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Healthy Running for Healthy Living

Running. It is perhaps the most nat­ural form of exercise known to man. Nothing feels better than a run on a beautiful Spring day. The simple act of placing one foot in front of the other would seem at first glance to be effortless and nearly without risk of injury. Quite to the contrary though, several studies reveal roughly one third to one half of all walkers and runners will experience an injury in any given year.

The known benefits of walking and run­ning (improved heart health, stress reduction, and enhanced overall fitness to name a few) far outweigh the risks for most individuals. Due in large part to its sim­plicity and accessibility, moving our feet remains one of the most popular fitness activities in America.

The majority of injuries experienced by walkers and runners are related to muscular and/or skeletal overload. Approximately 70% - 80% of injuries occur in the region from the knee down, with the knee itself being the site of about 25% of all injuries. The lower leg ranks a close second, with about 20% of all injuries occurring here. The foot and ankle come in third and fourth at 16% and 15% respectively.

Numerous studies indicate that risk factors for injury can be broken down into four general categories: training, flexibility, strength and bio­mechanics. Let's look at each of these categories of risk fac­tors and make a few suggestions on how to improve your odds of avoiding injuries.

Training
Training errors may include simple things such as increasing mileage too quickly, doing too many miles per week or  increasing intensity too fast. Most walkers and runners should build their foundation of endurance first, and then begin to focus on increasing intensity. Building endurance should take the form of progressively longer walks/runs at an easy pace. Total mileage per week should not increase by more than 10% per week and most runners will do well to increase mileage only every other week.  Following the principle of "harder" and "easier" exercise sessions throughout a training week helps to avoid overuse and subsequent injury.

Flexibility
A tight muscle can be torn easier or cause additional load to the joints it crosses or to the muscles that oppose it. When examining the frequency of various tendon injuries, three key areas to consider are the calf, hamstring, and hip flexor muscle groups. No matter how you stretch remember that the movement should not be painful and that stretch­ing "harder" does not hold additional benefit and may actually contribute to further injury. Stretch gently, consistently, and with attention to good form.

Strength
We must have adequate strength and endurance to avoid the deterioration of form as fatigue sets in. Gaining strength is a relatively simple thing-you ask your muscles to do more than they're used to and they'll respond by getting stronger. Remember, train your body functionally! The more you can make the training activity look like the activity you're training for, the better will be the carryover of strength. In other words, doing bench presses probably won't make you a faster runner!  The name of the game is to get your "core" (hips, thighs, abdom­inals) as strong as you can. Functional strength training with body weight or light weights can be performed 3- 5 times a week without risking overuse. Strength endurance will be built best with higher repetitions (15 - 30 per set) whereas explosive strength will be built with higher weight and lower repetitions (3-10 per set).

Biomechanics
This is really all about what happens when "the rubber meets the road." Since your foot is attached to your leg, and your leg is attached to your thigh, and your thigh is attached to your pelvis, etc ... what happens at the bottom of this chain can have far-reaching impact. Injuries can result if a foot isn't doing the right motion at the right time or to the right degree. The results could be strain on tis­sues and joints in the foot but more often the injury occurs up the chain in the lower leg, knee, hip or low back. Consider a gait analysis by a qualified healthcare professional if you are having problems. 

Conclusion
Walkers’ and runners' injuries are rarely caused by just one thing, and even more rarely resolved by just one intervention. The best course of action is to avoid injury in the first place by recognizing the risk factors and staying on top of things with preventative measures. Hopefully these tips help you have a healthy summer!