Your running body is like an all-terrain adventure vehicle, engineered for the long haul — efficient, responsive, and capable of conquering both roads and trails alike.
Like any precision vehicle, it requires routine service to maintain peak performance, prevent catastrophic breakdowns, preserve its integrity, and extend its lifespan.
Runners are meticulous about certain aspects of their training. We schedule blood panels to monitor iron levels, vitamin D, and inflammatory markers. We conduct field tests — lactate thresholds, pace-at-threshold efforts, or heart-rate drift sessions — to gauge fitness. We track heart rate variability and sleep scores to ensure recovery keeps pace with stress.
Yet, when it comes to the chassis, suspension, and drivetrain that carry us mile after mile, many of us adopt a reactive rather than proactive stance. A structured inspection and maintenance protocol for joints, muscles, and movement patterns is equally essential.
This article offers a three-point orthopedic maintenance plan — regular inspection, routine soft-tissue care, and a focused action plan — designed to keep the machine running smoothly, not just for pain relief but for peak performance.
While we track everything we can with our watches, there’s no substitute for regularly scheduled body maintenance. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Regular Orthopedic Inspection
Think of this as both an oil change and a periodic multi-point vehicle inspection. Schedule a comprehensive check-in at least once per year that is both an evaluation and an opportunity for as-needed treatment. Do this more frequently if training and racing mileage is high.
The examination should cover five domains:
- Alignment: Assess spine curvature and symmetry, as well as pelvic, hip, knee, foot, and ankle alignment, for balance and symmetry. This is equivalent to a four-wheel alignment.
- Mobility: Quantify range of motion at key joints, including the spine (extension and rotation), hip (sagittal and frontal/transverse planes), and foot and ankle. Evaluate tissue extensibility in muscular, fascial, neural, and visceral layers, keeping in mind that perfect motion is less important than balanced, symmetrical motion. This is similar to checking belts, hoses, and fluid levels.
- Strength: Test manual and functional strength in the core, multi-directional hip, lower leg and foot, and knee stabilizers. This is akin to verifying power delivery to the axles and ensuring torque specifications are met on critical bolts.
- Efficiency: Analyze running stride, ideally comparing it to your unique and best-behavior stride. While this can be done with a 3D gait analysis, a simple phone video recording is all that is needed. Note any new or recurring inefficiencies that could cause increased wear and tear on your body or “fuel efficiency” loss!
- Injury History and Sensitivities: Revisit prior injuries, surgeries, or chronic hot spots to determine whether they remain well-managed or require tune-up care. This can be considered inspecting for problematic wear or rust in high-stress zones.
A video of your stride can show any inefficiencies. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Provider Recommendation
A physical therapist with comprehensive training in manual therapy, motor-control assessment, and running-specific biomechanics is the gold-standard mechanic. Reputable sports chiropractors, massage therapists, or certified athletic trainers can serve as alternatives, provided they demonstrate rigorous assessment protocols.
Timing
The frequency of routine inspection and maintenance depends on mileage and wear and tear on the system.
- Competitive runners (racing multiple long or high-intensity events per year): Quarterly or more
- Less competitive but event-based runners (training for key events or adventures): Semi-annually
- Consistent runners of all kinds (even if running is short and easy): Annually
Routine Soft-Tissue Maintenance
Myofascial soft-tissue work is the oil change and filter replacement you never skip. Fascial tension builds up and requires a routine to help maintain mobility and hydration. And while self-mobility routines — including stretching and self-massage — are useful and important, there is no replacement for a skilled pair of professional hands to perform a whole drivetrain assessment and mobilization.
Find a great hands-on tissue mobilizer and see them routinely. That frequency could be based on several factors, including:
- Training and Racing Duration: During my competitive career, I committed to professional soft-tissue massage within a week of running an ultramarathon distance, regardless of intensity.
- Running Volume: Higher-volume training requires more maintenance work. Consider soft-tissue work every two to three months with low to medium volume running — 30 to 50 miles per week — and every one to two months with higher volumes of over 50 miles per week.
- Periodic Training Cycles and Activity Changes: Besides post-race, the end of a training cycle or season is a good time to schedule hands-on myofascial work. This is especially useful when shifting from one type of running — mountain or high-vertical to flat — or changing between different sports. Changing between running and other activities — such as cycling or skiing — demands different types and magnitudes of mobility.
Changing seasons can be a good time to schedule soft-tissue maintenance. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
The goal of whole-body tissue mobilization is twofold:
- Localize and resolve focal adhesions or trigger points before they alter mechanics. This is like clearing carbon buildup from valves.
- Restore global tissue extensibility and hydration. This mirrors topping off all fluids and making sure motions fit factory specifications.
Any licensed care provider — such as a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist — capable of precise palpation and whole-body integration is suitable for this maintenance.
Execute an Action Plan
Following each inspection, your medical team should help you create a concise, prioritized list of target areas for the next three to six months. These are the crucial areas that most profoundly affect health and performance, and they need to be addressed and closely monitored.
This might include working on:
- Mobility: Restoring or improving hip, spine, and ankle motion.
- Strength: Shoring up weaknesses or imbalances in core, hips, legs, or even arm swing.
- Efficiency: Identifying and working on key stride areas to either correct inefficient habits or flaws, or simply get more peak speed and endurance from your stride.
Your orthopedic pit crew chief should review, modify, and update this list to ensure you have a clear, short- to medium-term plan that yields the most focused improvement with the least amount of time, energy, and money.
An action plan can include working on stride efficiency. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Conclusion
Routine orthopedic maintenance is much more than avoiding a roadside or trailside breakdown. It is a key investment that may result in improved top speed, acceleration, endurance, handling, and agility, leading to not only peak performance but also enjoyable runs.
Implement the three-point protocol and keep your all-terrain adventure machine running in peak condition for miles to come!
Proper body maintenance can improve agility and handling to maximize your enjoyment of running. Photo: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Call for Comments
- Do you schedule regular maintenance for your body to keep it running smoothly?
- What regular steps do you take for preventative maintenance?
