We all hate the feeling of getting injured while training for a big upcoming race. But how can one avoid being injured while running? Although injuries among runners are frequent, there is good news in that many of them may be avoided.
We will discuss the following in this article:
- The 8 most frequent running injuries: their origins, treatments, and ways to avoid them
- Our top 10 suggestions for avoiding injuries while training for your next goal, to make sure you always can #BErunning
How Frequently Do Running Injuries Occur?
All the time!
A startling 50% of regular runners are struggling with an injury each year, according to Yale Medicine. They looked at the most typical injury sites among runners in a systematic evaluation of articles published in 2015. The most typical trouble spots are listed here, along with the proportion of runners that experience them each year.
- Knees: 7.2 to 50%
- Lower legs: 9.0 to 32.2%
- Upper legs: 3.4 to 38.1%
- Feet: 5.7 to 39.3%
- Ankles: 3.9 to 16.6%
- Hips, pelvis, or groins: 3.3 to 11.5%
- Lower back: 5.3 to 19.1%
10 tips to avoid getting injured:
You'll be in an excellent position to avoid running injuries if you incorporate the following 10 prevention guidelines into your daily routine.
1. Avoid overtraining
Running injuries often have overtraining as their primary cause. Overtraining, in its simplest form, is when your body is unable to cope with the physical demands you are putting on it. Overtraining signs and symptoms include:
- A high resting heart rate
- Fatigue and always feeling tired
- Focusing issue
- Having trouble falling asleep
By gradually increasing your weekly mileage and making sure that you are eating, sleeping, and drinking enough to keep up with the demands of your training, you are likely to avoid overtraining.
2. Improve your running technique
Proper running form can significantly lower your chance of injuries since it frequently enables you to reduce the impact caused by each step by working with the body's natural suspension systems to properly absorb running imp
3. Have your shoes professionally fitted
A Lot of injuries can easily be avoided just by using the proper running shoes for your body type and style of running.
When it comes to selecting the ideal shoe for you, avoid being influenced by the herd. It's possible that what works best for professional marathon runners won't fit your needs or the shape of your feet.
Visit an expert to make your running shoe selection. Any respectable running shoe store will let you try on different models and give you advice on what to look for. Even some shoe stores will analyze your walk.
But the most important criterion for running shoes is that they need to feel good to run in!
4. Pre-Workout Warm-Up
We all agree that we should be doing it!
An effective strategy to stop muscle-related injuries is to warm up properly before training. Your body will move more naturally while you run if you warm up with a dynamic stretching exercise, and your ankles, knees, and hips will be prepared for action. Especially for harder sessions it is a must.
A great advice is to warm up by running if you're planning for a slow long run. Just get going slowly to allow your body to warm up.
5. Consume A Lot Of Nutritious Food
It's crucial to prioritize your nutrition while exercising. To prevent damage, it's important to provide our bodies with the vitamins, minerals, and fluids they require to recover in time for our next training session.
Recent studies even contend that undereating and overtraining may be equivalent. It's possible that undereating is the cause of overtraining since the two conditions have many similar symptoms.
In either case, it's critical for runners to eat healthily. Eat three meals plus snacks a day, put whole foods on your plate, and pay attention to including a high-quality protein source at each meal.
6. Increase Your Training Load Gradually
Running injuries are frequently caused by athletes increasing their training load too quickly and too soon, as we've seen above.
To help prevent injuries brought on by training load, the 10% rule can be a useful guidance. It says that you should only increase your training volume each week by 10% over the previous week.
The 10% rule, while only a suggestion, enables your body to recuperate and adapt to meet the demands of your training without risking the danger of overuse problems.
7. Prioritize sleep
Your body can recuperate fully in time for your next exercise session if you get enough sleep. Overtraining syndrome increases your risk of not getting enough sleep.
Generally speaking, you should get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep every night, but certain athletes may require more.
8. Include strength training
Strength training is arguably the finest injury prevention advice available for runners.
Strengthening the muscles and connective tissues of the runner can help to stabilize the joints and lower the risk of joint injuries in addition to muscle problems.
9. Include Mobility Exercises
This is due to the fact that if you don't have adequate mobility, you won't be able to access your joints' entire range of motion while you're running, which will make you a less effective runner and increase your risk of injuries.
The good news is there are several free follow-along mobility routines available for runners, and mobility training may be done in as little as 10 minutes each day.
10. Simply have more fun!
Enjoying training will help you do more of the right stuff and quit the bad habits causing your injuries. Try to find some motivation in a goal or maybe try convincing your colleague to join a race in the next mounts. Check out our free training programs to help you stay on track and keep progressing and always #BErunning