Here are a few general tips you can follow to help prevent injuries:
- Do NOT overtrain. Increase your training duration and intensity by no more than 10% per week, to give your body tissues need time to adapt and strengthen.
- Getting adequate rest is critical (rest 24-48 hours, or cross-train using biking, swimming or walking in place of a run or alternating between runs).
- Practice frequent stretching, especially during warm up and cool down.
- Avoid running more than 72 km per week. There is no evidence to show that running more will improve performance, but studies show that running too much will increase your chances of injury.
- Replace your running shoes every 500 to 700 km, since wear decreases shock absorption and proper foot support).
- Choose running shoes according to your foot type (supinator or high arches, versus pronator with low or no arches).
- Eat a balanced diet - follow Canada's Food Guide.
- While running, stay hydrated. Drink 1 cup of water every 20 minutes.
- Exercise regularly to strengthen stability and postural muscles: Abdominal hollowing while doing crunches; bridges; side bridges; cross crawls; and dead bug.
- Strengthen lower body muscles through weight training.
- Build your network of health professionals who can help keep you at your best - chiropractor, registered massage therapist, physiotherapist, sports doctor.
General rule of thumb for treatment of any injury
- Deal with injuries sooner, rather than later to avoid ending up with chronic injuries. Pain is your first warning sign.
- Follow the "RICE" Principle: Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate.
- Modify your training routine by working on different things for 7 to 10 day periods.
- When to seek care of a health care professional
- You see swelling, discolouration, or hear popping or clicking in a joint.
- You experience loss of function; for example, you can’t bear weight on your ankle.
- Your pain is getting worse.
- If your pain persists for more than a week after applying the above self-care treatments.
Dr. Katherine Tibor has expertise in treating running-related injuries, using a combination of chiropractic adjustments, Active Release Therapy®, Graston Technique®, and the fitting of custom orthotics. Talk to her if you have any concerns.
The Most Common Running Injuries
Runner's Knee (aka Patello-femoral Syndrome)
Symptoms: Pain in front or outside of knee that worsens after exercise, climbing stairs or prolonged sitting. Pain comes on gradually.
Cause: Muscle imbalance altering patellar tracking, foot mechanics.
Treatment: Avoid running on uneven surfaces, stretch quadriceps, use iliotibial band, squats. Active Release Techniques® (ART®) on all tight musculature.
Stress Fractures
Symptoms: Dull aching pain, most common in forefoot, tibia/shin and heel. Can mimic shin splints.
Cause: Incomplete break in the bone from repeated trauma, overtraining, calcium deficiency or biomechanical flaws.
Treatment: Stop running for 1 to 2 weeks and limit weight bearing activities, cross train. If pain continues, see physician or chiropractor, who may send you for x-rays.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome
Symptoms: Pain on outside of knee or hip that worsens with activity, especially downhill running.
Cause: Repeated rubbing of the Ilotibial Band (a muscle on the outside of the thigh) over the outside knee bone, causing inflammation and pain, excessive pronation and improper stretching.
Treatment: Ice, run shorter distances, exercises to stretch ITB and strengthen Adductor muscles (side lunges), massage, Active Release Therapy®.
Shin Splints
Symptoms: Pain down the front of the lower leg, often aggravated by increased running and hard surfaces. Micro-tears on tibialis anterior (muscle on front of shin).
Cause: Common overuse injury, tight calf and hamstring muscles, running on balls of feet, and lack of arch support.
Treatment: Stretch calf and hamstring, strengthen tibialis anterior using toe lifts, strengthen muscles on bottom of the foot by scrunching a towel with your toes. Active Release Therapy®.
Plantar Fasciitis
Symptoms: Pain in bottom arch of foot and into the heel is worse with your first few steps in the morning.
Cause: Tissue in bottom of foot becomes inflamed, usually from biomechanical flaws, i.e. pronation, improper running shoes.
Treatment: Roll frozen water bottle under foot (no more than15 minutes at a time, 4 times a day), stretch calves, Active Release Therapy®, strengthen arches by scrunching a towel with your toes; custom orthotics may help.
Achilles Tendonitis/osis/opathy
Symptoms: Pain at the back of ankle with heel strike.
Causes: Faulty foot biomechanics and improper stretching, resulting in inflammation of the calf tendon.
Treatment: Ice, calf stretches, run for shorter distances, Active Release Therapy®; custom orthotics may help.
Sprain/Strain Injury
Sprain is a stretch of the ligaments; most common cause is rolling onto outside of ankle (Inversion Sprain).
Strain is a tear of the muscle tissue, commonly in runners' hamstring and calf.
Cause: Trauma, overuse, muscle imbalance, and improper stretching.
Treatment: Ice, no running if acute, gentle stretching, Active Release Therapy® and eventual strengthening exercises.
Piriformis Syndrome
Symptoms: Pain on one side of butt, hip, back of thigh and leg.
Causes: Improper stretching and overuse causing the sciatic nerve to be compressed by the muscle.
Treatment: Stretching exercises, Active Release Therapy® on hip flexors, piriformis, hamstrings. Strengthening exercises.
Low Back Pain
Almost all runners will experience back pain in their lifetime. It is almost always caused by difficulties in body mechanics.
Cause: Inadequate strength, especially in core muscles.
Treatment: Stretching, Active Release Therapy®. Core strengthening exercises.
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