Many of us have been injured in the past and wondered how and when we were going to start running again. There is no miracle answer to that, and most people and health professionals go by trial and error. However, here is the recipe for recovery!
The number one rule.
Giving your body a chance to get back into it slowly is the number one rule. See yourself as someone who is picking up running for the first time. Begin slowly and increase distance, time and intensity gradually and only as your body feels ready for it. Listen to your body as it usually knows what it can take and what it can’t.
Limit the impact.
Part of the secret when recovering is to treat your body with respect. Ground forces transferred to your body are quite significant with just walking and increase dramatically when running. Vibrations created by the ground forces may aggravate your condition and slow down the healing process, causing millions of mini-lesions in the injured area (and in the rest of your body, but you normally recover overnight and do not feel the effect the next day).
Some suggestions:
- Treat yourself to a new pair of shoes to ensure you have proper cushioning, which will decrease the stresses transferred to your body from the ground.
- Choose the softest surface possible to train on. A good rule of thumb is that forest trails are the softest and they get harder in this fashion: wider trails in the open, forest roads, gravel road, asphalt and last (and worst) cement/concrete.
- When doing hill workouts, use ski poles or walking sticks as you can use them like crutches on the way down and reduce the load on your legs. Hills are an excellent way to get back in shape because the inclination going up reduces the distance between your foot and the ground on every step and therefore limits the impact as you land on the ground. Make sure on the way down, though, you are walking very slowly because now the inclination has the opposite effect.
Play with the variables….
There are many ways to progress your training but speed, time and incline are the three most important. Never increase more than one parameter at a time for a given training session. For example, if you have been doing 3-minute hill repeats on a given hill, do not change to a longer and steeper hill.
- Stretching: Make sure that even if you do not feel like you are getting a real workout, you still do your stretching (before and after). Your muscles have not exercised in a while and will undergo minor damage from the training session, just like in a hard workout when you are in shape.
- Limit the inflammation: Any type of injury will likely get an inflammatory reaction after your first training sessions. Limit the damage by making sure you use ice or contrast baths on the affected body part or anti-inflammatory medications if needed.
Listen to your body.
Your body will most likely tell you whether you are doing too much or if it is just right. Pain is your body’s main voice, so listen to it. Pain usually indicates that you are causing some damage. However, chronic injuries sometimes have to go through a phase of breaking down scar tissue which may or may not cause pain so make sure you discuss this with your health professional and agree on how much pain you should tolerate.
Returning to running after an injury should be a pleasant and motivating experience-if done right.
Courtesy of the late Marie-Catherine Bruno; friend, colleague, athlete, Physiotherapist and Pedorthist extraordinaire….
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Related Conditions:
Upper and Lower Back
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