Runner with a variety of issues...Fundamentals? and Then?

Hello all,

I have been reading voraciously here for the past week or so. I'm in!

tl;dr is that I am a runner, 38 years old, 6'1", and I have had a variety of injuries over the last half-decade, mostly involving hip dysfunction.

 

[Long version: I was a runner; got hurt; had a hernia surgery, a shoulder surgery, and had the labrum on my left hip scoped due to FAI; got fat; lost over 100 lbs.; and started running again 5-6 years ago. In the interim, posture, injuries, and excess weight combined to alter my body's structure and my gait. I did lots of barefoot and minimalist-shoe running, lived and died on a foam roller, did every MobilityWOD I could, and started strength training. Things got better. However, I have wound up injured anytime I increase mileage for marathon training, and I often get injured even on 15 miles a week. Usually the problem is on the left side, ranging from a dysfunctional knee (the knee dives outward on every running stride and tries to on squats; I sometimes get a deep pain in the posterior of the joint, too) to hip flexor issues to glute pain to hamstring pulls. I have some limited ROM in my left ankle, which has been sprained severely twice (possibly broken once - I was in college and never saw a doc) and from which I had two large bone spurs removed five years ago.]

At any rate, I am looking to get started and am thinking, given my lack of experience and the assorted problems I have, that Fundamentals is the best way to clean up my body, posture, soft tissues, etc. I am open to other suggestions. I'm also thinking about where to go next. I enjoy strength training, having gravitated toward kettlebells and the work of Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline over time, and I would lean toward Foundations next, but my injuries and poor mobility have me thinking there may be other programs that would help more.

I will be getting started on Fundamentals by Monday, but since I may bundle a few programs, any ideas y'all can give me on the direction to go thereafter would be appreciated.

Hi Timothy,

I think it would be well worth the time and money to find a good physio who can help you with your specific limitations, pain, and concerns. You definitely are on the right track, starting with Fundamentals. After completing Fundamentals, starting the stretch courses and Foundation One is the recommended path for progress. The progressions within those courses will address your areas of concern; this is where a good physio would come in to play. You don't want to miss the the exercises that may help you overcome those issues but you also don't want to make anything worse. 

@Everett Carroll, thanks. I agree, and if you or anyone else knows who to talk to in the central TX area, I would be open to seeing a physio. As is, I have seen a number of doctors and physical therapists for these issues, and just finished a round of physical therapy. The specific issues I know I have:

Mild scoliosis with significant strength differences between right and left side, particularly lower back/QL and glute.

Limited ROM for left ankle - impingement and/or bone spur causing a block in the front of the ankle

arthritic heads on both femurs, particularly the left, leading to FAI, although this has been ameliorated with strength work and stretching

The last therapist I saw said I have a classic Janda cross pattern with my left rib cage flaring some and an overactive psoas on the right side.

That makes it sound like I'm decrepit, perhaps, but I really am active. For instance, I ran 5 miles this morning and did weight training at the gym yesterday, including a new PR in bench press and plenty of kettlebell work, plus some Feldenkrais posture holds last evening (and every evening...recent addition to my schedule). It's just that the amount of extracurricular work I have to do to keep everything functional seems excessive, and I'm looking to build strength for the long haul so that I can remain active indefinitely, rather than become a broken-down old shuffler who jogs daily but can scarcely walk.

I will get Fundamentals and wait on bundling anything else. Again, anyone who knows a physio who might help with some of my concerns in the greater Austin, TX area, I would love some names.