As much as you love to run, you have to be wary of injuries that can stop you from regular running. Believe it or not, even the most expert and professional runners end up injuring themselves one time or the other.
Overtraining, stiff muscles, rough and hard running surface, improper footwear, wrong foot orientation, poor posture, and poor muscle balance can lead to running injuries. But the good news is that almost all running injuries are preventable if you remind yourself to follow the best practices and methods. Learning about some good running habits ought to keep you healthy and injury-free.
Let’s check out three ways you can prevent yourself from experiencing any running injuries.
Warm-Up Before You Run
Always try to spend a few minutes warming your body up before you start running. Running requires you to flex a lot of muscles. A sudden quick run could have damaging effects. Warming up helps you gradually get your body used to the range of motion required for running.
Here is a simple warm-up routine to help you get started with:
Start with swinging your legs and lunges. Try to balance yourself standing on your leg. If you find it difficult, you can try holding on to some support wall or beam as you gradually improve your ankle stability.
Try to make your swings bigger in a gradual manner. For every ten swings, kick back your leg into a lunge while bringing your hands on the ground.
Now try to circling your hip around your front leg. Once you complete this step, switch the process to your other leg.
You can also stretch yourself and follow a longer warm-up routine strengthening all your core muscles and whole body.
Set A Goal
Running with a goal gives you a purpose and keeps you more focused on how you move. Most acute running injuries happen due to a lack of concentration that can make you slip and hurt yourself.
To keep yourself focused, you can try following a running program that helps you keep your thoughts in line. You can try to focus on each aspect of your running regiment like speed, endurance, uphill training, and so on for each day of your running program. You can also devise your own running program with goals set for each of your running sessions. Try to track your improvements with some form of measurable scale. For instance, set your running time and complete running a certain distance within the set time.
If you are not following any running plan, you can try to focus on your breaking to keep yourself conscious of your running exercise. Here is a simple nose breathing drill that can help you:
Breathe through only your nostrils for every 5 to 10 minutes you run.
Try to belly breathe as you run as it helps release stiffness caused during running
Stay Active
When you stay immobile for an extended period and suddenly start running, you may end up injuring yourself. Your muscles need to be trained regularly for an intense activity such as running. Otherwise, it would be like overusing them one day and underusing them another day, which could lead to muscle pulls, pinched nerves, and so on.
Try to maintain an active lifestyle with a good range of mobility every day. Even if you are not actively running on a day, try to take 10 minutes of your time per day to exercise. Doing so will help you avoid acute fatigue, sharp pains, and sudden muscle pulls. It will also help build your endurance and strengthen your supporting muscles.
Squatting is an excellent exercise that helps you strengthen your ankles. Try to keep your toes pointed forward as you maintain the squat position. If it is too difficult for you, it denotes some mobility issue with your ankles.
You can also make use of foam rollers on your calves to help loosen the calf muscles. Identify the parts of your body that require attention and incorporate stretching exercises and massages to strengthen those muscles.
Summary
To recap, three ways you can prevent running injuries is to warm-up before you run, set a goal to keep you focused on how you move, and finally keep those muscles moving by staying active!
Incorporating all these tips above should help you prevent running injuries and keep you active. If you don’t see any improvements in your performance, it may be time to consult a Doctor of Physical Therapy to see if they can help you.
About The Author: Dr. Scott Gray
Dr. Scott Gray is an internationally recognized and expert physical therapist & sports performance coach specializing in sport, athletic, and back and neck injuries. He is the inventor of a revolutionary form of treatment called the GRAY METHOD™. This type of treatment unlike others, addresses the CAUSE rather than just your SYMPTOMS with a full body approach. For more information on how to ease or overcome your injury or sports performance training, go to physical therapy in Fort Myers, Florida , physical therapy in Cape Coral, Florida, or sports performance training in Fort Myers, Florida.
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3 Ways To Prevent Running Injuries
Running Pain in Triathletes Can be Prevented
Overtraining, stiff muscles, rough and hard running surface, improper footwear, wrong foot orientation, poor posture, and poor muscle balance can lead to running injuries. But the good news is that almost all running injuries are preventable if you remind yourself to follow the best practices and methods. Learning about some good running habits ought to keep you healthy and injury-free.
Let’s check out three ways you can prevent yourself from experiencing any running injuries.
Warm-Up Before You Run
Always try to spend a few minutes warming your body up before you start running. Running requires you to flex a lot of muscles. A sudden quick run could have damaging effects. Warming up helps you gradually get your body used to the range of motion required for running.
Here is a simple warm-up routine to help you get started with:
You can also stretch yourself and follow a longer warm-up routine strengthening all your core muscles and whole body.
Set A Goal
Running with a goal gives you a purpose and keeps you more focused on how you move. Most acute running injuries happen due to a lack of concentration that can make you slip and hurt yourself.
To keep yourself focused, you can try following a running program that helps you keep your thoughts in line. You can try to focus on each aspect of your running regiment like speed, endurance, uphill training, and so on for each day of your running program. You can also devise your own running program with goals set for each of your running sessions. Try to track your improvements with some form of measurable scale. For instance, set your running time and complete running a certain distance within the set time.
If you are not following any running plan, you can try to focus on your breaking to keep yourself conscious of your running exercise. Here is a simple nose breathing drill that can help you:
Stay Active
When you stay immobile for an extended period and suddenly start running, you may end up injuring yourself. Your muscles need to be trained regularly for an intense activity such as running. Otherwise, it would be like overusing them one day and underusing them another day, which could lead to muscle pulls, pinched nerves, and so on.
Try to maintain an active lifestyle with a good range of mobility every day. Even if you are not actively running on a day, try to take 10 minutes of your time per day to exercise. Doing so will help you avoid acute fatigue, sharp pains, and sudden muscle pulls. It will also help build your endurance and strengthen your supporting muscles.
Squatting is an excellent exercise that helps you strengthen your ankles. Try to keep your toes pointed forward as you maintain the squat position. If it is too difficult for you, it denotes some mobility issue with your ankles.
You can also make use of foam rollers on your calves to help loosen the calf muscles. Identify the parts of your body that require attention and incorporate stretching exercises and massages to strengthen those muscles.
Summary
To recap, three ways you can prevent running injuries is to warm-up before you run, set a goal to keep you focused on how you move, and finally keep those muscles moving by staying active!
Incorporating all these tips above should help you prevent running injuries and keep you active. If you don’t see any improvements in your performance, it may be time to consult a Doctor of Physical Therapy to see if they can help you.
About The Author: Dr. Scott Gray
Dr. Scott Gray is an internationally recognized and expert physical therapist & sports performance coach specializing in sport, athletic, and back and neck injuries. He is the inventor of a revolutionary form of treatment called the GRAY METHOD™. This type of treatment unlike others, addresses the CAUSE rather than just your SYMPTOMS with a full body approach. For more information on how to ease or overcome your injury or sports performance training, go to physical therapy in Fort Myers, Florida , physical therapy in Cape Coral, Florida, or sports performance training in Fort Myers, Florida.
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