the knees being a limiting factor) and any remaining hamstring soreness isn't enough to be worrisome.

For those who don't subscribe to O/NA - is this the article?

That's it!

Thanks Scott and Gil for tracking this down. I read the article when it was in ONA and tried the exercises, but promptly forgot about it. I think these are really good. Any luck tracking down the other exercises he talks about in this article?

Hmm, I completely forgot this conversation. I could use some exercises for that too...
Thanks for reminding me.

I tried the exercises he describes. The high-bench step-ups didn't feel like I was understanding the instructions. The straight-leg dead lifts didn't get close to the maximal intensity which the article said was necessary.

What I've been doing instead has the intensity but probably not the eccentricity. The starting position is lying with the back on the floor. One leg is raised slightly, and the other leg has its heel on the floor and the knee somewhat bent. Then lift the body from the floor between the supports of the shoulders and the heel. Gradually lift and lower the body without resting it on the floor, for about 1 minute.

I didn't look for Anderson's other exercises.

The exercise you mention is a good one, too. Rhonda does lots of this in her yoga and pilates classes. I found it pretty helpful when I was getting over a back injury last fall. I like the exercises from the article, though, although I am favorably disposed to any exercise (like the one you mention) that involves lying on your back!