Our partner Volvat are specialists in exercise and health, and have broad expertise and long experience with sports medicine issues.

On social media, you have submitted questions and Volvat 's manual therapist Simen Sletten, physiotherapist Øyvind Ville Sætre and physiotherapist and exercise physiologist Tor Petter Lillebo Stormoen have answered.

Natalia asks : " Fatigue fracture rehabilitation and getting back to running and training"

Now I do not know where you have had fatigue fractures, this may be significant. This damage must be taken a little more seriously than normal overloads. It is important to build up gradually with activity and running, and it is recommended to exercise without pain. It is important to find out why you got the fatigue fracture. Risk factors may be related to

• Feiltrening - «too much, too fast, too soon, with too little rest»
• Muscular weakness - if you get tired quickly in muscles, there is less shock absorption, and the bones must take a "larger part" of the pull
• Nutrition - too little food intake, vitamin d and / or calcium
• Sleep - this is where the body recovers and builds up. Do you sleep e.g. less than 6 hours per night, fatigue fractures are more likely

Depending on where the fatigue fracture lies - then you should have a period where you do not load unnecessarily, possibly also relieve - e.g. with crutches. During this period you may want to train strength and alternative training, e.g. cycling or swimming.

In the next phase, you can start moving more. Remember that strain is good, it builds the bone stronger, you just have to find the right dose - do not do too much. The first step towards running is that you should be pain-free during everyday activities, e.g. housework and short walks. Once you have been pain free for 5 days you can start with more activity.

A suggestion for a start can be to do 30 minutes of walking / running. You should have at least one day of rest between each session. Start by walking 30 minutes. The next session you do three sets of: Walk 9 minutes, run calmly 1 minute. Next session walk 8 minutes, run 2 minutes. Then 7 minutes of walking, 3 minutes of running, etc. Eventually you can then run 30 minutes continuously. Then you can increase the pace slightly for every half hour of running you have. Then you gradually build up with more and more running. You may want to make a weekly overview of how many kilometers you run, so that the increase is gradual, perhaps a 10% increase per week.

If in doubt, contact a physiotherapist / manual therapist who can guide you.

Simen Sletten
Manual therapist at the Volvat National Theater

Anna asks: How to prevent bad legs due to. running? And what do you do when it is "too late"?

To prevent painful legs due to Running There are three things you can think about:

First, it is a good idea to have control over how much and how often you run. Are you used to running once a week at 5 km, and then increasing to three times a week and at 5 km, ie a total of 15 km, there is a tripling in km per week. It is not certain that the body has managed to get used to this distance yet. Be careful to see how many km per week you run, and do not increase too much. It is better to have several short sessions than one long session

Secondly, it is good to look at the speed. The faster you run, the more "push" it becomes on the legs. If you run a lot fast on "quiet walks" it may be too much. Be careful to take completely calm walks from time to time, almost so that you think it is a little too calm, e.g. 8-9 km per hour

The third tip may be to add strength training to the legs 2-3 times per week. I would recommend taking a toe lift with a slight bend in the knees, so that you train the inner calf muscle. This muscle absorbs 6-7 times body weight when running! Start with both feet, e.g. 3 × 10-15. As you get stronger go over to one foot.

Ev. bring photo or film (attached)

When it is "too late" you may want to take a week or two of alternative training, e.g. cycling, and during this period train your legs. Then it is wise to gradually increase km per week, e.g. a 10% increase.

Good luck!

Simen Sletten
Manual therapist at the Volvat National Theater

Tristian asks: “Run the strawberry mile on May 17 and hit the asphalt. Sore shoulder, not fracture. Still running? »

Hello. It did not sound good, and good that there were no breaks. Basically, I think it's perfectly OK to run. A little circulation for the shoulder and body is only good for you to recover faster. I would take a week or two break if it hurts a lot during the session, so painful that you can not run relaxed. Then you can possibly see if it is better to walk or run even calmer. If it goes well along the way but it is very painful in the evening / night, and worse the day after - I would also take a break. If in doubt, seek out a physiotherapist / manual therapist who can take an examination.

Simen Sletten
Manual therapist at the Volvat National Theater

Laila asks: Has a hoarding injury that is 20 weeks. Know a little about it but what are the best tips to strengthen?

Hello. Two good exercises to strengthen hamstrings are "hamstrings bridge" or "nordic hamstrings". Perform three sets, 6-12 repetitions, so that you get quite tired. Hamstring bridge is a great exercise to start with, preferably with two feet on the ground. Can be done 2-3 times per week for best effect. If this does not work, you can contact a physiotherapist / manual therapist who can provide individual guidance.

Simen Sletten
Manual therapist at the Volvat National Theater

Hege asks: «Coming osteomyelitis. Tips for prevention »

Hello. The most important thing is to have control over how much you run per week. Find a number of kilometers per week that do not cause problems, and build from this. Increase e.g. with 10% per week. Then you let your body "recover" for the next session, and you gradually become more robust to withstand more running without pain. You may also want to include strength training, e.g. toe lift with straight and slightly bent knees, but also general training for the legs. If you have a very heavy step, with a low step frequency, you may want to increase the step frequency slightly. A study showed that step frequency above 174 per minute reduces the risk of getting osteomyelitis (Luedke et al, 2016). Spotify has its own playlists for a certain "bpm", where you can try to "run to the beat". It must still feel fairly natural to you. If you run 140 steps per minute, it may be enough to increase to 150-160.

Simen Sletten
Manual therapist at the Volvat National Theater