Running is amazing for your body. It strengthens the joints, burns calories. Even though the joy of running is above any other pleasure, the movements in repetition could be hard for the body. There are certain drawbacks associated like running injuries that can devastate and could be painful and depressing.
Either you are running for training or pleasure, you could face some injuries along the way. Prevention from injury is just not only about the absence of pain, but it is also all about having a positive reaction while facing pain.
Common Running Injuries
When you run more miles, the stress on the joints, muscles, and cartilage enhances. As the body is made up of tissues, you could feel like pounding the pavement. The following are the injuries related to running:
Runner’s Knee
Runner’s knee is a common overuse injury. It has different causes. It happens when the knee cap is unaligned and pain exists at the front of your knee. After some time the cartilage on the knee cap wear down, due to this you may feel pain around the knee cap when you
- Squat
- Go up or downstairs
- Sit with a bended knee for long
You may visit any doctor or therapist to find about specific structure that is the source of pain. You must try to run and spot the exact location of the pain.
Stress Fracture
The constant influence of activity can create much strain on shins, heel bones, or feet and can cause stress fracture that is the most serious of all injuries associated with running.
In stress Fracture, there is a tiny crack in a bone that leads to discomfort and pain. It affects runners’ feet and shin. It is because of running too hard. Although the pain worsens with activity, it improves with rest. Rest is very crucial as a continuation in stress on the bone can cause serious injury and it slows down the process of recovery.
Stress Fracture happens slowly, it means that it can be prevented. It is different from an acute fracture that exists at one brief time.
Shin split
This type of pain happens on the front side or at the inner part of the lower leg along with the shin bone. It is also known as Medial tibia Stress syndrome. This makes up approximately 15% of the injuries related to running.
These occur commonly after changing workout like running for longer distances or increment in the number of days that you used to run. The x-ray in this also comes out to be normal. These could be harder to be differentiated from the stress fracture of the shin; however, the pain spread along the bone.
It could seem minor but in actual these are the tears that happen around the shinbone and can cause serious implications. Even while jumping or walking you may not feel pain but there is tightness around the shin while running. Some of the treatments are:
- Stretching exercises
- Rest
- Slowly returning to activity after a long time of healing
Achilles Tendonitis
This is an inflammation of the Achilles tendon which is the big tendon that attaches the calf to the heel’s back. It causes stiffness and pain in the tendon area especially at the time of any activity and in the morning.
In the morning when you step in the floor, you might feel pointed pain in the calf which could be a symptom of Achilles Tendonitis.
It is caused by repetitive stress made to the tendon. Covering too much distance in your routine running can cause this.
The treatments involved are:
- Calf stretches
- Icing the affected area
- Rest
Muscle Pull
There are lots of things that can go wrong while running. Every year almost 50% of the runners have to face pulled muscle while running. The muscle fibers and the surrounding tendons are overstretched when a muscle gets pulled. It could be mild with less pain and can recover easily. However, in worse cases, if the muscle gets too much stressed, the fibers have to bear small tears. These could take a long time to get healed. In complex cases, the pulled muscle could lead to torn muscle, and in these cases, even surgeries are performed.
Once a muscle gets pulled, it becomes more unsafe. Therefore, it is crucial to learn the way to protect them.
TIPS TO PREVENT RUNNING INJURIES
It is wiser to know about the prevention of running injuries. By having some planning and taking some precautions, you may prevent some common running injuries. Below are some tips to be considered for preventing injuries.
- Stretching and Warm-Up
Many types of injuries occur as a result of less stretching. You must bear in mind to stretch your muscles before and after you run especially groin, hamstrings, calf, and quadriceps.
Moreover, even before stretching, try to walk for 5-6 minutes as stretching cold muscles can cause certain injuries.
- Always listen to your body
You must always recognize the pain in your body and do not avoid these. However, little soreness is completely fine. If you notice constant pain in any muscle or joint that doesn’t improve, you must talk to your health care provider.
- Wear appropriate shoes
You must ensure to wear proper fitting shoes with good support. You must consider that running shoes are recommended as they last for a certain mileage. If the sole of your shoes is getting thinner or angled, you must consider buying new ones. If you are suffering from any foot problems then wear orthotic shoes.
- Stay Hydrated
When you run, ensure that you consume an extra 2 to 3 glasses of water. If you run more than an hour, drink a sports drink to replenish the lost electrolytes in sweat as by sweating, you lose essential fluids from your body.
Drink a glass of water before running and take a few sips meanwhile.
- Get Good Nutrition
For an effective exercise program, good nutrition is the plan at the foundation as you have to put back in your body what you are taking out. If you will be neglecting nutrition, then your body will not be able to recover from training and this ultimately leads to injuries or illnesses.
Eat at regular small intervals to replace energy faster. The proteins are essential for repair and growth, don’t neglect these.
CONCLUSION
It can be recapitulated that you must take good care of your joints, muscles and ligaments to prevent any type of injury. You must alter your training approach accordingly and start paying more attention to your body. Listen to your body at initial stages and do not worsen your injuries.
