Advice needed for someone else

[dunetraveller]

I met someone today that I will likely be seeing a lot more of in the future. He has had major spinal surgery and repair in the L1 to L5 area in his past. I remember him saying that the gel they used to reinforce the spine is deteriorating and thus he was no longer able to run for exercise.

I was asking him if he ever tried natural running, and he said he hadn't heard anything about it. I showed him how the gait does not put much stress on the skeletal structure. He indicated interest, but also some healthy skepticism, but far less than shod scoffers.... perhaps because he really would like to find a way to run again.

I was indicating that done correctly, it can and does put less stress on the joints than walking.

Sorry for not being more knowledgable about his injuries, but I thought if there was someone who liked to run in the past that would be able to benefit from natural running, it would be this fellow.

Am I right to recommend or reopen this topic with him? I know he ought to clear this with his doctor as well, but not sure how open the doc is to alternative running styles like ours. Part of me wants to say give it a shot, but the other part says perhaps finding a less stressful form of exercise might be better long term and I thus ought to hold my tongue. Won't be seeing him again until Friday. I told him to look up videos of Ken Bob and others to give him something to look up in the mean time.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

John T.

 

[Jimmy Hart]

That's a tough one.  Running

That's a tough one. Running puts impact on the joints no matter what form you use. Yes the impact is decreased with forefoot landing but it could still be more than enough to send this guy into a major pain reaction. Odds are his doc will be very much against the idea no matter what form he says he will be trying to use because it's a transition and could be risky to his condition.

There is also a very high chance that having this issue has caused a lot of muscular imbalance as compensation for the injury, surgery, and subsequent recovery. All of that can cause his form to be something difficult to iron out which could then create issues in his back that might not make it worth the effort.

Without very strict supervision I can't see anyone recommending it as a good idea to try. What I will say is that he should try running in a pool first and see how that goes. I've spent over a decade working with special populations clients, many of which have spinal injuries, and the pool is always a good place to start. It may be that he can run all day in a pool but never get back out on a road again and that's just the way it is with spinal injuries. If it seems to him that the change in form could work then he needs to seek a professional for guidance to make sure he isn't going to do something that could put him in a chair for the rest of his life.

I would also think that you've planted a seed in this man's mind so I would leave it there. I'm guessing that since he would like to run he will look at the video and he might even try a little jog around the house to see how it feels. Next time you see him I would let him bring it up and if he doesn't then I would leave it alone. If he tries it out, looks it up, or gives it a try and it was good he will come to you for more info. If it goes bad he will either ask for advice or just move on and leave it as something he can't do.