Early days:
I discovered
running in high school almost by accident. I decided to go out for high school
track although my motive was really just to get my schedule changed. I was
already a senior and had never run at all before so I was never competitive. I didn’t realize at the time that a lifelong
love of movement and running was starting for me. In those days (1968) there was really no clear
concept of running form and no real instruction in how to run. We didn’t have computers or video cameras.
There were 8 millimeter film cameras, but they were not in common use for
runners. There was no slow motion or
still photo analysis. Yes, sometimes coaches would yell “relax your arms” or “run
tall”. But what does that really mean and how could that teach you to run like
the best runners? It was common to hear
coaches tell runners to land on the heel first – heel to toe running. Coaches
seemed to have some ideas about over striding was, and might tell you not to do
it, but they weren’t necessarily good at explaining their ideas. There was no
Chi Running, no Pose Method Running, or any of the popular programs that exist
today, no real instruction at all. There were the talented runners and the rest
of us.
Victim of
injuries:
One of the
first running injuries I developed was a stress fracture in the lower leg –
tibia. It happened at the end of a half mile run at PR pace. I finished the run
and had trouble even showering and getting my clothes on. I had trouble driving
home and walking was painful. That was
the end of my running for months. When I did start running again, I ran only on
dirt for quite a while thinking that the softer terrain would protect me. It
helped, and it was a good adjustment for me.
What I didn’t realize was that it was mainly the way I was running that
caused the injury, not the surface I was running on. I blamed external circumstances even though I
had probably been ignoring warning signs for some time. I didn’t run much when
I was doing construction work but when I returned to running later. I learned
about other running injuries. I once had a severe bout of IT band syndrome.
That can be a discouraging injury when you don’t understand it. I went to a
physical therapist for that one and received a little help and was so relieved
to find that I could run again. But I hadn’t really learned much about the
cause and so years later I when through another round of IT band problems. This
time it was not as severe because I had learned a bit more about anatomy,
runners stretches and even a little about body usage. Over the years I accumulated experience with
ankle sprains, knee problems, hip stress,
plantar fasciitis etc.
The Crisis
and the Shift in View Point:
Injuries As
Learning Experiences.
When I was
around was around 50 years old I fell off a roof and broke my right ankle. It
swelled, and bruised clear up to my knee.
The medial malleolus (the large protrusion on the inside of the ankle)
had fractured. I went immediately to the doctor to get an x-ray after work but
the doctor’s office was closed. I worked with an air cast on the next day. I
thought I just had a very severe sprain and eventually it felt like it had
healed poorly. I eventually got an x-ray and MRI and was able to get surgery to
repair the ankle. The surgery was successful and my ankle healed well. But in
the meantime I had developed knee problems due in large measure to compensating
for a weak ankle. An x-ray and MRI revealed degenerative changes in the knee
and narrowing of the joint spacing on the medial side of the knee. The
orthopedic surgeon recommended that I not run anymore.
I was not
ready to accept that idea. I went on a search for answers. I went first to
Physical Therapy. The particular clinic I went to did some standard things and
I could tell right away that they were making things worse. I went in search of someone who had given a
talk I heard once and eventually got in touch with him. This person was also a
PT by degree, but he understood runners and was himself an ultra runner. He
understood how self organization impacts running. He helped me understand on a
different level the subject of somatic education that I was just beginning to
investigate. Within a few years of my injury I enrolled in a Feldenkrais
Professional Training program. I can now
run farther than when I was young and I
rarely have injuries that side line me for long. I now know that we can often even use running
as a means of healing.
The paradigm
shift for me has been changing the question- what is wrong with my knee when I
do this to what I am I doing with my entire self organization to produce this
problem? The focus shifts from the body
part to the learning process and safer organization of the entire running form
on an individual level.
Giving Back
If you would
like to learn more about what the teachings of Dr Feldenkrais can do for
runners, I am offering a free video analysis, free phone consultation, and free
learning lesson for Father’s Day June 15 – 17 only. Take advantage of this free
online offer by clicking here. If you live in the Bend Oregon area the offer
will run from June 15 -20. Just email us at the address below to set up your free sessions or call us at 541-536-4822
Thanks and
Happy Fathers Day to Fathers and families
Scott
