The Basics: Tips & Tricks for Preventing Injury & Maximizing Recovery
When it comes to running, there’s nothing more important than preventing injury. While running is generally a healthy and safe activity, just like with everything, there are some risks. Nipping the problems that may arise in the bud and safely continuing your training is what allows you to keep making consistent progress towards your goals. When, for whatever reason, an injury appears despite your best efforts, the next best thing is to maximize the effectiveness of your recovery. The sooner you can get back on track without risking further injury, the better.
Written by Lucas Collins
Edited by Pavlína Marek
1. Warm up, Cool down
Cooling down is equally important. Gradually reducing activity intensity instead of instantly stopping allows the heart rate and blood pressure to return to normal levels while decreasing muscle stiffness. After that, static stretching like toe touches and calf stretches will further relax muscles and reduce the chance of any lingering tightness in the area.
2. Strong Muscles are Healthy Muscles
Strength training is essential for developing muscular stability and resilience for your runs. Weak or imbalanced muscles are more prone to injury, especially in weight-bearing joints like the knees and hips. Strengthening key stabilizing muscles like your core, glutes, and quadriceps will not only keep you safer, it will improve your running too! Try:
- Squats – Great for your quads, glutes, and hamstrings
- Deadlifts – Also a good way to work your quads and glutes. It targets lower back muscles as well to balance out your work with your core.
- Planks – The core exercise with a reputation! You can do side variations to target different muscle groups around your core more directly.
- Leg Extensions – This isolates and is primarily a workout for your quads.
- Leg Curls – The inverse of the leg extensions, this one focuses on your hamstrings.
3. Listen to Your Body and Avoid Overtraining!
Ignoring early signs of discomfort or fatigue can lead to chronic injuries such as stress fractures, tendinitis, and ligament tears. Always pay attention to what your body is telling you; the signs it sends you will help you with preventing injuries. Over time, you’ll be able to recognize general fatigue and feel-good post-workout stiffness from pain that is dangerous.
Overtraining syndrome, characterized by persistent fatigue, decreased performance, and increased injury susceptibility, occurs when the body doesn’t receive adequate rest and recovery. Even if you aren’t a professional athlete, you should also watch out for symptoms of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (especially if you run to lose weight).
4. Recover Well
Sleep is a powerful recovery tool that enhances muscle repair and lets you be more ready for the next day’s run. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night, so that you can enter deep sleep cycles where the body undergoes the most repair.
- Protein (legumes, chicken, fish, eggs) will allow your body to repair and grow muscle.
- Healthy fats (avocados, nuts, olive oil) will help combat inflammation.
- Antioxidant-rich foods (berries, leafy greens) will boost your immune system.
- Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium) will restore your body’s hydration levels.
Hydration is even more important, as dehydration impairs everything from circulation to muscle function. Drinking enough water after working out and throughout the day ensures your body can do basically everything it needs to do to run, repair, and let you focus on your training.
5. Seek Professional Treatment When Necessary
If an injury persists or worsens despite caution and self-care, it might be time to contact a professional. They’ll be able to better assess what is going on more accurately, and in doing so how to best assist your recovery in ways you might not have realized. While no one wants to contact a doctor for a running injury, it’s often the best long-term move when it comes to getting you back out on the trail and working towards your goals as quickly as possible.
Conclusion
Don’t let a huge ‘to-do’ list of things scare you into thinking injury prevention is complicated, or that recovery is doomed if you miss step No.84 and now you’ll never run a marathon. Everything here can be done one at a time, ignored completely, or altered to fit your needs. Listen to what your body is telling you and keep working towards your marathon goals with the thought of injury (hopefully) tucked a little further back in your mind.