How To Prevent The Most Common Injuries In Runners

Author: Alan Rada

What if I tell you that feeling a single tinny discomfort when running, may cost you your career, whether you are a professional runner or just run occasionally?

So, let's see what the most common injuries are, mainly among runners, although other athletes can be affected, if they use their lower extremities as a resource to practice other sports such as cycling, skating, soccer or even NFL. One of the injuries listed below for a college football player, can make him lose the chance to be drafted from the NCAAF betting picks.

If you are not a frequent runner, if you do not know how to take care of certain misfortunes, it is possible that it will harm when you go to work, taking a walk or even riding a bicycle.

But what if you are an experienced athlete? It is assumed that you know how to take care of the injuries that afflict those who follow this sport discipline. Many have very strict training plans in which a medical corps or other assistance is involved.

The truth is that no one is free to suffer any injury, either by training or pursuing your goals, if you know what we mean. Sometimes, these types of situations not only occur when we do something wrong, but we are always exposed to external factors that can harm us, whether running a marathon, sprinting, or even walking on roller skates.

We know that, especially when the warmer climates are approaching, innumerable running fans go out to take the running paths or parks of the city, without knowing that even running is an art. The “machine” that is your body has to be in an optimal state to reach this type of goals since they require a particular physical effort.

Let's review some of the most common injuries in this kind of sports and how to prevent or correct these types of upsets.

Tendonitis

This type of trauma that is very common in runners is the iliotibial band syndrome or commonly known as “runner's knee“. The iliotibial band is a tissue made up of fibers and which is superimposed on the outer part of the thigh. This band and the femoral condyle generate extreme friction, producing inflammation of the tissue.

The most common thing is that the runners stretch just for doing it, which is not bad, but many runners have no idea how to do it, much less know what the iliotibial band is.

Tip: specifically stretch the iliotibial band.

Another type of tendinitis very common in runners is Achilles tendonitis. It produces intense pain in the middle third of this valuable tendon. In this case, to prevent it from getting worse once it is felt, you must stretch the calf muscles very well, both twins with the soleus muscle.

Tip: before the appearance of pain in Achilles heel, it is best to stop running and elongate with caution.

Low back pain

When we run, the impact maintained in the time we produce with each of our steps can cause back pain, although it is mostly related to individual circumstances.

Check with your doctor to see what you can do to relieve this type of ailments.

However, keeping the body toned and relatively flexible, at least for this type of sports, accompanied by a good diet, followed by a good rest are the best options to avoid back pain.

Tip: Strengthen the core of your body with localized exercises. If in pain, again, stop, treat, and control. It prevents it from becoming chronic pain.

Osteoarthritis

This condition affects the cartilages of our body although they are quite strong, just when they weaken, they cause pain. It should be noted that the cartilaginous tissues, not having nerve endings, do not cause pain. They are the other contiguous tissues that are affected by the degeneration of the articular cartilage. In some cases, this degradation can be treated with physiotherapy, medication or surgeries.

Tips: Avoid walking on uneven terrain, standing for long periods and lifting excessive weights.

Overweight

Finally, we have the controversial overweight that unfortunately worsens the general state of the body. Although it is said “full belly, happy heart“, we must take certain precautions at the time of running to avoid injuring ourselves.

Osteoarthritis of the knee is by far the most ailments to people with overweight due to the overload that the knees suffer. This type of state can condition us in our day-to-day life.

Tip: Always practice some kind of sport to educate the body healthily and above all, control your diet, you do not have to eat less, but better. The worst thing is to not know how to handle the balance of healthy life with a not so healthy one.

To sum up, although some people are capable of doing anything or practicing all kinds of activities, we should never underestimate our health facing adverse conditions, as these may condition us to lead a full, healthy and happy life. Keep running!

Tags: achilles tendonitis runners, injury prevention running, runner's knee, running injuries