Endurance running has gained significant popularity among non-professional runners and has become one of the most practiced sports during leisure time.
A few studies in the past 5 years have shown that muscular weakness predisposes runners to a higher incidence of common running related injuries such as patellofemoral pain, medial tibial stress syndrome, and Achilles tendinopathy.
This poses an opportunity to ask yourself – am I doing enough to prevent possible injury?
Assess your level of running:
Starting too soon and doing too much can lead to overuse injuries and can ultimately hinder your progress. By starting with a good foundation and working your way to manageable amounts should be a priority. Assess your level of running by using your goals, mileage per week, as well as current fitness level.
Address muscle imbalances:
Weak muscles or strength imbalances make some tissues work harder than they should, to compensate, causing injury. Runners are often weak in the hamstring and gluteal muscles, so it’s paramount to perform strengthening exercises.
Consider enough fuel for your runs:
Your body cannot adequately heal and build muscles, bones, and cells if you don’t consume enough. This leaves you vulnerable to injuries including tendinopathies, muscle strains, and bone stress injuries.
Running 80% of your runs at an easy pace:
When you need to maintain an effort for long periods time and keeping it at a higher intensity, it puts your body on more than necessary stress. This continuous overload puts a hinder on recovery, prevents any adaptation to happen fully, and considerably increases your risk for injury. A good recommendation is to add some active recovery days to your weekly training.
Add an adequate warm-up routine prior to running:
Increased range of motion from a proper warm-up helps compensate for the loss of muscle range of motion that comes with ageing. A dynamic warm-up, even one that lasts just five minutes, provides the stretch needed to run stronger and help prevent injury. A warm-up doesn’t need to be complicated. Adding movements that mimic running is efficient and helps to prepare the body for increased efforts.
Running does have a risk of injury but if you follow some simple guidelines, then minimising that risk is the way to go!
Running
5 tips to consider for running injury prevention:
Endurance running has gained significant popularity among non-professional runners and has become one of the most practiced sports during leisure time.
A few studies in the past 5 years have shown that muscular weakness predisposes runners to a higher incidence of common running related injuries such as patellofemoral pain, medial tibial stress syndrome, and Achilles tendinopathy.
This poses an opportunity to ask yourself – am I doing enough to prevent possible injury?
Starting too soon and doing too much can lead to overuse injuries and can ultimately hinder your progress. By starting with a good foundation and working your way to manageable amounts should be a priority. Assess your level of running by using your goals, mileage per week, as well as current fitness level.
Weak muscles or strength imbalances make some tissues work harder than they should, to compensate, causing injury. Runners are often weak in the hamstring and gluteal muscles, so it’s paramount to perform strengthening exercises.
Your body cannot adequately heal and build muscles, bones, and cells if you don’t consume enough. This leaves you vulnerable to injuries including tendinopathies, muscle strains, and bone stress injuries.
When you need to maintain an effort for long periods time and keeping it at a higher intensity, it puts your body on more than necessary stress. This continuous overload puts a hinder on recovery, prevents any adaptation to happen fully, and considerably increases your risk for injury. A good recommendation is to add some active recovery days to your weekly training.
Increased range of motion from a proper warm-up helps compensate for the loss of muscle range of motion that comes with ageing. A dynamic warm-up, even one that lasts just five minutes, provides the stretch needed to run stronger and help prevent injury. A warm-up doesn’t need to be complicated. Adding movements that mimic running is efficient and helps to prepare the body for increased efforts.
Running does have a risk of injury but if you follow some simple guidelines, then minimising that risk is the way to go!
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