“I run like an old man runs, not like I want to run.”

That’s how Brett "Spike" Eskin described his attempts to take to the road like he used to, before suffering a torn labrum (a ring of cartilage) in his hip and two herniated discs when a drunk driver slammed into the rear of the car he was driving. Eskin also has arthritis. Since then, his running has been more like shuffling. He has compensated for his injuries by essentially running “wrong.”

Eskin, program director for SportsRadio 94WIP, recently had the opportunity to start to learn how to run “right” when he took part in a session on the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill at MossRehab in Elkins Park, under the watchful eyes of MossRehab Running Clinic physical therapists John Feeley, MSPT, and Steve Sepel, MSPT. Both are also busy getting runners prepared for the Broad Street Run in May.

Read More

About 80 percent of runners experience injury from training errors or from having a previous injury that never fully recovered. Below are a few helpful guidelines from the MossRehab Running Clinic for training for your health, or your next race or marathon. 

Your Training Regimen

• Increase running by no more than 10 percent every other week.
• An increase can be an increase of intensity, distance or frequency. Only increase one at a time. Increasing intensity can be done by increasing speed or changing terrain (trails and hills).

Relative Activity Guidelines

• If you feel mild pain—0 to 3 out of 10—it is okay to run.
• If you feel moderate pain—4 to 6 out of 10—reduce activity until pain level is mild.
• Pain that decreases with activity is OK.
• Pain that gets worse with activity is bad; time to reduce or stop activity.
• No limping allowed. If the pain alters your gait pattern, it’s time to reduce or stop the activity until you have normal biomechanics.

Read More

After the Broad Street Run, many of the runners clearly began a well-rehearsed plan for post-race recovery. You could see them continuing to walk or jog for a while, swap their sweaty running togs for dry clothes, and chug water. Others, though, seemed to have no plan at all, other than posing for selfies and heading off to the parking lot or the subway station.

Read More