If you are keen and have queries, please contact Coach Rameshon at 9100 4369 or you can email him at m.rameshon@gmail.com or swift.rameshon@gmail.com. Please refer to website http://flexifitness.com.sg (for more information on him and his programmes)
By Rameshon
Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)
Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)
How to run faster - The Answer Itself
In the first blogpost, Dr Kelvin Ng explained to us on general things on how a chiropractor can enable one to run more economically and not to get injured. In this blog post, I have decided to put up, for the benefit of readers, on how a good posture and an aligned body can help a runner to run faster. Hence the answer is very specific to the question asked. I believe that readers will enjoy reading this informative answer.
An Interview With Dr Kelvin Ng (Part 2 of 3)
4. Is there any way that a chiropractor can help runners who want
to run faster in running? Can you give us a specific answer to this question?
A chiropractor is akin to a mechanic for a performance car. For
a car to be clocking its fastest pace, the engine must be working at its best,
tyres must be balanced, everything just has to be tip-top.
A runner’s legs are like the tyres of a car. Amongst many
things, it is very important in a race for the tyres of a car to have the same
amount of air and pressure in order to have optimal fuel efficiency and
performance. Similarly, where possible, the legs of a runner should ideally be
of the same length for maximum efficiency and injury prevention. For most
people (except for a minority who is born with an anatomical short leg), leg
lengths are dependent on the levelness of the pelvis.
When a runner’s pelvis is misaligned, it can cause much twisting
or lopsidedness and result in the leg length to be uneven. This leg length
imbalance cannot be felt by most, much like uneven pressure in the tyres.
Long-short leg syndrome can disadvantage runners in many aspects. Firstly, it
can cause energy to be lost unnecessarily. Secondly, misaligned joints in the
pelvis, knee and ankle that are subjected to tremendous stress during the run can
become inflamed or degenerated.
A person with balanced leg length tends to share his or her
weight evenly between both feet. But if a person’s hips become misaligned to
cause uneven leg length, the weight distribution across both feet can change
drastically. For example, in a runner, if the distribution becomes 60:40
(instead of 50:50), one of the knees or sacroiliac joints can get overloaded
and injured. If a runner continues to pound with such an unbalanced pelvis,
this injury can manifest into misalignments or even permanent degenerations
such as disc problems or bones spurs, etc.
It is important to know that in every joint in our body, there
are nerves that carry vital information from our brain to the muscles,
ligaments and organs on our body. The presence of misalignments can prevent
these signals from getting to their destination and the resulting nerve
impingement or compression which can manifest into pain, discomforts, health
problems, organ dysfunction, dis-eases, etc.
The aim of chiropractic adjustment in my clinic is to align relevant
places in the entire spine, especially the pelvis so that the leg length of a
runner can be balanced. That way, every stride that he or she takes is
converted most efficiently to maximum distance covered and injury is prevented.
A spine that is free from misalignment and nerve impingement will allow the body
to function at its optimal, including the lung and muscular capabilities.
It is also worthy
to note that nerve compression can and does result from misalignments in the
spine. This can disrupt cardiovascular and respiratory functions (leading to
greater fatigue), muscle contraction (resulting in less strength and lethargy)
and body chemistry (causing CO2, VO2, and lactic acid levels to be less than
optimal).
A few research
papers were published on this topic. One published sports performance research
paper stated that athletes who received regular chiropractic care performed
better than athletes who did not. Two groups of athletes were used in the
study; one group was given weekly chiropractic spinal adjustments and the other
was not. Every six weeks the athletes were tested in agility, kinesthetic
perception, power and reaction time. The group under regular chiropractic care,
after six weeks, performed 10.57% better than the group that wasn't under
chiropractic care. After twelve weeks, the group that received chiropractic
care had shown a 16.7% improvement compared to the control group.
Another study
showed that athletes under chiropractic care for a fourteen-week trial period
showed significant improvement in muscle strength, long jump distance and
capillary blood counts.
One of the most relevant studies on chiropractic care and athletic
performance measured pulmonary function in athletes receiving chiropractic
spinal adjustments. The test subject's lung volume capacities increased by 6%
following two weeks of care. The implication of increased lung volume for
competitive endurance athletes is significant. Being able to breathe stronger
and deeper for longer periods of time, sending the vital oxygen to the muscles,
increases endurance.
Along with the balance leg length that we have discussed earlier, it
is not surprising that runners under regular chiropractic care can and do run
faster.
www.runningcoachsg.com
Note:
By Narayanan
Rameshon has taught in Hwa Chong Institution, plus several schools, and Republic Polytechnic as well. He has won many accolades and he was awarded Merit Award for 1991 marathon performance in breaking the national record of Singapore, at that time. He has made 22 male athletes do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the marathon, as well. He was inducted to the ‘Roll of Honour’ by the then College of Physical Education, organised by Singapore Olympic Academy, in 1998, for breaking the National record repeatedly 4 times, till he did 2hr 24min 22sec).
He also has a Coaching group and he trains them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm at Botanic Gardens. Those interested can call him at 91004369 for coaching assistance, to improve performance. There is also personal training that he does for many in a week. You can e-mail him at swift.rameshon@gmail.com.
Note:
By Narayanan
Rameshon has taught in Hwa Chong Institution, plus several schools, and Republic Polytechnic as well. He has won many accolades and he was awarded Merit Award for 1991 marathon performance in breaking the national record of Singapore, at that time. He has made 22 male athletes do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the marathon, as well. He was inducted to the ‘Roll of Honour’ by the then College of Physical Education, organised by Singapore Olympic Academy, in 1998, for breaking the National record repeatedly 4 times, till he did 2hr 24min 22sec).
He also has a Coaching group and he trains them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm at Botanic Gardens. Those interested can call him at 91004369 for coaching assistance, to improve performance. There is also personal training that he does for many in a week. You can e-mail him at swift.rameshon@gmail.com.
