As runners we quite naturally look outside ourselves to place blame for our injuries. We think, It must be the shoes. Or maybe there’s a special stretch or strengthening exercise no one has told me about yet. Perhaps I need to change my diet somehow—to hydrate more or to consume more protein.
Sure, factors like these can contribute to injury. But orthopedists, podiatrists, physical therapists, and other experts have a different view. They believe runners cause running injuries. We inflict them on ourselves.
How? Through training errors. We do too much too soon too fast, take too many hills, and so on. We push the body beyond its breaking point, and guess what? It breaks.
When speaking at running seminars, I often say, “The first smart runner hasn’t been born yet.” That’s meant to be a joke, as runners are highly thoughtful and educated. I’m simply trying to make an important point. We tend to repeat the training errors of those who came before us and warned us. Just as I’m warning you now. We find it nearly impossible to absorb the wisdom of all the injured runners who have preceded us.
There’s a reason for this. When you’ve been running smoothly and effortlessly for several months or even years, you can’t imagine that the next mile could put you in peril. But it could. Especially if you’ve been pushing your luck by running farther, faster, or more often.
Runners need to understand an important paradox: That which makes us stronger also makes us weak. It can lead to injuries. Here’s how the paradox works.
As a general truth, runners are incredibly productive people. We set goals and work hard to reach them. We don’t let minor stumbling blocks get in the way. We push onward. This approach often leads to great success, not just in our running, but also in many other areas of life—from art to academics to our professional careers to our community and family lives.
However, the same discipline can backfire when it comes to running injuries. You can’t ignore them, and you can’t just persevere through them. In fact, it’s much smarter to briefly reverse your normal can-do attitude.
Listen to pain: Pain is a subjective experience, which is precisely why so many runners ignore it and stick to their training schedules. They shunt the pain signals to a distant corner of the brain, where the message is barely perceived.
Don’t do this. When you feel acute discomfort while running, acknowledge it. And begin to formulate a recovery plan. Try to evaluate the depth of the pain. Is it sharp, or is it dull? Does it go away as you warm up into a run, or get worse? A sharp pain that hurts more every mile is a clear warning. Stop at once. Get home however you can, and start taking action. A dull ache or tightness may be less serious, but also deserves attention.
“I worry about pain because it tends to change a runner’s mechanics,” says Jordan Metzl, MD, author of Running Strong: The Sports Doctor’s Complete Guide to Staying Healthy and Injury-Free for Life. “And changed mechanics can lead to more serious problems.”
Take several days off: Unless you’re a gold-medal contender in an upcoming Olympic Games, don’t try to train through an injury. That path too often spirals down a deep, dark hole.
Start with rest. There’s no precise number that covers all situations, but take two to three days with no running. None. At all. Whenever possible throughout the day, apply ice to the injured area for 10 minutes. You can take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory for as long as seven to ten days. If your injury is a relatively minor soft-tissue strain—the most common of injuries—several days of no running might put you back on the road.
Walking is the best medicine, as long as you can walk without pain. Otherwise this is a time for caution and chilling out. Don’t take a new yoga class or mimic an internet stretching video. Save those activities until you have regained full strength.
Tear up the calendar: Unless you’re lucky, you can’t get injured and still reach your next short-term goal. Don’t try. You can nail that goal in a subsequent training cycle. Concentrate instead on the joy of returning to pain-free running.
Run much slower and for shorter distances than normal. Take walking breaks as necessary. Use ice or massage or other preferred therapies after each run. Relax. Running is a gift, and now is a good time to appreciate it.