Ahead of the Chicago Marathon, Clayton Young shared that he tore his hamstring, but still planned to compete. One of the strategies he said he used to get to the starting line and, ultimately, to the finish line as the first American: abandoning stretching in lieu of strength work—namely, isometric exercises. When I heard this, I realized I had something in common with Young.
My physical therapist, James Chung, PT, DPT, a sports performance physical therapist based in New York City, also recommends doing isometric strength exercises to deal with tendon issues, including my Achilles tendinopathy. Isometrics are, indeed, great for pretty much everyone, says Mandy Fox, DPT, a physical therapist for runners in New York City. Basically, you’re loading the muscle and then holding it in one position for a set amount of time, like 30 seconds, as you would do in, say, a plank hold.
This is in contrast to a concentric exercise, like lifting weights up to the top of a biceps curl, or an eccentric exercise, like slowly lowering heels down in a calf raise. Whether you’re dealing with a hamstring tendon issue like Clayton, an Achilles tendon issue like me, or even a hip/glute tendon issue, this type of exercise can help. While it’s always best to get evaluated by a doctor or physical therapist to rule out other factors that require a different approach, you can see a few common clues below that might point to a tendon-related injury and how isometrics can help.
In fact, even if you’re totally healthy (enjoy it!), these exercises still offer benefits, says Chung. Here’s how they work in the defense against running injuries, plus specific exercises to try, and how to add them to your routine. For one, tendon pain is typically closer to where the joints are, says Chung, so you may feel Achilles tendon pain closer to the ankle and hamstring tendon issues at the sit bone or either side of the knee.
On the other hand, you’ll typically feel muscle strains or tears where the muscle contracts (and you feel pain when that happens). For example, with a calf strain, you might feel it most when you push off the ground, or with a hamstring strain, you might feel it most when your knee extends during the late swing phase of the gait cycle. You will also feel pain when you stretch a strained muscle.
Another way to tell: “Tendon pain is kind of dull and achy depending on what stage you’re in, but tendons will have what’s called a warmup effect where you’ll actually feel better when you warm it up,” Chung says, like after your first mile or two. Isometrics do a few great things for runners, Fox and Chung say. First of all, they can help with bloodflow to the tendon.
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