(slow funk music)
♪ Start it up ♪
- [Presenter] Well the winter is well and truly upon us
at least for some of us out there in certain parts of the
world and with that comes some fairly unique
and treacherous conditions.
We've got slippery surfaces, frozen and harder ground.
We've got the wet weather, and just the general cold.
All of which can contribute to the increased risk
of running injuries and it's really important
to be aware of some of those potential hazards so here
are a number of classic winter running injuries.
Now the first one to be wary of is the strained groin.
Now I know it sounds fairly comical but can actually
be really quite painful and uncomfortable.
Now with the conditions this time of year
being slightly more slippy it can be quite easy
to lose your footing and potentially strain a muscle
particularly in the hip or groin region as
we extend with our foot out back and lose that traction
with that rear foot.
Now I need to listen to my own advice 'cause I actually
slipped on some ice this morning whilst I was out running
but try and stick to some busier, well trodden paths
where potentially the ice would have thawed out a bit more
and well-lit if you are running in the dark
in morning or evening.
Now if you are wanting to venture off-road then try
to wear an off-road specific shoe
or at last a shoe with good tread like these ones here
and that's just going to help with that traction.
And of course you can still slip
so another preventative measure you can make
is actually making sure that your hip and groin region
are nice and flexible and mobile in case that does happen.
But of course if it is that bad that you really
can't run outside there is no shame in resorting to
the treadmill.
Now another that I learnt about really early on
in my running days was to not leave certain areas
of skin exposed, particularly those muscular and
tendony areas such as the achilles or hamstring.
See with them being exposed there's a greater
risk of them being colder, less supple and therefore
greater risk of straining so for that reason I'd always
recommend wearing some longer legs and some longer socks
particularly to cover that achilles area.
But how about blisters?
Now this might not be an obvious injury
but they can certainly hinder or stop a run
and if you're experiencing anything like we are in the UK
at the moment then it's pretty hard to avoid given
that it rains more or less every other day.
Now I've just learnt to accept this with my runs,
that my feet are going to get wet even if I'm running on
the sidewalk or pavement but how you deal with
that is important.
Now I'd really recommend that you wear some
breathable socks and also some well fitting shoes
but if that still isn't enough and you are still
experiencing some rubbing, some blisters or feel
a potential lister coming on then I used to actually
apply Vaseline or petroleum jelly to that problem area
before each of my runs.
(upbeat music)
Oh but what about the old classic the twisted ankle?
Yep we couldn't forget about this one,
this one can be a huge nuisance and incredibly painful
at the time of doing it.
Obviously we can twist our ankle at any time of year
but the winter does bring about a few more risks that we
need to be aware of.
As with the groin, straining that, we've got the slippy,
muddy surfaces which we can lose our footing on
and potentially roll our ankle on.
Also in the winter we could have reduced light
and if you're trying to squeeze your runs in in the morning
or the evening you could be running in the dark.
If that is you I would really recommend investing in
a head torch like this one.
I use this for pretty much all my runs
and I know far too many people that have rolled their
ankle on a stump, a rock, or a hole that they haven't
seen in the dark.
Now another problematic area for some runners can be
their knees, now this tends to be due to a combination
of the harder surfaces, the harder ground, the slippy ground
and even the uneven surfaces.
This can all put additional stress on that knee joint,
the muscles, the ligaments surrounding that.
Now personally speaking, I've actually slipped,
I've rotated and tweaked my knee before in the mud
which really reinforces that need for the appropriate
footwear for the conditions that you're running in
but also making sure that you're well warmed up and the
muscles are ready for that run before you head out.
Now with temperatures plummeting at this time of year
we do tend to find the grass and the mud freezing over
making our normal soft off-road routes actually quite hard,
high-impact and actually putting a lot of stress
up through our lower limbs.
And this can wreak havoc, it can cause issues such as
plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, shin splints
and so on.
So one way of helping prevent this is just making sure
that you're well warmed up prior to your run.
You can also make sure that your shoes aren't
past their sell by date.
Now most brands recommend somewhere between 300 to 500
miles per pair of shoes.
Also make sure that the shoes are correct for your gait
and that they're adequately cushioned for the amount
of running that you're going to be doing or the mileage
that you're planning on doing.
Also, if you do unfortunately encounter some sort of niggle
try and abide by the 48 hour rule minimum.
By that I mean taking 48 hours between each of your runs
so that'll hopefully allow that distress in that lower limb
or that particular area to settle.
Now one we don't think about too often and doesn't really
constitute as an injury is dehydration.
Yep, it's not really an injury but it could certainly lead
to an injury and it is something we don't think about
too often at this time of year when it's cold
and we're in the midst of the winter.
And that is due to our lack of desire to take on fluids
and to hydrate because we're cold
but actually when we're out for a run,
and particularly if we're doing a hard run or a longer run.
We are still sweating and we are still
losing fluids and if we don't replace those fluids
we could potentially be at risk of dehydration.
Particularly if you are out for a rather long run,
that's a long time to be sweating for
and not replacing fluids.
Now with time you can start to reduce and decrease in
performance but also we reduce our ability to make
decisions and if you are out for a long run
well it won't take much for you to start making mistakes
and rolling your ankle so make sure you stay hydrated.
And finally we have frostbite.
Now personally speaking I don't think I've ever been at risk
of frostbite on a run but I've certainly had my eyelashes
freezing over and freezing together but still I think
that's probably fairly far from frostbite.
But for some of you out there frostbite could be
a real potential risk.
But whether you are at risk of frostbite or not
you want to make sure that you're well layered up and
you're keeping warm, in particular your extremities such
as your hands and your head.
That is going to make your running a lot more pleasant
and a lot less dangerous.
Now if you have enjoyed today's video make sure you give
that thumbs up and give this video a like.
If you'd like to see more from GTN you can click on
the globe and subscribe to GTN.
If you'd like to see some winter running mistakes you
can see that by clicking just down here and if you'd
like some advice on shoes and which shoes you should
be running in you can see that by clicking just down here.