How Can You Help Prevent Running Injuries?
Written by Kameron Harder PT, DPT, OCS
If you’re a runner, you’ve probably experienced at least one running-related injury over your career. They are common and even inevitable depending on your running style and training. Basically, the more you run, the more susceptible you become to a running injury and the more you have to do to keep them away.
Why does running cause injuries?
Running can cause injuries for a lot of different reasons. From biomechanics, strength and mobility to nutrition, stress and overtraining, injuries tend to be multifaceted and can be addressed on a lot of different levels. These different aspects are often overlooked when someone is trying to improve their running performance and athletes can fall into the misguided belief that all you have to do is run a lot more to get better at running – which only predisposes athletes to MORE injuries. This is because our bodies generally have a certain capacity for load/force. The more we run, the more we approach that capacity and once we exceed that capacity, we get an injury or pain.
There is good news though, the body is incredibly adaptable and this capacity can be increased with the right tools and training perspective.
So, then, what can you do?
First, it’s essential to be very intentional with all your training. This means progressing your volume and intensity of running very methodically.
When in doubt, you can follow the 10% rule, which states that you should not increase your weekly volume or intensity by more than 10% of the previous week. This rule isn’t always applicable, though, especially in very low volumes and very high volumes of running.
For example, someone running 10 miles a week is allowed to progress more than one mile the next week (>10%) and someone running 80 miles a week should not progress to 88 miles the next week (<10%). Running progression and resilience is all about musculoskeletal adaptations.
You need to give your body the right stimulus to be able to tolerate progressions in running and adequately adapt in order to avoid an injury. If you are uncertain of how to progress training volume and intensity for your specific needs, I’d recommend finding a coach. They are trained, skilled, and experienced with this facet of running.
As much as training volume and intensity have a significant role in injuries, so do strength and performance training.
As I mentioned earlier, we can adapt and improve our body’s tolerance for force going through it. Generally, the concept of stress adaptation is derived from Wolff’s Law - which states that bones under the right stress will improve in strength and bones under insufficient stress will reduce in strength (basically the use it or lose it law). These concepts are also true for other tissues in the body. If we put our bodies under the proper stressors, we will adapt – have a higher capacity for stress, have a higher pain threshold, and our body will hold up better biomechanically as it fatigues.
Not sure where to start? A good starting place (and ending place) is working on heavy lifting, plyometric/jumping, single-leg balance, and a good foundation of core/trunk exercises.
Heavy lifting is good for creating those musculoskeletal adaptations, plyometric/jumping is good for stimulating the force absorption and release component of running, single-leg balance mimics being on one leg when running (which is 100% of the time on the ground), and core/trunk work helps create a strong foundation for the rest of your body to work from.
Now that you know the why, here are some great bang-for-your-buck exercises to give a try to help reduce your risk of injury and perform strongly this running season:
Squats
(use challenging weight for 3 sets of 8-12 reps)
4-way Single Leg Square Jump
(jump through 4 points making a square until fatigue x 3 sets each leg)
Deadlifts
(Keep back straight, use challenging weight for 3 sets of 8-12 reps)
3-way Single Leg Hip Hinge
(Stand on one leg and hinge in front of you and to each side at an angle x 15 each way)
Weighted Calf Raises
(Stand on one leg, hold weight on same side for 3 sets of 8-12 reps)
Step Up/downs
(use moderate height box, step up and slowly lower self down to same position, use alternating arm/leg for 3 sets of 8-12 reps)
Lateral Band Walks
(Band around ankle, keep upper body and shoulders from swaying, walk side to side, 30 steps each way)
Single Arm Farmer Carry
(Hold weight on one side, keep trunks straight, walk 3 sets of 1 minute on each side)
4-way Plank Leg Lifts
(Plank position with leg lifts forward, each side and backward x 20-30 on each leg, each position)
Leg Lowers Alternating
(keep back flat on ground, slowly lower one leg as you raise the other x 20-30 each leg)
Keep in mind, these don’t need to be done every day or all at the same time. The goal is to get into a rhythm of strength training where each of these is consistently cycled through. As you begin to implement these different strength and endurance exercises into your program, you'll gradually start reducing your risk of getting injured while running AND you'll begin to perform stronger during training and races.
As runners, we love what we do. Being sidelined by an injury can take a huge mental and physical toll, so now is the time to build yourself up so you can have a strong and healthy running season!
Are you experiencing a running-related injury? Contact Kameron Harder of Ridge Athletics to schedule a consultation today