Tweet
Sidestep Injuries
I didn't want to include an injury section, but how could I not? Every day we read studies stating that 20 to 80 percent of runners get injured per year. As a result, we are advised to change shoes, or run barefoot, or try orthotics, or schedule regular massages, or freeze our buns in an ice-bath, or stretch, or lift weights, or sit on a foam roller, or take a magic supplement, or befriend a local chiropractor. In dire situations, better try them all.
Call me officially dubious. I'm sure that some of these gambits work some of the time for some runners, and even more certain that they don't work most of the time. That's because injuries happen to runners the way germs happen to the receptionist in your doctor's office.
There is only one method almost guaranteed to work: Stop running. This has been the hardest lesson I've had to absorb in 50 years, and the one I wish I had learned better many decades ago. When your feet, ankles, calf muscles, shins, knees, quads, hamstrings, or hips hurt, stop running. Now. Not the day after tomorrow, next week, or next month. Get real. Take time off immediately.
Here's why: The vast majority of the "20 to 80 percent" of injured runners have soft-tissue problems–that is, sore muscles, strained tendons, joint inflammation, and the like. These are not broken bones or ACL tears. You don't need a splint or a surgeon. You just need to give your body time to repair itself.
For sore muscles, three days off might suffice. Use ice. Take ibuprofen (for an acute injury, but, please, not every day for the rest of your running life). Rest. Kick back in a comfy chair, fire up your Kindle or iPad, or enjoy that book or film on the shelf. On day four, walk around the block a few times. On day five, see if you can run two miles without discomfort. These are just guidelines. Listen to your body.
For joint pains, take as much as a week off. Try swimming, biking, or an elliptical machine. But only if it doesn't hurt. You know how much fitness you lose in a week? Nothing. That's why we taper before races. You know how much weight you gain? Yes, a pound or so, but it comes off again as soon as you return to healthy running.
The one thing that's absolutely, positively known about running injuries is that old injuries lead to future injuries. The key, then, is to avoid injury the first time around. Today you might have a tender spot on your shin. Keep running, and it could become a full-fledged injury that leads to chronic problems or to other counter-balance injuries. You could spend a lifetime regretting the days when you continued running; you'll never regret the three to seven days of rest.
I didn't want to include an injury section, but how could I not? Every day we read studies stating that 20 to 80 percent of runners get injured per year. As a result, we are advised to change shoes, or run barefoot, or try orthotics, or schedule regular massages, or freeze our buns in an ice-bath, or stretch, or lift weights, or sit on a foam roller, or take a magic supplement, or befriend a local chiropractor. In dire situations, better try them all.
Call me officially dubious. I'm sure that some of these gambits work some of the time for some runners, and even more certain that they don't work most of the time. That's because injuries happen to runners the way germs happen to the receptionist in your doctor's office.
There is only one method almost guaranteed to work: Stop running. This has been the hardest lesson I've had to absorb in 50 years, and the one I wish I had learned better many decades ago. When your feet, ankles, calf muscles, shins, knees, quads, hamstrings, or hips hurt, stop running. Now. Not the day after tomorrow, next week, or next month. Get real. Take time off immediately.
Here's why: The vast majority of the "20 to 80 percent" of injured runners have soft-tissue problems–that is, sore muscles, strained tendons, joint inflammation, and the like. These are not broken bones or ACL tears. You don't need a splint or a surgeon. You just need to give your body time to repair itself.
For sore muscles, three days off might suffice. Use ice. Take ibuprofen (for an acute injury, but, please, not every day for the rest of your running life). Rest. Kick back in a comfy chair, fire up your Kindle or iPad, or enjoy that book or film on the shelf. On day four, walk around the block a few times. On day five, see if you can run two miles without discomfort. These are just guidelines. Listen to your body.
For joint pains, take as much as a week off. Try swimming, biking, or an elliptical machine. But only if it doesn't hurt. You know how much fitness you lose in a week? Nothing. That's why we taper before races. You know how much weight you gain? Yes, a pound or so, but it comes off again as soon as you return to healthy running.
The one thing that's absolutely, positively known about running injuries is that old injuries lead to future injuries. The key, then, is to avoid injury the first time around. Today you might have a tender spot on your shin. Keep running, and it could become a full-fledged injury that leads to chronic problems or to other counter-balance injuries. You could spend a lifetime regretting the days when you continued running; you'll never regret the three to seven days of rest.
Comment