Running Strong & Injury-Free by Janet S. Hamilton, paperback, 100 pages, Running Strong (2001), ISBN: 0970961103
"Life is short. Cut to the chase and tell me why I'm injured and how to get over it!". This book does just that. It is a concise yet detailed book on injury tretment and prevention for runers and walkers. Injuries interrupt the training of runners (and walkers) far too often and in many cases these injuries are entirely avoidable. This book was written by Janet Hamilton (an ACSM Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist, a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and an RRCA-certified distance running coach) in an effort to provide some concise, common sense advice to athletes on how to recognize common injuries and how to understand some of the factors that may have played a role in their onset. The book opens with a chapter that explains in fairly simple terms the basic biomechanics of human gait and how patterns of movement may play a role in various injuries. Following this, a chapter detailing some of the most common running and walking injuries highlights the importance of covering your bases in terms of injury prevention and treatment. A highlight of the book is the two chapters on flexibility and strenght, which are literally packed with detailed photographs and descriptions of techniques that will optimize the athlete's time invested in these two important areas of injury prevention. The strenght training exercises focus on functional exercises that require nothing more than gravity and body weight for resistance. These exercises challenge both muscolar strenght as well as stimulating proprioception and balance. The fifth chapter covers the crucial topic of how to avoid the more common training errors, and how to return to training without getting another injury. This book is a valuable addition to the library of any runner.
