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
Having a ball?
Previously I have written my guide to foam rolling parts 1 & 2. Now I want to explore the uses for another self-massage tool, the spikey ball. I would recommend you use both a foam roller and a spikey ball the reason is that for some parts of the body it is easier to use a spikey ball, for example: Releasing the feet Stand on one leg use a chair or the wall for balance. Roll one foot at a time over the ball for a good few minutes. Include the heel, the outside edge and the instep. Push down stronger into any area to deepen the intensity. Do each foot separately. Between the shoulders A common area of tension with modern postural habits is between the shoulder blades. You can easily reach this area with a ball placed anywhere between the shoulder blades and move up and down against the wall. One tip to stop the ball dropping it to put it in a long sock or stocking, drap it over your shoulder and then hold it in your hand. Lower back - Under sacrum and glutes You can use the floor of resistance to press your weight into or when lying to let gravity give you a help in hand. Simply lie on the floor, bend your knees but keep your feet flat on the floor. Then place the ball underneath your sacrum – the large triangular bone that forms part of your pelvis. Now move just gently move your sacrum and glutes all over the ball. If it feels safe to do so your can bring your knees into your chest to add additional pressure. This will help release off your lower back.
What can help carpal tunnel syndrome?
Previously, I discussed what carpal tunnel syndrome is and how desk based workers have an increased risk. So what can you do to help youself:
- Vitamin B6 - Carpal tunnel syndrome has been linked to low levels of vitamin B6, so suplementing with the vitamin may help. In fact, several trials have found B6 may alleviate the symptoms, even in people who are not deficient in the vitamin.
- Yoga - In one study a yoga based therapy was more effective at easing carpal tunnel syndrome than improving grip strenght than wrist splints or no treatment.
- Acupuncture - In one radomised control trail, acupuncture was just as effective as steriod treatment,and it was also better at reducing sleep disturbance and improving never conduction than the drugs and came with minimal side-effects.
