Runners often experience injuries of varying severity. Learn about the most common ones and how to avoid them. There is no sport in which it would be impossible to get injured. Running is no exception. There are statistics that about 80% of athletes who go in for jogging are injured every year. Most often this is due to high loads. Today we will tell you about the most common running injuries.
Types of injuries
Knee injury
If you feel pain in the patella area, then you may have chondromalacia of the knee. The cause of this injury lies in the constant shock load on the knee, which occurs when exercising on the asphalt surface, muscle imbalance, weak muscles of the thigh. To avoid this injury, you must run on level ground and natural surfaces. To avoid pain, you can reduce your mileage, use an elastic bandage, and start taking anti-inflammatory drugs.
Achilles tendon injuries
The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the heel bone. Various factors can cause the inflammatory process, for example, a sharp increase in mileage, flat feet or uncomfortable shoes.
To prevent the Achilles tendon from becoming inflamed, you should pay special attention to the choice of athletic shoes, after jogging, be sure to stretch the calf muscle.
Plantar fasciitis injury
This injury may result from a ruptured plantar aponeurosis or an inflammatory process. The main risk for fosciitis is uncomfortable footwear and shock loading during running. A symptom of the disease is a stabbing pain in the heel area.
By using special sports shoes, scented insoles, and foot massage, you will significantly reduce the likelihood of developing the disease.
Injured Shin Split
Almost all experienced runners have faced this problem. The disease is caused by inflammation of the tendons and muscles located on the tibia. If the symptoms of a split leg appear, then it is necessary to immediately relieve the pain. To reduce swelling, ice should be applied for 15 to 20 minutes and your legs should be raised.
Preventing a split shin is much more difficult. However, scientists believe that cushioning insoles that support the arch of the foot can help with this. Also, you should only run in comfortable shoes and on natural surfaces. It is also advisable to avoid rough terrain, as when running up hills an additional load is created on the lower leg.
Injury of the iliotibial tract
All stayers should remember not to joke about this injury. It is accompanied by pain in the outer region of the knee joint and just above it. The cause of the injury is inflammation of the massive tendon, which starts from the tibia and then stretches to the pelvic bones. This tendon can be damaged by cross-country running, spikes in mileage, and underdeveloped hip muscles. Massage and stretching exercises should be used to prevent injury.
Traumatic stress fracture
As strange as it may sound, runners can also get fractured. A stress fracture is a microcrack in the bone. Most often, they are caused by a daily high load.
To avoid stress fractures, pause in training. Also, the injury can become very serious if you do not take immediate measures to treat it. It may even require surgery.
Patellar tendonitis injury
This injury is also called the "jumper's knee", although it is quite common among runners. Tendinitis can develop against the background of strong loads, leading to micro-rupture of the patellar tendons. Frequent uphill running and overtraining are the main causes of this injury.
To prevent tendonitis, you should strengthen the muscles of the back of the thigh, as well as the quadriceps. If you feel pain, then you need to apply ice.
Traumatic ankle sprain
If the ankle joint is turned inward or outward, while stretching the ligaments, then severe pain occurs. Just a bad landing is enough for a stretch to occur. When injured, the leg needs rest. You can also use a variety of ankle braces and braces. After resuming training sessions, an elastic bandage should be used to prevent recurrence of the injury.
Traumatic muscle strain
Under high loads, tendons can rupture, which will stretch the muscles. Among the main reasons for these injuries are stressful loads, lack of warm-up before the race and stiffness. If the pain persists, then it is necessary to provide the body with rest.
How to prevent injury?
If you carefully read the descriptions of common running injuries, you probably noticed that very often they can occur with a sharp increase in mileage and the absence of warm-up exercises. Do not increase the distance of the race by more than 10% during the week. Well, it's hard to say anything more about the warm-up. In any sport, before starting a training session, the muscles should be prepared for it.
The same can be said for technology. Very often it is technically incorrect running that leads to injury. Only at first glance it may seem that running is very simple. However, it is not. Much attention should be paid to the choice of sports shoes. It is recommended to change sneakers after every thousand kilometers.
Cross-country running is very traumatic. Try to choose flat terrain with natural turf. If there is no park area near you, then you can run on asphalt, but for this you should buy special sneakers with a shock-absorbing sole. Almost all common running injuries are caused by the athletes themselves. Dose the load and let the body rest. So you will insure yourself against a lot of troubles.
The five most common runner injuries and how to prevent them in this video:
