Hey running comrades, hope everyone's runs have been going well and free of injury!

Link to last week's thread

I just responded to somebody asking about injury prevention in the old thread, so I though I should repost it here for discussion and addition to (and arguing about). Here's some things I've picked up from my own experience of tonnes of stupid injuries plus also nerding out on running forums:

  • Big long loping strides where you land hard on your heel (with your foot in front of you when you land) are bad. Try and aim for shorter, quicker strides. If you have a fancy watch that measures these things, I’m told a cadence of 175 or over is good for casual runs (may be higher for racing)

  • Decent running shoes make a big difference for injury, especially shin splints etc. If you’re getting serious about it, could be worth trying to find a specialty running shop nearby (the good ones will do gait analysis etc) and get a decent pair. And also the consensus is to replace them every 800km or so. From my own experience, I think this is legit and not just shoe industry propaganda to make you buy more shoes.

  • Concrete is brutal on your legs, try and avoid it as much as you can. Bitumen is much better, dirt or grass are great. Grass will slow you down a bit and make you work a bit harder, and it’s also good for the balance muscles

  • The general rule of thumb is not to increase your distance or intensity by more than 10% per week and take some weeks to consolidate rather than constantly increasing

  • I’m really bad at this, but core strength is good for preventing injury (and good for pace too). There’s a Runners Standard Core Routine or something (sorry I cant check or find the video right now), it’s 7 exercises you do in a row for a minute each, that I've found to be quite good

  • Be really careful when running hard. General advice is at least 80% of your running should be slow and easy anyway, but just be extra conservative when starting on things like hill sprints or intervals etc. And try to be a bit careful running down steep hills too

  • Don’t run through an injury. It’s so tempting but it always just makes things worse. If your body is telling you that you probably shouldn’t be running, you should probably listen to it.

  • Stretching is actually something people are divided about the benefits of for running, so I’d say it’s not the #1 thing, but it won’t hurt and if you find it feels useful then why not?

What's everyone else's injury prevention tips?

And tell us about your running successes/stories from this week!

I've been lucky enough to be away the last two weekends so I've had back-to-back beautiful Sunday morning long runs through the countryside. So nice running through nature with almost nobody else around!

  • DasKarlBarx [he/him,comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Oh boy something I can contribute to! I used to work as a pt/half-trainer so injury recovery and prevention was my specialty.

    1. Fix yourself out of the gym. If you work at a desk try to get a sit/stand to be able to mix it up. If you can't make sure you get up and move around every hour. Also make sure you drink enough water.

    2. Foam roll. Check the side bar, there is a link to make your own and a guide of how to start. If you're running make sure to roll your calves, peroneals (bottom side of the leg), quads, hamstring, IT band, and glutes.

    3. Stretch in the right way, at the right time. If you're jogging/low intensity steady state you can static stretch before and after. If you're doing lower-intensity intervals some active mobility exercises can help before and do static after. If you're doing sprints do a ramp of of active mobility and explosive warm ups.

    4. Cross-train. If running is your focus make sure you do resistance training and especially work on core and movement patterns that you use in your running. Also, don' t be afraid to dial back the running to add in biking, rowing, or some other form of cardio every so often in order to avoid overtraining.

    That is all I have off the top of my head, I'm willing to answer questions people may have too. :heart-sickle:

    • RandyLahey [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Good additions!

      I should foam roll more, it's always so good when I do but it hurts so bad, probably doesn't help that I bought a foam roller with big spikes on it to really make it hurt even more but that's on me

      Related note: probably doesn't do all that much injury-wise, but rolling one of those spiky balls under the feet after a run feels amaaaaaazing

  • Rusty_Shackleford [he/him,they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I have more or less been following all the advice in this thread (except the shoes, I need to get a new pair of real running shoes) and I haven't dealt with any injuries yet. I spend about 10 minutes warming up with mobility exercises before a run and 10 minutes stretching after. Having hurt myself going too hard on exercises in the past, it's definitely worth the time!