Running injury, dealing with it.

 

Injured. I’m sad about it, but not devastated.

This is my second running-related injury.

The first happened after my Berlin solo marathon. We moved back to Boston the week after this super long run and I started pounding the pavement too soon. Does everyone make this mistake after their first marathon? Tired legs combined with terrain and inclines my body wasn’t used to was a recipe for injury. The pain came on fast during a run – I had to hobble and walk back home. It was a strain of sorts that happened on the bottom of my foot and was resolved after a couple weeks of physical therapy and exercises. Shout out to the team at Wellness in Motion.

My recent injury

It’s funny how, when we feel strong and healthy, we push the envelope a little with warm ups, cool downs, and strength exercises. And by “push the envelope,” I mean don’t do them. I know I’m not alone in this. Props to the several runners I know who are adamant about warm ups and recovery.

Flashing back to a Saturday long run (1.5 weeks ago), I didn’t warm up before heading out. It was a little cold and rainy at the start, but I knew I’d warm up fast with the humidity. On group runs, I always run faster and often farther than what I had planned. When you have people around you, it’s easier to push out of your comfort zone.

This injury felt a little different than the last one. It started to materialize a couple of hours after the run. It started in my second toe – feeling like a toe cramp. For a couple of hours, it felt like I needed to crack my toe. Later in the day, the pain moved to the top of my foot and sat there. It was painful, but felt like something that might work itself out.

I ran Monday. I ran Tuesday. Wednesday… I was in physical therapy.

There’s still a little mystery in what the actual injury is. Feels like we’ve ruled out a stress fracture thanks to a few ultrasound therapy sessions. It’s possible that it’s extensor tendinitis. There’s also a chance that something else involving the tissue on top of the foot. Either way, the recipe for recovery: R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation), exercises to keep my running muscles engaged, and working on range of motion through the foot and toes. It’s been 1 week of rest so far and I’m hoping to feel more mobile and at least get out for walks in another week (TG I can cycle). If I could start running again by July, that would be best case scenario for me with the Berlin Marathon looming. Stay tuned.

Injuries are (very) common in runners

Here’s what you need to know about running injuries:

  • 70-80% of runners experience a minor to major running-related injury

  • 90% of those injuries are due to overuse

We’re in good company, right?! Ha! Personally, I don’t want to be a part of the Sad Injured Runners Club. When we run, the force of our foot hitting the ground is 3-4 times our body weight. To compare, the force when we walk is 1-1.5 times our body weight. That amount of impact in not-so-great conditions can lead to overuse injuries. Some common running injuries you may experience are:

  • shin splints

  • runner's knee

  • stress fracture (hopefully not!)

  • ankle sprain

  • plantar fasciitis

  • ITBS

How to avoid injuries for runners

If you want to avoid an injury, I can’t recommend warm ups, cool downs, and strength workouts enough. You don’t need to run every day to be a great runner. Supplement this modality with other forms of movement – weekly strength and daily recovery – to strengthen those running muscles.

Here are some key think about:

  1. Reducing delay: When you run, the foot strikes the ground and sends vibrations through the muscles and tissues. The soft tissue doesn’t like to vibrate, so isometric contraction happens in supporting muscles and tendons. To keep it simple, this contraction happens as the body anticipates the foot hitting the ground, storing up some energy (in the connective tissue in the achilles tendon) and allowing you to catapult forward with each step. Sometimes, wearing shoes with too much cushion (for your body) reduces the vibrations and therefore the body’s fast twitch response time (i.e. less stored energy and catapult effect). Doing barefoot exercises before heading out for a run can help. Also, make sure you are fitted for the right shoes (by a pro). The right shoes should feel great and don’t need to be the trendiest ones out there.

  2. Increasing control: To feel more in control when you run, focus on things like wearing the right footwear, your strike pattern, ankle dorsiflexion, stride length, and which surfaces you’re running on. RE that last one: Your body needs time to adapt to new surfaces, so if you don’t normally run on a track, the road, or the treadmill, make sure you build up to running long on those surfaces just like you would building up to a race. If you have the means and access, go see a physical therapist (Rose City Track folks, go see Vince at North Lake Physical Therapy!). They can help by doing a run assessment to understand your body mechanics and give you exercises to focus on.

  3. Not running (too) fatigued: The body’s natural inflammation cycle is 48 hours. If you’re sore or achy, give your body 48 hours to rest and recover. This is a great time to try other modalities that support your running (strength, yoga, etc.). Of course, sometimes we do want to train on tired legs to prime our body for long or difficult races… but we don’t want to hurt when we run.

Exercises to reduce likelihood of running injuries

We’ve touched on a lot of this already: yoga, strength, stretching, recovery exercises… all of these help make you a stronger and less injury-prone runner.

I also love supplementing my running with Peloton classes, Range by Kara Duval, and yoga flows with all of y’all. Once my foot is feeling a little better, let’s meet online for a class.

 
Emily Gokita