If you are looking at this article thinking, this is not for me, please do have a read; much of the content is relevant to many sports and to all those who exercise.
An orthopaedic surgeon told me during my osteopathic training that sport is bad for you but exercise good for you! So why is this? Well, sport, unlike exercise, involves competition and drive. Sportspeople push themselves to be faster, higher and stronger and this can lead to injury.
I am writing this article because so many of us took up running during the pandemic and, in the next couple of months, numerous previously cancelled events such as October’s London Marathon will be taking place. I am not going to talk about specific injury but shall concentrate on how to avoid a range of injuries. If you have a particular injury worry please call Walnut Grove, we can help.
Running shoes – the first thing to consider
Shoe choice is a real minefield and, crucially, very individual. There is a mass of research out there but more recent work suggests, unsurprisingly, that the best shoes are those which are most comfortable. There are some good tips to help you find the most comfy pair of shoes.
- Have a good shoe fitting at a shop with a treadmill and video facilities.
- If you are heavy, inexperienced, run long distances, run on hard surfaces or are relatively slow paced then please do not aim for a light weight ‘racing flat’. Look instead for a well-cushioned shoe with a drop between the heel and forefoot of at least 6mm.
- If you have wide feet aim for a brand with a wider ‘last’ such as Asics or look for a brand that does a wide fit. If you have narrow feet look at adidas.
- If you run on the road then aim for more cushioning than if you run off road.
- If you want to aim for a minimal shoe (less height difference between heel and forefoot, mimicking a more barefoot style) then do it slowly over many months to avoid injury.
- If you know you have roll in (pronation) or roll out (supination) foot problems certain shoes can help. If you are unsure, come and be examined at Walnut Grove and we can give you advice.
Once you have your shoes remember that lacing is important. Do not use elastic laces for training. These are fine for a triathlon when you need to put your shoes on quickly but a race is shorter than training. Always take the time to do up your laces properly. The shoes are designed with struts for the lace holes which should be used to get the laces tight in order to support the foot.
If you are racing it is fine to use a racing flat or a carbon shoe but please be aware that such shoes do not give you good support or cushioning so you might want to consider the terrain for suitability. The aim of a carbon fibre plate in athletic shoes is to improve energy return, particularly at the “toe-off”, where an athlete’s toe pushes off the ground. The stiffness of carbon plate shoes, however, renders them much less forgiving on uneven ground. You will need to wear them in and get accustomed to them but that does not mean wearing them for whole training sessions.
It is important not to let your running shoes get too worn. If you are average weight and averagely wear your shoes then your shoes should last for 450-500 miles or 6 months whichever comes soonest. If your shoes are any older then use them for shopping or low impact in the gym.
The terrain is what the shoe contacts and research demonstrates a relatively weak link between terrain and injury. This really surprises me as pounding on tarmac would logically seem more damaging than running on softer forest trails. If there is a difference, however, it is limited so I suggest that you concentrate on running where it is safe and easy to do so and worry less about the terrain.
Running training
Training consists of warm up, the main event and then the cool down.
In my experience, most people warm up and most amateurs never cool down!
A warm up should be dynamic to encourage blood flow and prepare the tissues for activity. You should start slowly and build up. Static stretches should not be used in the warm up; they are shown to increase injury.
The cool down also needs to keep the blood flow moving to aid healing and growth. Try a gentle jog to achieve this whilst slowing the heart rate. Static stretches may form part of the cool down although there is little evidence in the literature for stretching. Concentrate on the main muscle groups and hold the stretches for around 12-15 seconds maybe once or twice.
Personally, I think stretching is most usefully completed in a separate session. You could try yoga or introduce a 20 – 30 minute stretch session one or twice a week to help keep muscles that are short from getting shorter. At this point it is also important to mention strength and conditioning. Again this should be undertaken in one or two separate sessions to improve strength, balance and proprioception, all of which are critical to reducing injury and increasing performance. We run Pilates at Walnut Grove and F2, located upstairs from the WG studio, is a great place for suspension training which I like to describe as Pilates on steroids!
Training can be categorised in three ways: frequency (how often you do it), duration (how long you do it for) and intensity (the effort you put in). I have a simple rule; do not increase more than one of these factors, at any one time. If, for example, you want to increase your distance by making a run longer do not also add in an extra run. In fact, it may be advisable to drop one run for a week or two so that you are doing the same mileage but with one longer run. When you are accustomed to this, you can return the dropped run to your regime.
This is not rocket science but please remember that it is better to miss a session if, for example, you are a bit stiff or have a cold coming than it is to run tired and get injured. An injury can result in 6 weeks off training and that is if you are lucky! For those of you with long-term injuries such as plantar fasciitis or tendonopathies that are often resistant to recovery we do have a shockwave machine, which may be able to break the injury cycle and start the healing process.
Ice or heat?
This is where, even amongst the practitioners at Walnut Grove, you will find differences of opinion. Personally I advocate heat; a hot shower or bath can really promote blood flow and healing.
Enjoy your running and the team at Walnut Grove hope you achieve your goals. Please remember if you have a problem give us a call, sooner rather than later, even if it is just for advice; we can really improve your recovery time.
