Tell us about your first running injury (Read 808 times)

I was training for my second marathon and had a few weeks where I added miles and increased intensity at the same time. I had some tearing in my peroneal tibial in th arch of my foot. Took some time off, my feet would really hurt after running. I went to podiatrist who gave me cushion inserts and got through my marathon training. The doc talked me into orthotics that ended up giving me tendonities of every kind. Don't assume a doctor's advice is good advice. If you injure something, you need to let it heal, and then you need to strengthen it agian. I should have just used the cushion inserts through the marathon, then done feet exercises to get them strong again. I didn't need the orthotics. Those couple weeks of fast running were not worth it. The cardio gets in better shape before all the little tendons.

I am still involved with my worst injury, sciatic nerve-PF joint problems. Some days I can run a couple of mile ok, other days not. Thank God I can still cylce. Stretching does seem to help some. I have dealt with foot problems, ITBS and runners knee, but this hip thing is the worst.

1) Epiphysitis (not sure of the spelling) 2)Knee pain from being a pronator 1) I have been running since I was 13yo. In high school I joined the track team but soon started having incredible hip pain and some days I could barely walk. Instead of going to my first meet I was at the orthopedist. Turns out my hip bones hadn't ossified yet. The x-ray showed a big black swath through was should have been the perfect half moon of the bone right at the top of my lone bone (thigh). The doc said that I couldn't cause any damage by running so I kept running - just very very slowly. I finished the season but put up with a lot of resentment from the other kids who never understood why the coaches kept championing me as outstanding. I got lousy times but the coaches alone knew why everything was a triumph for me. Thinking back, I don't know why I never told anyone but the coaches was was going on. OH, and when my bones did finally HTFU I had grown an inch - a very big deal to a short woman! 2) Skip forward over twenty years and after getting a fellowship in London found myself depressed and running, running all the time (fellowship meant no one was watching what I did all day). My knee began to hurt all the time and I couldn't even walk up the stairs. Went to the orthopedist and well this was my favorite part of the conversation. He explained my pronation was the cause and explained that it meant I ran like a girl (because more women, he said, suffer from pronation - as an anthropologist of gender I hate talk like this as if have a woman's body is somehow not normal). He also said it was degenerative and would only get worse. Thanks to an amazing physical therapist I recovered and can run anything. All I have to do is keep up with the strength training and I am fine. Funny, it wasn't until I had to take 3 months off running that I realized I was a runner. Before that I thought it was just something I did. Once it was gone I realized how big a part of my life and identity running is.

In 2002 I was a new runner, after 14 months I ended up with Planters. The cause being, everytime out, I tried to beat my previous time for a given distance or tried to run longer than the day before. In essence I was racing practically everyday for 14 months. Many were surprised I lasted that long running in that manner. It took 4 years for me to completely get over the planters. Probably because I never rested the foot, being a mailman I walked on it everyday. Seven months ago I started running again, I run slower now, however I still may be running too much to soon. .........Some people never learn. However lf I feel something is not right this time, I'll take time off. I think I can tell the difference from just tired legs as opposed to the onset of a real injury, now.

Torn left meniscus. Perhaps from overuse and running on hard surfaces. I had to have it operated and was off running for 9 months. I've had to change my running and training program to ensure that I don't injure myself again.

First: Shin pain that I couldn't run through. I was forcing myself to land on my heels because I thought that was how everyone was supposed to run. I stopped thinking about it so much (which changed me to more of a forefoot/midfoot strike, and no I'm not a pose/chi member :P) got some lower heeled shoes, and the problem went away. Current: Soreness in my left foot (possibly PF) and a bruised feeling in my right forefoot (which just started a week or so ago), neither of which have kept me from running really. It seems like my injuries are going back and forth between my feet. One gets better, the other starts hurting.

Or maybe I will learn so much on RA that I will be spared something serious. It's working so far!

This will help a LOT. My only running ailments so far have just been tired, sore muscles and a knot in my hamstring. Listening to the advice of not trying to do too much too soon - listening to your body - and taking care of yourself will go along way to making sure you don't have to post an injury report. Of course, now that I have posted this, I have jinxed myself.

Where you a new runner? Experienced? Did you do somethign stupid to make it happen, or was it just one of those things?

You can be an old, veteran, experienced runner and still do something stupid and injure yourself. Don't ask me how I know this.