Running and My Feet, Back, and Shoulder

Image courtesy of motivatedbodybuilding.com

**Disclaimer:  There are many potential explanations to why my body feels the way it does when I run.  This is just one possibility that may or may not actually be taking place, but I thought it was interesting to work through the mechanical relationships.

Last week I went for a run.  Or I should say I started to.  I lasted about five minutes before my feet were saying stop and I was starting to get a dull tightness on the left side of my lower back as well as around my left shoulder blade.  Now, what I've come to realize is I don't think this feeling is necessarily new to me when I run, but rather I think I see it in a different light after learning more about the human body.  I think my body has always felt kind of not great while running, but before I just figured it came with the territory.  But now that I think I have a better understanding of what these sensations may be indicating, I stop when I start to feel this way because I know there are ways for me to exercise without feeling that type of discomfort.

So as I was walking back from my five-minute run, I was thinking about why I might be feeling these sensations specifically on one side of my lower back and around the same side scapula.  I was thinking about how my feet move and where my limitations are relative to what is needed during gait.

Please excuse me now if I dive off into territory that is too unfamiliar to you to be followed.  I would like to go back eventually and explain in more detail the mechanical relationship between these axes, but hopefully the information provided today will suffice for now.

My ability to dorsiflex (point my foot up) around the axis of the talocrural joint (ankle) at any given point in time is pretty limited on both my left and my right side, but usually it is more limited on my right side.  It is limited to the point that I max it out every time I stand up and actually need to pick up additional dorsiflexion from other joints just to stand.  In particular, I pick up motion from the midtarsal oblique axis (MTO) as this is where dorsiflexion is structurally most available after the talocrural axis (TC).

The catch with the MTO, though, is that it is also structurally designed to allow abduction of the forefoot when dorsiflexion occurs there.  In weight-bearing scenarios, such as standing or in this example running, the forefoot dorsiflexion and abduction around the MTO translates into rear foot plantarflexion and adduction.

Because of how the tibia and fibula (the bones of the lower leg) articulate with the talus (part of the rear foot), plantarflexion and adduction of the rear foot will likely cause a diving in of the lower leg and knee.  There will also likely be an associated internal rotation of the tibia and subsequently the femur, as well as a medial rotation of the ilium*.  In other words, the front of my hip will go towards the knee that is diving down and in.

All of this motion may be occurring to a greater extent than what is normally required during gait because of my decreased ability to dorsiflex at the TC joint.  But why might this be a reasonable cause for my back and scapula discomfort?

I was thinking about the muscles that might be trying to prevent these possible motions from happening, specifically the medial rotation of the ilium.  One muscle that came to mind was lat on the opposite (left) side because of its attachments on the ilium and inferior angle of the scapula, which also happened to be where I was feeling the tightness.

So, is it possible that I was feeling this dull tightness in my back and scapula area because my lat was having to work extra hard to try to prevent motion that may be occurring at my pelvis due to my inability to adequately dorsiflex at the TC joint?  Yes, perhaps.

In other words, might my shoulder and back discomfort when I try to run be stemming from a limitation in my lower leg/foot region on the opposite side?  Yes, perhaps.

If I were to assess the issue based on sensation, I would say there is an issue with my back and/or shoulder.  However, it is entirely plausible that the muscles in these areas are the things that are actually working the best, and in fact they are working so much that they are the ones I am feeling the most.  I would try to relieve this tightness--this indicator that something may not be working efficiently.  Ultimately, I may end up with little to no positive outcome as I would keep trying to disrupt the thing that works well while neglecting what is not up to par.

Muscle Activation Techniques™ is an assessment process that searches for the primary neuromuscular issue(s) that may be causing the sensations of tightness.  By addressing this issue directly via specific force application, muscles have the opportunity to contract more efficiently, allowing joints the opportunity to move as they were designed to with minimal compensation and, subsequently, minimizing the opportunity for the negative long-term side effects of compensation to take place.

What limitations do you have that are causing discomfort or feelings of tightness in other areas of your body?  Are you addressing the sensations or the root cause of the problem?

Inter­ested in find­ing out more? Check out the “Mus­cle Acti­va­tion Tech­niques™” page.

Inter­ested in set­ting up an assess­ment time or dis­cussing this sub­ject fur­ther? E-mail Char­lie at charlie@selfmadefitness.com.

Your body. Your training.

Want to use this arti­cle in your blog, newslet­ter, or other plat­form? You may, but be sure to include all of the bio­graph­i­cal infor­ma­tion found below!

*Roskopf, Greg.  Advanced Foot Function.  Muscle Activation Techniques™ Mastery course.  p 24.  February 2013.