How to avoid running injuries
My sister has just started running again after a 5 year break, and while she is enjoying all the perks of running again, she has started to complain about the injuries. I started rattling off some of the tips I have collected over the years to avoid them and thought it would be worth sharing to a wider audience.
Spend some time or money on perfecting your running technique. This, you may argue is a waste of money, you’ve been running since you were one, but there are many bad habits that can cause your body a lot of undue stress. There is a right way to run down-hill, on the flat and uphill and things to focus on while you run – contrary to what a lot of people will say running is not boring if you’re doing it properly. I suggest you get a run coach to critique your technique, work on it for a while and then go back to make sure you’re on track. It will be money well spent if you can get your body working biomechanically correctly and will place less stress on joints and muscles and will probably get you running faster. It is a must to choose a run coach that is a SUCCESSFUL runner. If they haven’t proven their performance as a runner, how can they possibly teach other people?
On the topic of coaches, I realise some people will download plans from the internet but don’t forget to work up slowly. The beauty of having your own coach is they will manage your plan for where you are at and where you need to be.
Swap your shoes every couple of runs; again this one is just logical. Over my years running I’ve had some injuries develop straight after getting a new pair of shoes, so I always integrate new shoes slowly or even better just have a couple of pairs on the go at the same time.
Cross training and strength is really important. It stops you getting bored and gives specific muscles a workout while giving your lungs a break. Keep up with cycling, weights, yoga or another sport altogether.
Listen to your body. This is a hard one, how do you know what you can push through and what is an injury that can take weeks to heal. From my experience, you don’t. You just have to ease back when you get that niggle and look after yourself.
Use your foam roller or massage gun and get regular massages. Always stretch.
Be over indulgent. I believe life is about balance so every time you hurt your body you should do something kind for your body. Book in regular massages. My masseuse nags at me to have regular baths with Epsom salts as well and take magnesium and heaps of rest.
Run on the berm, because the grass is softer. This seems obvious but it is harder and so usually avoided. Running on concrete is not natural in any evolutionary sense and is hard on the body. When we think of our ancestors evolving from apes, we know they weren’t running on hard rock surfaces constantly. Also, the same muscles get used repeatedly unlike trail running where you have to move dynamically, so think about adding a trail in once a week. I have also heard of runners who run in and out of the gutter to make it harder and more dynamic.
Lastly, and I believe the most important one is to have a well restored brain before training. Being a busy working mum I had to fit training in whenever it was possible at any time of day or night. This meant working all day then rushing home (while I still had my babysitter) to sneak in a run, or run while he scootered or rode his bike next to me, which is distracting. The danger with this is that we are mentally tired when we go training. While it can be a good thing to train while you’re tired so you are conditioned to running tired on race day, it is not a good idea every day. What we know about our brains is they have a limited capacity for attention. What that means is they need to have rests and then be stretched out a bit longer each time, just like a muscle does. If you concentrate all day in mentally demanding work and then train straight away you will be mentally depleted which not only effects your performance but in turn will affect your form and concentration on running. The best way to describe this is you get ‘sloppy’. You know when you can’t hold your posture up and you’re slouching and haven’t got the right bounce from your tendons; this is the time when you are prone to injury because your muscles aren’t protecting your joints like they are designed to do. So, you can do one of two things, take a lot of caffeine or other stimulant, or the healthier option which is to take some time to mentally restore. You can mentally restore in about half an hour by daydreaming or turning everything off and just being. Yes look out the window of the bus, chill out while you’re stuck in traffic or watch the clouds float by. Then go and kill it on your run. Keep it chill on your weekday runs when life is busy and push yourself over your weekend long runs. There is also some evidence suggesting that your mental/emotional state impacts how many injuries you get and how severe.
I can’t guarantee that these things will keep you injury free but I have run ultras and regularly run marathons and don’t have any issues with my joints and I can’t remember the last time I was injured; I guess you’d hope over 10 years or so you’d learn something!