Knowledge gives you the power to avoid injuries. Once you understand the major cause of injuries and are consciously monitoring early warning signs and taking action, you can avoid the downtime.
What causes injuries?
Our bodies are programmed to adapt to running and walking by making constant upgrades to withstand stress and perform more efficiently. My training plans offer a series of components, cognitively arranged in sequence. Regular, small increases in workload stimulate improvements followed by recovery periods to promote rebuilding and improved capacity. The factor that is most commonly neglected is rest, but it is crucial.
Note: It is during the recovery period that the rebuilding takes place.
Each of us has a few weak links that take on more stress when we work out. These are the areas that ache, hurt, don’t work correctly when we start a new activity or increase training, or don’t provide sufficient rest after a hard workout. In some cases, pain-killing hormones, such as endorphins, will mask the damage. Most commonly, exercisers go into denial, ignore the first signs of irritation, and keep training until the stressed area breaks down.
To sustain progress and avoid injury, we simply need to focus, write down the training plan, follow it, and make changes when needed.
A slight increase in training produces a minor breakdown of tissue.
If the post-workout rest period is sufficient, the muscles, tendons, and cardiovascular system will rebuild to handle a higher level of performance.
All body parts continue to adapt in structure, efficiency, and performance when there is a balance between workout stress and rest.
Be sensitive to your weak links
Most of the aches and pains experienced by my runners and walkers are located in their weak link areas—the muscles, joints, and tendons that take more stress due to our individual range of motion and workload. If you will stay focused on the irritation of a key area and take action, you may avoid the downtime due to injuries.
Common weak links:
Joints—knee, hip, ankle
Muscles—calf, hamstring, quadriceps
Tendons—Achilles, knee, ankle
Fascia—especially around joints, foot
Bones—foot and leg
Nerve tissue—foot and leg
Feet—just about any area can be overstressed
Cognitive Hint: Make a list of your weak links in your journal and check each one every day.
There is often no sensation of pain during or immediately after the workout because the body has a number of pain-killing mechanisms, including endorphins, which will temporarily mask the symptoms of isolated microtears in muscles and tendons or inflammation in joints. But when a critical mass of these broken fibers or inflammation has accumulated in one area, you have produced more damage than the body can repair in 48 hours—you have an injury.
Common causes of injuries
It’s a physiological fact that the constant use of a muscle, tendon, or joint without a break will result in earlier fatigue and reduced work potential. This is why non-stop running increases injury risk dramatically. Continuing to run when the muscle is extremely fatigued increases the quantity of microtears dramatically and is a major cause of injury.
Take cognitive action!
Use a journal—the best tool to keep you in the executive brain (read the chapter, Your Journal Gives You Cognitive Control Over Training).
Evaluate your pacing every day.
Long runs should be run 3 minutes per mile slower than current half marathon race pace or 4 min/mi slower than current 5K pace.
Use the right run walk run strategy for the pace currently run.
Adjust pace for heat, recent sickness, or layoff.
Take more rest days per week if needed.
When running speedwork, ensure the pace matches current ability and provide rest between repetitions.
Slow down 30 seconds per mile for every 5 degrees above 60 ˚F when it’s hot.
Note: Studies show that runners have healthier joints and fewer orthopedic complaints than non-runners after decades of running. See the third edition of my book, Running Until You’re 100, for more information.
Focus on running form
Stride length—Longer strides increase risk. A shorter stride may not slow you down if you will increase cadence or turnover.
Bounce off the ground—The higher the bounce, the more stress on the push-off muscles. The higher the bounce, the more shock to be absorbed upon landing. Stay low to the ground, touching lightly.
Stretching—I have heard from thousands of runners who have been injured or had injuries aggravated by stretching. In general, I do not recommend stretching. There are individuals who benefit from certain stretches, however. Be careful if you choose to stretch. Stretching is not generally recommended as a warm-up or immediately after running. Trying to stretch out fatigue-induced tightness often results in injury or prolonged recovery. If you do stretch, it’s best to do it after the muscles have been properly warmed up.
How do you know if you are injured?
Continuing to exercise when you feel that you might have an injury puts you at great risk for an extended layoff from running. In most cases that I’ve monitored, when I suspect that there is an injury, it usually is an injury. Be sensitive to your weak links. Focus on the following three signs. If you notice any of the symptoms, take at least a day or two off from running.
Inflammation—swelling, puffiness, or thickening
Loss of function—the area doesn’t work correctly or move normally
Pain—if the pain does not go away as you get warmed up and walk slowly, or the pain increases, STOP!
Taking days off from running
You can take five days off from running with no significant loss in conditioning. It is always better to err on the conservative side of injury repair. If you take an extra day off at the beginning of an injury, you won’t lose any conditioning. But if you continue training with an injury, you may increase the healing time by a week or a month for each day you try to push through pain.
Quick action can reduce recovery time needed
Some minor irritation may require just one day off from running. As the pain level increases, so does the need for more recovery days because there is usually more damage.
How to lower the chance of injury:
Work out every other day (lowest rate of injury).
Insert walk breaks and shuffle breaks into your runs or walks.
Avoid faster running or gently ease into faster running.
Don’t stretch (unless you have certain stretches that work for you and don’t hurt you).
Reducing the risk of speed injuries:
Warm up. Start very slowly and then gradually increase some accelerations, easing into the workout.
Run the first and the last repetition more slowly than the others.
Rest between repetitions. If you have a history of speed injuries, take more rest.
Take walk breaks during the repetitions. During a mile repetition workout, for example, take half of the amount of walking you plan to take during the marathon itself.
Focus on form
While the body adapts and adjusts to the running motion, workouts or races that are long and strenuous can result in irregularities in our normal form. Since the body is not adapted to these wobbles, weak links can be irritated. Continued use—using an unaccustomed range of motion—can lead to injury. Here are some of the common ones. For more information see my books Half-Marathon: You Can Do It, 5K/10K Running.
Troubleshooting form-related injuries
Lower back—Caused by forward lean, overstriding, and too few walk breaks
Neck pain—Caused by forward lean with head placed too far forward or back
Hamstring pain—Caused by striding too long and stretching
Shin pain on front—Caused by striding too long, especially on downhills or at end of run
Shin pain on inside—Caused by overpronation
Achilles tendon pain—Caused by stretching, speedwork, and overpronation
Calf pain—Caused by stretching, speedwork, and inadequate number of walk breaks
Knee pain—Caused by too few walk breaks and overpronation
The shuffle
The most efficient and gentle running form is a shuffle. The feet stay next to the ground, touching lightly with a relatively short stride. When running at the most relaxed range of the shuffling motion, the ankle mechanism does a great deal of the work, and little effort is required from the calf muscle. But when the foot pushes harder and bounces more and the stride increases, there are often more aches, pains, and injuries.
Correct posture reduces aches and pains
Research shows that upright posture results in the most efficient form. It can also reduce stress on weak links. Most of the runners I’ve worked with find that an upright posture (like a puppet on a string) is best in all ways. When runners use a forward lean, there is a tendency to develop lower-back pain and neck pain. A small minority of runners naturally run with a forward lean with no problems. Run the way that is most natural.
Suggestions for running smoother to reduce irritation to weak links:
Feet should be low to the ground. Use a light foot touch.
Try not to bounce more than an inch off the ground.
Let your feet move the way that is natural for them. If you tend to land on your heel and roll forward, do so.
If you have motion control issues, a foot device can provide minor correction to bring you into alignment and avoid irritating a weak link. A supportive shoe may also be needed.
Maintain a gentle stride that allows your leg muscles to stay relaxed. In general, it’s better to have a shorter stride and focus on quicker turnover if you want to speed up.
Water running can help in eliminating flips and turns of the feet and legs which sometimes cause injuries, aches, or pains. With a flotation device, run in the deep end of the pool so that your foot does not touch the bottom. Even one session of 15 minutes once a week can be beneficial.