Heather: Did you know that when you're running, you're putting around two to three times your
whole body weight through each individual foot and leg on every single stride? It's
therefore not really much of a surprise that we do get niggles, pains, and injuries from
years of running. We're going to help identify those by covering the more common injuries
as well as bringing you tips on how to limit them.
[music] The ankle sprain. Oh, it's one of the most
common and most frustrating running injuries, because you can simply be running along, minding
your own business, and then suddenly, wham, for no reason, you go over on your ankle.
I could be a curb or something on the road, but sometimes it just happens with nothing
in the way. You will get a sudden shooting pain in your ankle. If you're really unlucky,
you might even hear a popping sound. That's not a good sign.
You'll usually find you'll hop for a little bit, probably a few expletives too before
you can actually work out how severe that is. Basically, you'll have overstretched or
strained all the ligaments and the tendons that surround your ankle. You'll usually find
as though it's on the outside as you roll onto the outside of that ankle. With a little
bit of hopping, you can probably tell if you can put weight on it. If you can, then it's
a good idea to try and walk it out very gently and get back home. If it's more severe, then
you might need to get help. Once you are at home, it's a good idea to
elevate it because the swelling is all going to go down to your ankle, obviously being
at the lowest part of our body, it's going to actually swell quite quickly. If you can,
keep it up as much as you can, and with some intermittent icing, then you'll be able to
work out how bad it is. If it did sound bad, or you can't even touch it, it's worth seeing
an expert. Although when there is so much swelling, they might struggle to actually
see what's happened to start with so you might have to wait a little bit.
Ultimately, we want to prevent an ankle problem in the first place, so that means doing some
proprioceptive work, standing on single leg, and doing some movements maybe even on a wobble
cushion. Also just strengthening the foot in different motions using a TheraBand.
[music] The calf strain or tear is another one of
those very frustrating but very common injuries when it comes to running. It's often felt
in the muscle belly, the fleshy part of the back of your calf in the gastrocnemius, or
sometimes it can be further down towards the Achilles in the soleus muscle. It tends to
appear if you've been doing quite a lot of mileage that you've maybe increased a little
bit too quickly or you've done a really hard session on top of some moles so your body
is under strain. Sometimes it can be a change of footwear that
triggers it or it could even be running on an uneven terrain. I personally had it earlier
this year. That was a result of increasing my mileage at quite a sudden rate and not
doing any strength conditioning to go with it. I learned the hard way. You'll normally
feel it when you contract the calf, but also if you're trying to elongate the muscle.
[music] If there is notable swelling in the area,
it's a good idea to do some intermittent icing on it, but other than that, really you're
going to have to rest. For a mild strain, you should be okay to start running again
in a few days, but obviously, make sure it feels fine. If you've got a bit more of a
tear, then you're going to need weeks, maybe even months, I'm afraid. I would recommend
getting some professional help to help you improve and speed up that recovery process.
I found for mine, I got to a stage where it's pretty much healed, but I had a little bit
of scar tissue and after the amount of foam rolling I did, I couldn't get to the bottom
of it, and I just needed some needles in there. Sometimes, just a couple of trips to the physio
can really make quite a difference. If you are susceptible to getting calf problems,
I'd recommend doing plenty of stretching and strengthening around the area but also addressing
your footwear. Maybe going for something that's got a slightly bigger heel-toe drop.
[music] Oh, the groin strain. Giggles aside, it's
one of those very annoying injuries and it can be picked up from running. It's basically
when you've overworked or strained the adductor muscles, which are those muscles that run
down the inside of your thigh. In team sports, it's a really common injury because you're
constantly changing direction in things such as football. When it comes to running, it
isn't normally too serious, but it can take quite a while to heal. Prevention is obviously
better than cure. This is where you need to make sure that all
of your muscles are firing correctly, especially your glutes because if all the muscles around
your hips aren't quite working in sync, it could be pretty extra strain on those adductor
muscles. Then you've got the infamous runner's knee. This can be general pain around the
knee, but it's usually referring to patellar tendonitis which is an inflammation of the
patellar tendon. The tendon is both below and above your kneecap that basically holding
hold it in place and make sure it tracks in the right direction.
This can get aggravated from a lot of running downhill, doing some heavy squats, or even
walking up and down the stairs. You might notice that it's worse if you've been sitting
down for a long time or generally static, it can feel a little bit stiff, and even a
little bit crunchy sometimes. [music]
This is usually caused by weakness and tightness in the muscles around that area, even as far
away as your glutes. Yes, your glutes basically affect everything, don't they? Closer to your
knee, your VMO, your Vastus Medialis Oblique muscle is quite a key one here. It's that
really small muscle that sits just above and inside of your kneecap. It can be a little
bit lazy to activate. If you are experiencing runner's knee type symptoms or pains, you
need to work on flexibility and also activation of those muscles around the area as well as
I'm afraid, backing off your running for a while.
Yes, you guessed it, but when you do start to return to running injury free, just make
sure you build it in gradually. [music]
Achilles tendinopathy is an aggravation to the Achilles tendon. It's one of those injuries
that can plague runners for years, if it's left ignored, it can actually lead to long
term problems. The Achilles tendon attaches the gastrocnemius and the soleus to big calf
muscles into the heel. When it's put under too much stress, it can become irritated,
which can then lead it to being inflamed. In the long term, it can become thickened.
This often comes about from a lot of hill running, maybe some speed work, and also inadequate
shoes that don't offer that enough support to the area.
It's a tricky one to treat. Initially, when you've got an acute issue of it, you want
to ice it to reduce that inflammation, but then in the long term, it's actually about
strengthening the tendons. You'll need to work on exercising the calves and the tendon
together. Calf raises are usually great for that.
[music] Plantar fasciitis is an overstressing of the
tissues or the fascia, the run underneath the fat, and connects all of those muscles
into the bone. It can be quite a dull pain, or it could be a more acute pain. Some people
feel it in the heels, a slightly odd sensation or it's more general in that arch area. Another
sign is to have excruciating or more significant pain in the mornings when you get up and you
try and walk on your feet. The fascia is naturally tightened overnight, and as you try and stretch
it, it can be really uncomfortable. Initially, you want to reduce that inflammation,
that swelling. Ice, of course, comes in handy but, hey, you can be a little bit more specific
and actually freeze a small water bottle, then you can roll your foot over that. That's
really quite nice and relieving. Once you've got past that acute stage and you want to
just try to stretch out that tissue, a golf ball is brilliant for that.
[music] Shin splints. Yes, it's another one that I've
experienced. It's another very common injury, especially among new runners who suddenly
increase their mileage. It's usually a pain that's felt on the inside lower third of your
shin. It can be a bit of a throbbing or aching in that area and is usually very sensitive
to touch. It's basically a result of the muscles overworking and pulling on the fascia which
attaches them to the bone. It's basically a constant tugging on that bone that in use
to that action. Ice is a good initial treatment here, just
reduce the inflammation that's come up as a result of that, then you need to take a
little bit of rest. It's very much about building up your running very gradually. That's what
I had to do when I first started running. I kept getting shin pains, but you just got
to take it back to basics and let your body adapt as well as doing some strengthening
exercises around the ankle and making sure you've got a nice efficient gear. Also, do
address your trainers as you want to have a nice supportive shoe, and maybe a bit more
cushioning than you're used to. You can even start off by running on a softer
surface such as grass before you really get your body used to running, then you can progress
that onto running on harder surfaces. [music]
Then we've got IT band syndrome, which quite often presents itself as lateral knee pain.
A pain just above and outside of the knee, on the bottom of the IT band. Even sometimes
you can feel it at the hip. It's again another one of those obvious injuries that results
in inflammation at the area. It can be a really nasty one that can sideline runners for weeks
at a time. It comes about quite often from repeatedly running downhill, maybe if you're
running on a camber or doing a track and always running in one direction.
Worn-out shoes can contribute to it as well, and poor running form, which, again, you guessed
it, related back to weak glutes. It's one you really want to try and avoid. For that,
you need to obviously activate all the muscles around the hip. When you do have it, you can
start to work on some massage in that area to try and relieve the IT band. It's one of
those that are open to interpretation because some research says you can't do anything to
the fascia in that area, others say you can. It's about working out what works for you,
but often relieving or releasing those muscles that then feed into the IT band can also help.
I do hope this hasn't put you off running. We're just trying to help you avoid these
potential injuries. If you are unlucky enough to get some sort of niggle that we've covered,
you at least know how to deal with it. I hope you guys have enjoyed this. Give us a like
and do remember you can follow us on our social media channels as well.
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