Forums >General Running>Is injury inevitable?
tenacity
I've begun to worry about what kinds of injuries to expect in the build-up to Western States 100 (and Eugene Marathon).
I've been getting slight warnings from my left knee.
I'm looking for insight on how to train and race without injury and surgeries.
I'm not injured yet, but don't want to be (and don't want to be saying later on "... if only I would have..." Food for thought, Gary
Feeling the growl again
Injury is always a risk, however inevitable is a strong word. Some people are more injury-prone that others. I know people who are down half the time with injuries....I can count the physical running-related injuries that have cost me running time over the past 20 years on one hand.
What is inevitable is things getting sore or achy now and again as your body adapts. Most of those things I would not call injuries. I've often been fearful something would turn into an overt injury then it just goes away in a few days.
On a long enough timeframe, I'm sure everyone does have some sort of injury from running, I guess. Of course if you stay on the couch you'd have a heart attack so there's that.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
I've begun to worry about what kinds of injuries to expect in the build-up to Western States 100 (and Eugene Marathon). I've been getting slight warnings from my left knee. I'm looking for insight on how to train and race without injury and surgeries. I'm not injured yet, but don't want to be (and don't want to be saying later on "... if only I would have..." Food for thought, Gary
No, it's not inevitable. However, it seems that you are already experiencing "slight warning sign"??? If you ignore that, it could become inevitable. Running won't injure you. You ignoring those warning signals will.
I guess that's the tough part- being patient through the adaptations. I'm always wanting a certain level of fitness but trying to get it too quickly can keep one from making it to the starting line in a healthy way.
I hear you.
Hey, check this out.
"If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus
Yes. People who can't get past the impatience typically don't have a good long-term trajectory in this sport. Hang in there. WS100 will be an awesome experience for you.
One good thing about injury is you can learn to better understand those aches and pains so you can avoid future mishaps.
#artbydmcbride
When I first started running I was so fired up that I went to the bookstore to find everything I could about running well. I found 3 full shelves of books dedicated to running.....injuries! And a few books on how to run. That pretty much prepared me for the next few years of groin pulls, sore shins, blisters, IT band soreness, etc. etc.
Runners run
That pretty much prepared me for the next few years of groin pulls, sore shins, blisters, IT band soreness, etc. etc.
Yup...I went through all the normal shin splints and IBS when I started, I was just too young and stupid to stop (no-pain-no-gain mentality).
Then ~18 years of injury-free running with the exception of a torn hammy at the worst possible point in time.
Now I'm going down the other side....>1 year with PF though it is now nothing more than an occasional dull ache that reminds me I am gettting old and need to wear special shoes.
I began running not quite 5 years ago, and have dealt with the ITB, Achilles, and PF (still mild) pains... the knee, while not bad yet, makes me nervous.
I know a handful of people who've had surgeries on the knees to keep them going, and don't really want to go there.
I'd rather err on the side of caution when it comes to the knee so am trying to focus on form for now. Lacking experience, I think I've got more ambition than intelligence.
Biomimeticist
there are a number of injuries you can expect training for any event, those are simply the risks you take when you decide to take up any sport.
Given that 70% of runners are expected at any point in a given year to stop training due to injuries, means typically that its a case of when, not if....
That said, with knees, its usually in your dominant (are you left or right handed) knee that pain is most likely to stop your training. With ankles and shin splints, its usually an issue for your weaker leg. Side dominance is biological reality, and is fully dependent on the strength differential between both sides of your body. Known as dominance symmetry, its one very few runners take into consideration in training.
That you're already getting pain messages in your left knee is the red flag I read into your question. Are you right handed?
What shoes you wear also play a factor in how natural they allow your foot to function. You've got over 200,000 nerve endings in the bottom of your feet, and the more restrictive your shoes are in distortion of your natural movement function, the greater the dysfunction your brain will have in how it controls your physical balance as you run. That disconnect is root to many training issues.
The other is your running history, how you train VS the environment you'll be faciing.
Experts said the world is flat
Experts said that man would never fly
Experts said we'd never go to the moon
Name me one of those "experts"...
History never remembers the name of experts; just the innovators who had the guts to challenge and prove the "experts" wrong
I don't believe I know of a single runner that hasn' t been injured at some point in their running life. The same is true for athletes in any sport for that matter (so it seems). Is it inevitable with running? Probably because most of us will overtrain or not listen to the warning signs at some point. I went 16 years from the age of 15 to 31 before I had my first injury, then spend the next 13 recovering from it.
... That you're already getting pain messages in your left knee is the red flag I read into your question. Are you right handed? ....
...
@ Sport Jester-
Left-handed.
The left knee is what's bugging me (again, not bad yet) and, have dealt with PF in the left foot for about a year,- which probably strengthened my right leg while it was compensating.
What a great question! Is injury inevitable? I'd say that, in the long run (pun intended), it is inevitable. Do you know anyone who has run for a significant amount of time that has not lost training time to running-related injury? I sure don't. Chances are very good that, at some point, we will all be injured.
I think the key is focusing on managing specific race cycles. Right now, you are in a training cycle for WS100. It is certainly NOT inevitable that you will be injured in your buildup to WS100. Listen to and heed the warning signs your body is sending you.
Depends on your goals.
If you want general fitness, and aren't really interested in getting faster or finding your limits, then no. If you're smart, if you listen to your body and learn the signs that you're biting off too much too soon, then no.
If you are impatient, then yes. If you are stubborn and refuse to listen to your body, then yes. If you want to get faster, but have no real plan, then yes.