Article by Claire Fox
Hands up if you have never had a running injury. WOW! You lucky buggers. There are not many of you though.
Like many runners I’ve had the misfortune of a few injuries, more than some, less than others. Some were short and fleeting and others seemed to last a lifetime (yes the dreaded Plantar Fasciitis).
Through various injuries (running and mountain biking) I have learnt a lot about my body, how it responds to training and stress load and how it recovers. As a result I’ve developed a few strategies to manage and minimise the impact of injuries.
Hands up if you have never had a running injury. WOW! You lucky buggers. There are not many of you though.
Like many runners I’ve had the misfortune of a few injuries, more than some, less than others. Some were short and fleeting and others seemed to last a lifetime (yes the dreaded Plantar Fasciitis).
Through various injuries (running and mountain biking) I have learnt a lot about my body, how it responds to training and stress load and how it recovers. As a result I’ve developed a few strategies to manage and minimise the impact of injuries.
Photo courtesy of Photos4Sale
1. Rest Early
When pain or discomfort arises it can always be a tough decision and fine line whether to train or not. A formula I have discussed with James in the past was using the difference between pain and discomfort to be the guide. Pain you naturally want to avoid, but discomfort is more like running up a hill or at a higher intensity. Not pleasant but bearable. Running with discomfort is ok, running with pain is not. Whenever I experienced pain and sought help and/or rested early, I would get back running sooner.
2. Listen to your body and the experts
Pain is your body talking to you (or sometimes shouting and cursing at you), it is giving you a signal that you need to change what you are doing. Listen to it.
An expert is defined as a person who has a special skill or knowledge in a specific field or authority. They are typically coaches, sports doctors, physiotherapists, etc. I recommend identifying key experts whose values and philosophies are consistent with your own when it comes to training and competing. Then when you consult them, listen to them. If you are going to ignore their advice, why ask to start with?
Getting a good assessment from an expert has helped me fix problems early. The most dramatic was ITB friction. I woke up early one morning with an excruciating pain on the side of my knee. No way I was getting any more sleep! When the rest of the world woke I was able to get an appointment to see a physiotherapist I respected later in the day. I hobbled to and from work and limited my movement until my physio. appointment rolled around. After some movement tests, detailed descriptions of what I was feeling and when it hurt, I was diagnosed with ITB Friction Syndrome. I feared the worst, weeks off running! But with some massage and dry needling to release my quads and ITB I was able to walk out the door almost like normal.
The next day my movement range was back to normal like nothing had ever happened. With a follow up visit and some exercises to ensure my ITB and quad didn’t tighten up again I was back running in a few days. I am convinced the quick action with the physiotherapist released everything before the injury could become chronic and take me out for longer.
3. Dr. Google and Facebook are not effective diagnostic tools
Bring out the confessional booth… yes I have asked google to diagnose what might be causing my (insert appropriate body part here) pain. The hit rate is about as good as asking a bunch of random runners who don’t know you or your training regime (yes Facebook I’m looking at you!). Don’t get me wrong, I think google and Facebook provides a huge wealth of information and can be incredibly useful for identifying and making recommendations for experts (as above); but I don’t believe social media provides the best advice for diagnosing injuries.
4. Acceptance
Probably the hardest but trendiest strategy is acceptance of the situation. Sometimes you get a lemon and you just have to deal with the fact you are not training. The best approach I know to help with this is to work out what you can do. Most injuries leave you with the ability to do something; walk, bike ride, swim, yoga, etc. I think the famous female UFC fighter Rhonda Rousey did it best. When she broke her right wrist, she worked on developing the strongest left hook in the sport, ouch! That really is showing great acceptance of a situation.
When pain or discomfort arises it can always be a tough decision and fine line whether to train or not. A formula I have discussed with James in the past was using the difference between pain and discomfort to be the guide. Pain you naturally want to avoid, but discomfort is more like running up a hill or at a higher intensity. Not pleasant but bearable. Running with discomfort is ok, running with pain is not. Whenever I experienced pain and sought help and/or rested early, I would get back running sooner.
2. Listen to your body and the experts
Pain is your body talking to you (or sometimes shouting and cursing at you), it is giving you a signal that you need to change what you are doing. Listen to it.
An expert is defined as a person who has a special skill or knowledge in a specific field or authority. They are typically coaches, sports doctors, physiotherapists, etc. I recommend identifying key experts whose values and philosophies are consistent with your own when it comes to training and competing. Then when you consult them, listen to them. If you are going to ignore their advice, why ask to start with?
Getting a good assessment from an expert has helped me fix problems early. The most dramatic was ITB friction. I woke up early one morning with an excruciating pain on the side of my knee. No way I was getting any more sleep! When the rest of the world woke I was able to get an appointment to see a physiotherapist I respected later in the day. I hobbled to and from work and limited my movement until my physio. appointment rolled around. After some movement tests, detailed descriptions of what I was feeling and when it hurt, I was diagnosed with ITB Friction Syndrome. I feared the worst, weeks off running! But with some massage and dry needling to release my quads and ITB I was able to walk out the door almost like normal.
The next day my movement range was back to normal like nothing had ever happened. With a follow up visit and some exercises to ensure my ITB and quad didn’t tighten up again I was back running in a few days. I am convinced the quick action with the physiotherapist released everything before the injury could become chronic and take me out for longer.
3. Dr. Google and Facebook are not effective diagnostic tools
Bring out the confessional booth… yes I have asked google to diagnose what might be causing my (insert appropriate body part here) pain. The hit rate is about as good as asking a bunch of random runners who don’t know you or your training regime (yes Facebook I’m looking at you!). Don’t get me wrong, I think google and Facebook provides a huge wealth of information and can be incredibly useful for identifying and making recommendations for experts (as above); but I don’t believe social media provides the best advice for diagnosing injuries.
4. Acceptance
Probably the hardest but trendiest strategy is acceptance of the situation. Sometimes you get a lemon and you just have to deal with the fact you are not training. The best approach I know to help with this is to work out what you can do. Most injuries leave you with the ability to do something; walk, bike ride, swim, yoga, etc. I think the famous female UFC fighter Rhonda Rousey did it best. When she broke her right wrist, she worked on developing the strongest left hook in the sport, ouch! That really is showing great acceptance of a situation.
| So while I have some key strategies in my toolkit I do sometimes have a short memory. Only a few weeks ago my ITB started giving me warning signs that it was getting a little too much work without the love. I received appropriate guidance from my coach to cut back training. What did I do? You betcha, I moved straight into denial and then justification mode on how I would be ok. My emotional attachment to my planned Christmas break training was stronger than my rational mind. Fortunately logic won out and strategies 2 and 4 took over. After an easy week I have now had 3 solid weeks of training and I’m feeling fit and strong. Long may it continue. Article by Claire Fox |  Photo courtesy of Photos4Sale |
