How to Prevent Running Injuries – Part 1

What we see in clinic all the time, is people coming in with running or training injuries that have blindsided them, they have no idea how it happened.  Its like the injury came out of nowhere.

Injuries don’t come out of nowhere.  Most running injuries produce signals

  • aches
  • soreness
  • persistent pain

Its up to you not to ignore the signal and to take appropriate action.  That doesn’t mean keep on running as you set yourself a goal and want to achieve it.  I consider it crazy to run through pain – all you are doing in injuring yourself further.  If you do push on regardless you will invariably end up with with more enforced rest needing more rehab than if you took immediate action.  Any problems are just amplified the more miles you run.

One of they key factors that determines an athletes success is there ability to avoid injuries.  If you look at Kenyan distance runners they are experts at listening to their bodies and knowing when to skip training if they are tired and how to nip injuries in the bud.

So if you get any of the above signals book a sports massage.

Related Posts

  • Is slouching that bad for you? – part 4

    In previous blog posts I have explored the following reasons for not slouching

    So finally I would like to focus on how slouching affects your breathing. You’ll notice that people don’t sigh when they sit slumped — they have to sit up to take a deep breath,’ observes Professor Stephen Spiro of the British  Lung Foundation. ‘That’s because the lungs work best when we’re vertical. If you’re slumped forward you don’t fully breathe and ventilate the lungs, because they’re compressed and the diaphragm is coming up into the chest — so you won’t breathe as easily and efficiently.’ This can cause particular breathing problems for anyone with asthma or lung disease. ‘If you’re an asthmatic you probably don’t have bad posture because people are quite clever at correcting themselves,’ says Professor Spiro. Physiotherapist Sammy Margo adds that slumping can mean less oxygen gets to the brain. ‘Slumped or C-shaped people complain of being tired and fatigued all the time and it’s because the lungs are squashed and cannot get enough air in, and the brain needs plenty of oxygen to function at its best.’ In addition, if you slumped you are breath with be short and shallow from your upper chest.  In order to relax and digest food your body needs the parasympathetic nervous system to be dominant.  A quick way to do this is to sit up right and take deep breaths and this simulates the parasympathetic system.  So slumping may be contributing to you feeling anxious and finding it hard to relax and switch off when you leave work!

  • Your energy account

    We all know that we aim to have a good nights sleep to wake up full of energy.  But as I have said before, sleep is only one way to boost your energy.   Think of yourself as having an energy account, and energy raising activities e.g. sleep, credit your energy account and energy draining activities e.g. frustration, debit your energy account.  You may find it helpful to work out the balance on your energy account. Use the table below to identify what in your life drains your energy and what raises your energy.

    Energy Debits  - Energy Draining Activites Energy Credits - Energy Raising Activities
    Unhealthy eating with heavy, rich, fatty, sugary good Health diet with give excellent nutrition supported by vitamin and mineral supplements
    Alcohol Cigarettes Drug abuse Over-stimulation (including over work) Natural highs from nature, dance, relaxation, music, physical achievement, humour and creativity.
    Sedentary lifestyle Exercise
    Fear Worries Anxiety Stress Frustration Depression Feeling things are out of control Security Peace of mind Rest Joy Happiness
    Isolation and loneliness Lack of love or support Being dominated Being stuck in the past Close personal relationships Sense of belonging Healthy boundaries Ability to forgive including yourself
    No self-expression Boredom Underachievement Creative self-expression Excitement Achieving
    Lack of purpose and meaning Clarity about your true values, purpose and meaning
    Difficult relationships Good relationships
    Lack of spiritual nourishment No sources of uplift Good sources of spiritual uplift
    Now you have worked out what is happening to your energy account.  If you are unhappy with how much energy your have then I recommend you go back through the energy raising activities and consider what you can easily incorporate into your life.  Once you had done this and implemented them, then you can go through your energy draining activities and see what you can give up.  It is important to boost your energy first as it put you in to a positive state of mind before tacking what in your life drains your energy.  

  • Is slouching that bad for you? – part 1

    We spend the vast majority of our time in static positions — either sitting or standing — when the temptation to slump and sag is just too great. Most of us know from experience that sitting hunched in front of a computer or driving wheel can lead to a stiff, painful back and shoulders.

    But in this blog article and the next three, I want to explain how poor posture can lead to other health problems . . . It may raise your blood pressure.... The usual risk factors for high blood pressure are age, being overweight, smoking and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. But scientists now think slouching may trigger it, too.  This is because there is a link between neck muscles and the area of the brain that helps regulate blood pressure.  In a study published in 2007, neuro-scientists at the University of Leeds found that when cells in the neck muscles sense the neck is moving, they send a signal to that area of the brain.   The theory is that this helps ensure adequate blood supply when we change posture, for example from sitting to standing. But if the neck muscle cells become damaged or pressured through stooping and slumping, this could trigger problems with blood pressure, suggests Professor Jim Deuchars, the scientist who led the study. He adds that this might explain why some people who suffer whiplash injuries notice a change in their blood pressure — sometimes it’s higher, sometimes lower. ‘It’s possible that poor posture, which compresses the neck muscles, may be involved in high blood pressure, too, but more research is needed.’