With the summer upon us, many are looking to increase their activity and lose those extra pounds put on over the winter.   Running is a popular sport that many choose to increase their fitness and health.  Though there are many benefits associated with running, injury is also common.  Estimates suggest that as many 60% of runners are currently running with an injury.   While it may not be possible to eliminate running injuries, some knowledge and preparation can go a long way toward reducing the likelihood of injury.  Here are some suggestions.

Set Appropriate Training Goals

One of the best initial goals to make as a runner is to avoid injury.  This can be accomplished by avoiding doing too much, too soon, too fast, with too little recovery time (the terrible toos).    Training errors are a common cause of running-related injuries.  A rule of thumb is to keep a 10% rule – keep changes in your mileage under 10% per week.  This means that if you ran 10 miles this week you should limit yourself to no more than 11 miles the next week.  Learn to incorporate rest as part of your training process.  Definitely prepare your body for runs through proper stretching before and after the run.

You need to learn about your specific needs and tolerances as a runner.  While a 10% rule works on average, some runners will respond better to a 3% increase and others to more aggressive increases.  Be patient in your training.  Learn about your body’s response to changes.  If your joints and muscles feel stressed, don’t try to train through the pain.  Adjust your regimen appropriately to allow the body to heal.  Try a hard day/easy day approach to running.  If necessary, adjust to a hard/easy/easy approach until your body adjusts to more rigorous training.

Pay Attention to Your Body

Monitor your response to training and adjust properly.  If you begin to feel atypical pain or persistent pain, do not try to run through it.  Instead, rest your body and then ease back into your training schedule.  Running through pain generally leads to chronic injuries that take longer in recovery and prevent you from participating as you would like.   By being patient and flexible in your training and adjusting to the condition of your body, you will be able to establish a consistency that will lead to greater health and performance over the long run.

RICE

Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (RICE) work for muscle and joint pain.  Applying ice, resting, compressing and elevating an injury will in many cases relieve pain, reducing swelling and facilitate healing.  Get into the habit of resting and icing sore joints after rigorous training.  Use compression bandages for sore muscles and joints.

 
Cross Train

Running is hard on the body.   Impact on knees and joints while running far exceed normal body weight.  It is a good idea to alternate running with other exercise to build strength and endurance.   The body performs better with balance and symmetry in muscles.  Exercise core muscle groups.  Do some weight training, cycle, and swim.  Alternate hard running days with different exercise on other days.   Of course, if you have an injury developing, it would be a good idea to avoid an alternative exercise that aggravates the same area you are trying to heal.

Get Shoes that Fit Your Body

There is symmetry to the body that provides optimal performance and health.  Good shoes and orthotic inserts can help a runner adjust the body’s gait so that you can minimize the possibility of injury while increasing performance.  It is a good idea to go to a good running store and buy the shoe that fits to your foot. Often the people at the store can help with selecting the appropriate shoe for your needs.  There is no single shoe that is the best for everyone. You may need to experiment and find what best suits you. 

Stretch

There has been a lot of debate over the last decade about the efficacy of stretching in reducing overuse injuries.  Even with the debate, most experts will agree that increasing range of motion and reducing tightness in areas common for injury (knees, Achilles tendon, hamstrings, etc.) is a good thing.  Generally experts recommend that you do dynamic stretches before running and add static stretches after a run. 

Dynamic stretching actively increases blood flow to muscles in a functional pattern of movement without impairing performance. Dynamic stretches performed prior to your strength training or speed work session can help to warm up the muscles and improve joint range of motion. An example of dynamic stretching for a workout would be to start slow for the first 10% of your run and steadily ramp up.  This allows your muscles to warm up so you can go the distance.

Static stretching is intended to increase flexibility and range of motion.  It is important to do as a part of a daily exercise regimen.  At the conclusion of a run, it is useful to do some static stretching to reduce muscle tightness and improve motion.  Static stretching used in a separate training session can provide health related range of motion benefits. Many runners will also include it as part of a pre-run, warm up routine that includes other dynamic activities and find it useful in helping activate muscles.  Static stretches are also useful when recovering from an injury.  To see some effective stretches to prevent running injuries, click here.

Conclusion

Running can be an exhilarating as well as healthy activity to incorporate into your life.   Regardless of whether you are a casual jogger or experienced marathon runner, putting some preparation and thought into the activity can help to improve the quality of your overall experience and help prevent common injuries from occurring.