Many of us runners are prone to overuse injuries throughout our racing careers. Most of those injuries start out quietly and innocently enough so that we keep running on them, only to exacerbate the problem later on down the road. Most of these injuries in distance runners occur from the hip down to the feet. Why? This week I had the honor of sitting down with Benny Vaughn, an accomplished Athletic Sports Therapist and track star, to discuss common injuries in distance runners, and how to prevent those injuries. According to Vaughn, most overuse injuries in distance runners occur because the hips and the feet are not flexible enough. Most runners forget that they need to stretch the muscles of their feet as much as they would any other muscle. Stride length depends on it. Benny Vaughn has been specializing in the performance therapy care of track and field athletes for over 33 years, and has worked with runners from high school and college level up to Olympic caliber level all across the nation. Vaughn holds a degree in Health Education from the University of Florida, where he graduated in 1969 as a full scholarship track athlete specializing in the 800-meter distance. Not only does he have an 880 yard personal record of 1 minute, 50 seconds, Vaughn also ran for the famed Florida Track Club in the 1970’s along with Olympic marathon champion Frank Shorter. Benny was a manager for the athlete medical services during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. He was also an athletic trainer and massage therapist for the USA Track and Field Team in the 2003 World Championships in Paris, France, the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, and most recently the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. He primarily focuses on orthopedic massage and precision stretching. Vaughn says that there are many common myths and problems associated with treating and preventing injuries, such as iliotibial (IT) band troubles and plantar fasciitis. “A common mistake for most runners involves rolling on the iliotibial band to stretch it,” said Vaughn. “This doesn’t accomplish anything, and those runners are only putting themselves through excruciating pain. Biomechanically, it can’t be substantiated.” According to Vaughn, what really needs to be stretched are the gluteal muscles and associated connective tissue, namely the gluteus medius, the gluteus minimus, and the tensor fascia lata. The gluteal muscles are all anatomically located superior to the hip bones. The exaggerated hip swinging and rotation on a horizontal plane are optimal for stride length in a runner, and is a very similar repetitive motion seen in a race walker. Over a lot of time and distance, injuries start cropping up. In cases of plantar fasciitis, Vaughn says that a lot of people mistake the plantar fascia as a muscle; when in reality, it is a thick, fibrous band of connective tissue that lacks contractile properties and overlays many small muscles of the feet. “The idea that the plantar fascia tightens up [like a muscle] is a myth. It’s actually reacting to what is happening with the nearby muscles in the foot,” Vaughn described. “Those muscles in the feet need to be stretched. Use your toes to pick up marbles. Grab a towel with your toes.” Vaughn highly recommends Yoga Toes (www.yogapro.com), a product he routinely utilizes in his clinic in Fort Worth, Texas. Vaughn disagrees with most theories on minimalism. According to Vaughn, if a runner is going to be running on unnatural, man-made surfaces such as asphalt and concrete, they need as much shock absorption as possible between their feet and the road. “You can only get away with minimalism for so long,” said Vaughn. “Your feet become more rigid over time.” When your feet become more rigid, the muscles in your legs have to work much harder than they have to. “If runners take care of their feet and hips, by keeping them movable, pliable, and flexible, it can make a huge difference in their performance,” said Vaughn. “By doing this, one can improve their stride length, and therefore running efficiency, so that there is more energy available for the latter portion of the distance race.” Vaughn will be joining the USA Track and Field Team as an athletic trainer for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. *Photo from http://www.prossage.us