Common Injuries For Runners And How To Resolve Them
By Chris McCombs
Running is the best natural athletic activity there is. With running, there is no ball to kick, throw, or hit. No basket, no violent collisions with your opponents, no equipment or any bulky padding to wear. No complex rules or regulations. It’s just you, your mind, your body and the landscape. The reward of running is the sense of pride and satisfaction and of course, the time to appreciate the beauty of nature. Yet even the most natural athletic activity that is uncomplicated and that our human body is designed to do can be subjected to a variety of injuries. About 15 percent of patients in Rehabilitation centers have some type of injury or condition from running. These injuries vary from patellar tendonitis, iliotibial band syndrome, plantar fasciitis, patellar tracking problems, low back pain as well as knee and hip degenerative changes. Tendinopathy conditions such as Patellar and Achilles tendonitis are the problems of hard-core runners caused by overuse of knee and ankles from running 5-10 miles per day. New runners are prone to inflammatory problems because their body are not used to this activity. The most common problems are hip bursitis, hamstring muscle strain and plantar fasciitis associated by foot pain. More often than not, these injuries caused by running can be resolved with proper rest and a good workout focusing on strengthening and stretching of the right muscle groups. Unless an injury is from degenerative joint diseases or torn ligaments or something to that nature, the above measures are usually what a runner needs to get back to running again. Rest is often ignored because of its simplicity but it is vital in order to get back to your full strength. Resting for a few days followed with an ice pack and some anti-inflammatory medicines will help calm things down. After that, you need to seek a professional trainer to give you proper recommendations on stretching and strengthening exercises. All of these muscle strengthening exercises and toning assist with shock absorption during an impact. Running causes a lot of wear and tear on your joints and strengthening your hip and knee muscles will help your body accommodate to the normal stresses. Once you learn the stretching and strengthening exercises, it is important to continue them at home. Lastly, do not self-diagnose. There is a different approach to each individual injury as well as a different treatment between inflammatory process vs. degenerative process.
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