RUN: Better, Faster, Longer, Stronger

RUN: Better, Faster, Longer, Stronger

Burton Physio Group are bringing you our latest Blog post about how to stay injury as a recreational runner, RUN: Better, Faster, Longer, Stronger. Do you ever dream of being that runner where every step of every mile is 100% pain free? No aches, no twinges or niggles, no lingering soreness from yesterday’s session. Well, you’re not alone; research shows that as many as 79% of all runners get injured at least once during the year. Have a think about that number for a moment; nearly 8 out of every 10 runners you see at your next race or event have been or will be injured at some point that year. If you need are suffering with an injury, then take a look at how we can help here https://burtonphysiogroup.com/what-we-treat/

Think of running pains in terms of a spectrum. At one end you have the most severe, full-blown injuries, we’ll name that the red zone. This will include stress fractures that require down time to rest. The other end of the spectrum, where you’re in top form, is the green zone. Mild, transient aches that bug you one day and disappear the next sit closer to the green end. Unfortunately though, many runners will get stuck in the middle of the spectrum. Not-quite-injured but not-quite-healthy either. This is the yellow zone. Your ability to stay in the green zone depends largely on how you react to that first stab of pain. Often a little rest now, or reduction in training mileage and intensity, with some treatment, can prevent a lot of time off later down the line. Developing a proactive long-term injury-prevention strategy, such as strength training, stretching, regular massage and foam-rolling can really help to keep you in the ‘green.’ Physiotherapy is a lot like homework, not all of us like having to do it, but if you don’t do it, you’re bound to get into trouble at some stage! You can find more information and exercise leaflets for injury prevention at the link below in the text.

So, What Causes Running Injuries?

There are a lot of theories as to what causes running injury but it seems the answer is fairly obvious: running! Research has stated that “running practice is a necessary cause for RRI (Running Related Injury) and, in fact, the only necessary cause.” With running being the key risk factor for running injuries what other factors influence risk? Historically a lot of emphasis was placed on intrinsic factors like leg length discrepancy, pronation (flat foot), high arches, genu valgus/varum (knock knee or bow legged) and extrinsic factors like ‘special’ running shoes being stability shoes or anti-pronation shoes, lack of stretching. However, recent studies have shown that there is no one specific risk factor that has a direct cause-effect relationship with injury rate or injury prevention. Whilst a thorough warm up, wearing compression garments, acupuncture and massage have some evidence in reducing injury rates it is all a little grey. Leaving you with a multifactorial buffet of probable contributing causes to running injuries.

There is however one specific factor that has been proven, and that is training error. Estimates suggest that anywhere from 60 to as much as 80% of running injuries are due to training errors. Runners become injured when they exceed their tissues capacity to tolerate load. A combination of overloading with inadequate recovery time. Poorly perfused tissues, such as ligaments, tendons and cartilage, are particularly at risk because they adapt more slowly than muscles to increased mechanical load.

Factors that affect how much training load a runner can tolerate before injury will also have a role. There are 2 key factors that appear to play a part in this – Body Mass Index (BMI > 25) and history of previous injury, especially in the last 12 months. While high BMI and previous injury may reduce the amount of running your body can manage, strength and conditioning is likely to increase it. There is a growing body of evidence supporting the use of strength training to reduce injury risk and improve performance. Training error and injury risk share a complex relationship – it may not be that total running mileage on its own is key but how quickly this increases, hill and speed training. The old saying of “too much, too soon” is probably quite accurate. Injury prevention is really a ‘mirror image’ of the causes of an injury. So, if you understand the primary reasons for getting injured then you are heading in the right direction to staying healthy this running season. You can find out more on injury prevention, with recommended exercise leaflets, at the following link.

We have produced a series of prevention and treatment guides for the 6 most common running injuries which you can download here https://cokinetic-production.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/2019/01/14/48b22bef40b3e857df0cc11016338dabe8fbda4d.pdf

What are The Most Common Injuries to be Aware of?

Body tissues such as muscles and tendons are continuously stressed and repaired on a daily basis, as a result of both ‘normal’ functional activities and sport. An overuse injury often occurs when a specific tissue fails to repair in the time available, begins to breakdown initially at microscopic level and then over time develops into a true injury. So, the first time you feel a soreness, a stiffness or a pain is not necessarily when it all began.

The most common injury is ‘runners knee’ or patellofemoral pain syndrome and accounts for over 40% of running injuries. This is followed closely by plantar fasciitis, achilles tendinopathy and then ITB (iliotibial band syndrome), shin splints and hamstring strain. These injuries generally need complete rest or at least a reduction in training volume and intensity. Followed by physical therapy to promote tissue healing and mobility. Although these are overuse injuries there is frequently an underlying muscle weakness and/or flexibility issue that needs to be addressed with specific rehabilitation exercises. Follow this link to find more specific information about each of the most common running injuries with specific rehabilitation leaflets for you to use.

You can find our prevention and treatment guides for the following running injuries at this link: https://app.co-kinetic.com/success-page/dont-run-into-trouble-a-content-marketing-campaign-for-therapists?userId=9929

  1. Medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints)
  2. Patellofemoral pain (runner’s knee)
  3. Achilles tendinopathy
  4. Plantar fasciitis
  5. Hamstring strains
  6. Iliotibial band syndrome

While guidance can be given, it is general in its nature, whereas individual complaints may need individual attention. If you do pick up an injury (including ‘tightness’ ‘irritation’ or ‘niggle’) that you’re worried about then we can help, the sooner it’s treated the better. So, don’t delay in getting in touch!

https://burtonphysiogroup.com/what-we-treat/