ASICS PROTEAM SPORTS PHYSIOTHERAPIST SARAH CONNORS BELIEVES UNDERSTANDING YOUR KINETIC CHAIN COULD HELP REDUCE INJURIES

INJURY PREVENTION

I’m often asked: “Why do runners get injured?” To answer this, I believe we need to look at the body as a whole. Each area is connected to the next; this is known as the kinetic chain.

Runners need to bulletproof their bodies so there are no weak links in the chain. This allows the body to cope with the repetitive nature of running the same action over and over again. When you stand at the start of a race and watch the quicker runners glide by effortlessly, they are a great example of the chain working efficiently. Stand at the end and watch the slower runners come in, with heavy footsteps, collapsing hips and pelvis, and their feet and knees dropping in – this is when the chain has gone wrong!

HOW THE KINETIC CHAIN WORKS

When you work one part of your body it creates a sequence of events along the whole kinetic chain, including both muscles and joints. The biomechanics of the ankle, for example, directly affect any joint further up the chain, all the way up to and including the spine. If one area isn’t working as hard as it should, then another area has to work harder to cover it.