As promised, I've been looking into what is going on with my knees. I met with the ART/Chiropractor/bunch of other titles guy. He did a very quick assessment and said my ankles have no flexibility and my core is weak. I pretty much knew that. However, he recommended that I work with a woman that was combining massage and personal training.
Official Assessment
Of course, Lisbeth wanted to do her own assessment. I certainly got my money's worth. She had me like this. |
| http://www.mikereinold.com/2013/03/ankle-mobility-exercises-to-improve-dorsiflexion.html |
She had me do the opposite arm exercise:
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| http://www.losebabyweight.com.au/exercises-for-the-core/ |
There were several other positions and movements she had me do. She made copious notes as she watched me. After about 45 minutes, the agreed that the lack of ankle flexibility and core strength were significantly impacting my running form which was probably leading to the knee pain and lock up. She'd write up a plan and we'd start the following week.
Training w/ Massage on the side.
The training sessions are sort of like the assessment or any of the strength workouts coach gives me. The difference is Lisbeth uses her eagle eyes to watch me do the exercises correctly. She watches for hips dropping, heels not flat on the floor, and a million other things that people with inflexible ankles and weak core do. In addition, if something is tight, Lisbeth will massage it into submission - OUCH!!!!!Five weeks later
In addition to meeting with her once a week, I also do the workouts twice more. In the five weeks that I've been meeting with her, my knee has stopped complaining. I've added a couple of short runs back to my routine. There's nothing major EXCEPT, I'm noticing differences in my posture when standing and walking. My core is getting stronger so I'm able to keep myself upright. I never realized this was happening.There is a lot more work to do. But, I'm doing the workouts correctly now and I think it is showing.
