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How To Prevent Running Related Injuries

Categories: Exercise
It's always a worry that as you start to increase the distance that you're running the likelihood of picking up injuries starts to increase. This week I'm going to share with you how to prevent running related injuries. 
Often your desire to run further and push you're body harder out weighs what you body is capable of at that moment in time. 
This is why planning and having a good training programme is the best way to move forwards as you start to increase the distances that you run. You're able to track your runs, training and gym work and know what is working well and what you might need to change. 
This can also incorporate what food you're eating, how much sleep you're getting and how much stress you might be under at home or work. Each of these factors will have a roll in how you perform and how to stay injury free. 
Common Injuries
  • Knee Pain
  • Foot Pain
  • Stress Fractures
  • Spain and Strains to ligaments and tendons
How To Overcome these problems
  1. Build your mileage slowly. Create a solid base to work from before you look to progress your training
  2. Progress your training by selecting one method to start with. 
    1. Increase your distance
    2. Increase the amount of times you run
    3. Increase the speed you run at
  3. Stick to your training plan, whether that is a Couch to 5k, Half Marathon or Marathon. Don't miss a week, follow your friends plan or change it mid way through your training
  4. Spend time doing mindfulness. Mental health is just as important and spending time with family and friends and other things other than running will help reduce stress levels. You can then be more focused when you do run. 
  5. Plan your meals. If you're out running more food preparation can go out of the window as you find yourself with not enough hours in the day. Fuelling you're body with good quality food is vital to avoid picking up niggles. 
  6. Think about the shoes you're running in. Try to have more than one pair on the go at a time so you're not constantly wearing one pair out.
  7. Try running on different surfaces, mix up road and trail runs 
  8. Warm up and cool down after each run you do
  9. Have a strength and conditioning programme that works alongside your running programme to strengthen the muscles to support your bones and joints
If you're starting to increase your mileage think about the above points to help prevent running related injuries.