YAIP! (Read 928 times)

yet another injury post (yaip) but i am at my wits end. i seem to go from injury to injury. i've been running about two years and never seem to not have an injury of one degree or another. i am now on the verge of quitting - except that i can't let running go, or, it won't let me go. i love running and get a lot out of it. i've always had a dodgy left knee and running seems to have helped that although it is always niggly. since november 2007 i've had what appears to be piriformis syndrome, i've pretty much stretched that one out after taking december off. had a good january, got sick in feb and ran 70 miles in march. now i have a really sore right knee which has never given me a problem before. it virtually seizes up overnight. i've rested it for the last two weeks and gone through the whole RICE thing as well as swallowing lots of ibuprofen. it seemed to be fine but i went out for a gentle 3 miles this morning and it has returned with a vengeance. modified to add that i also have a sore achilles with this knee injury. i run in asics 2120 which were sold to me after a gait analysis. they have just under 200 miles on them. previously i had nike air structure triax's which did about 500 miles. i also alternate my asics with mudroc 290 fell/ trail shoes. i am only 43 and i am angry that my body is letting me down when i feel that there are many miles ahead of me. i don't think that i am bio mechanically inefficient. any thoughts from the great and the good of the running ahead community?

Run slower, shorter, and more often. Go out for one 10 minute mile some day. Don't try to go hard. In the month of March, almost half your milage was in your long runs. You need more frequent running to keep the strength up for injury prevention.

In the month of March, almost half your milage was in your long runs. You need more frequent running to keep the strength up for injury prevention.

Yep.

Nearly all of your training runs are at a much faster pace than you can run 8 miles in a race. Slow those training runs down for awhile. At least most of them. Also, if you aren't try to run on softer surfaces for awhile.

Yep. Run more consistently. Run more often. Either drop the long runs or don't stress them so much. Above all else, run easier for most of your runs. Much easier. For now, I'd do nothing but easy runs if I were you. Take walk breaks or at least consider them. They help keep you injury free. Even when you do heal, no more than one or two "hard" runs a week. The only immutable, universal rule of running is that the single key to improvement is staying healthy and running consistently. If you stay healthy, you'll get stronger, and have less injuries - but you've got to build that gentle consistency first.

Run slower, shorter, and more often.

That sums it up right there.

You don't say what you do for warm-ups before running. When i started running, I was getting hurt all the time (I started at age 50). I was stretching before a run, but still pulling muscles legs problems, knee problems etc. Then my Dr (who was also a runner and older than me) told me that a common mistake most people do, is that they stretch cold muscles and you should warm up your muscles first. I found an article on the former CR website (I might have it stored) about it and it gave variuos recommendations about warming up your muscles before stretching. I tried to run short distances first and then stretch, but didn't like that routine. Finally, I started walking a half mile first, loosening up my joints, doing various arm and joint rotations etc during my walk. Then I stretch for about 5 minutes and run. I've been using this routine now for over two years and have not had any major injuries, well at least not ones from normal running. (we won't count tripping over a lip in the pavement and breaking to ribs or jumping up and down after the recent Superbowl and leaping form the couch to the bed and hurting my leg). I have recommended this practice to several people all in the itermediate range and they have tried it and like it as well. Yes, it increases the time for a workout, but well worth it if it helps avoid injury. Also, at home, if I didn't run that day and want to stretch, I'll ride my stationary bike for 10-15 minutes to warm up and then stretch.

Have you been to a good sports therapist? Sometimes problems originate in areas of the body that you would not even DREAM were the problem. Like my shinsplints last year were being caused by weak piriformis. The obvious symptoms (chronic tight calves) were being exacerbated by the weak piri...which who works on their hips to fix their shins? Anyway...that is my "expert" advice My amateur advice is stability exercises...Bosu, core, etc. Injuries that move around are often because of imbalances in muscle strength and as you "fix" one area with stretches or strength work the injury just gets pulled to a different area.