Preventing Running Injuries

This past fall, UI Sports Medicine offered a free public symposium with:

• Alberto Salazar, winner of three consecutive New York City Marathons
• Stan James, MD, an orthopaedist who works with many world-class runners
• Dick Evans, P.T., from UI Sport Medicine

Even with great form, many running injuries result from a training error. To avoid them, follow these simple tips.

• Work into a running program gradually. Slowly increase the intensity and duration of workouts. Running hard and long every day may lead to injury.
• Use cross-training to rest your body while still maintaining cardiovascular fitness. Consider water running, biking, gliders, and rowing machines to name a few.
• Take care of minor injuries be-fore they get to be big ones. If a minor injury occurs while working through your running program, identify it early and make adjustments. Be proactive. Icing and stretching may assist in healing.
• Work on strength and flexibility to assure that you run injury-free. Common stretching exercises should include the following muscle groups: quads, hamstrings, calf, and the arch of your foot. Stretch before and after a workout and a use a 15- to 20-second hold time (don't bounce).
• Add strengthening exercises. Common ones include toe raises, shallow partial squats, lateral step-ups, hip abductor, and core strengthening exercises. Balance exercise is also important and frequently overlooked. It is better to do a few exercises correctly instead of a lot of exercises incorrectly.

Sports medicine specialists can evaluate a runner and observe ways to improve running form. They can make recommendations related to flexibility, strength, shoe wear, or the need for an orthotic device to promote a mechanically balanced foot. They can also deal with injuries if they occur.