Are Your Glutes Asleep? Fix Your Form with PT Abby Douek

Sleepy glutes… yes, this is an actual thing for many runners. And it’s just one of an assortment of issues runners can suffer from. Whether it’s injury, weakness, or just inefficiency and injury prevention, a great physical therapist works individually with athletes to increase performance. And that is exactly what PT Abby Douek, owner of and therapist at Run Raleigh Physical Therapy and Performance Lab, does with her athletes. In this episode, we learn a lot about form; how to analyze it, including the differences between 2D and 3D gait analysis, and how to improve it. Strength and conditioning is another crucial component to rehabbing and pre-habbing injuries. And the good news is that it doesn’t take nearly as much time as you might think to improve your functional strength. Abby also challenges some conventional thinking about returning to running post-injury and thoroughly explains common issues runners have and some ways that might help them. Lots of great info in this one, so you may want to flag it as a favorite to come back to. Questions Abby is asked:   3:14 How was it seeing some of your athletes compete at the Olympic Trials in Atlanta? 3:43 How many of the runners had excellent form as you saw them running by? 4:12 How can people run well with what appears to be terrible form? 5:37 How easy is it to fix one’s form? 7:06 Can a novice runner fix form as easy as a veteran, or is it different? 8:18 What is gait analysis and what should someone expect? 10:16 Does form vary between paces? 11:02 What should people do if they feel injured on a run? 11:32 Should people run fast or slow when recovering from injury? 12:32 What are some of the most common issues you see with runners? 12:42 What are ‘Sleepy Butts’? 13:39 What can people do if they are deskbound at work? 15:02 What issues do you see with feet? 16:57 What do runners need for balance and how can they improve it? 18:18 How much strength work do runners need each week? 21:17 What is an example of a good strength work routine? 22:29 What are the best exercises for core? 23:09 What about ankles and how can we work on them? 24:25 What is the actual treatment process for injured runners? 26:49 How much pain is ok to run through? 28:38 Should most runners go to a PT when healthy or only when they’re hurt? 29:29 What advice would you give yourself back when you started running and weight training? 35:48 What is the best gift running has given you? 37:18 How can people connect with you? Quotes by Abby:   “We are trying to prevent the pain before it starts. We’re trying to get out in the community, trying to talk to coaches, talk to run clubs, anybody who will listen on how to foam roll properly, how to do dynamic stretching vs. static stretching before you get out there, anything we can do to try to catch problems before they start.”   “Every patient has to do two what I would consider ‘successful runs’ before we can increase them. It can’t be a fluke.”   “I try not to tell people where to put their feet on the ground, but can we think about where your gaze is, where your trunk is, things that are a little more tangible.”   “People are really amazing compensators; people can run with all kinds of biomechanical issues. It’s not necessarily my job to fix what I’m seeing, but to work with what we have.” Take a Listen on Your Next Run Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes channel   Mentioned in this podcast:  Run To The Top Winners Circle Facebook Community RunnersConnect Facebook page Save 20% on your first order of Generation UCAN Follow Abby on:   Run Raleigh PT homepage Email Abby We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top. The best way you can show your support of the show is to share this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use. The more people who know about the podcast and download the episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!