After all, what really works when we want to prevent or avoid injuries during running? We’ve put together seven tips designed for you. Just take a look.
With a couple of straightforward safety measures, for example, appropriately warming up and cooling down your body, choosing the right shoes, training bit by bit, strengthening your muscles, stretching routinely, maintaining great stance, and staying hydrated, you can forestall many running injuries!
Running is one of the most well known and wellbeing giving exercises, yet it can likewise be one of the least secure on the off chance that not done accurately.
Running-related injuries are normal, yet you can keep away from large numbers of the issues sprinters face. In this article, we present a few important hints to beat this test. Hurry to see!
7 best ways to avoid injuries while running
After reading our tips, the risk of getting injured will be much lower: trust me. Write everything down and then just run for a hug!
1. Warm up and cool down the body
Before you start running, it’s important to warm up the machine that is your body! Warming up increases body temperature and prepares muscles, tendons and ligaments for physical exercise.
An effective warm-up should include:
- joint mobility exercises , such as swinging your arms and legs;
- dynamic stretching , involving all parts of the body and stretching well; It is
- rotational movements , rotating the joints of the ankles, arms, shoulders and neck well.
And pay close attention while stretching, as an inadequate warm-up ends up doing more harm than good.
Likewise, cooling down after running is essential to prevent pain and bruises. It helps reduce body temperature and prevent muscle stiffness.
An effective cool-down should include static stretching exercises and a moderate recovery period. Ignoring it can increase your risk of muscle and joint injuries.
2. Choose the right shoes
Footwear is one of the most important factors in preventing injuries while running. A high-quality running shoe can reduce the impact on your feet and legs, preventing problems caused by repetitive stress.
The ideal running shoe should have good cushioning, arch support and a comfortable fit.
But, before you go looking for the best brands in stores in your city, it’s a good idea to have an orthopedic exam to check that you don’t have a different type of gait .
If this is the case, buying sneakers with a neutral tread – the majority on the market today – could be harmful to your joints and encourage injuries.
Be wary if you feel severe pain in your lower back, knees or soles of your feet when running in “common” sneakers: these are the most frequent complaints among athletes who have a pronated or supinated footstep.
In fact, running with the wrong shoes can cause very uncomfortable pain, such as plantar fasciitis. Choose calmly and only then start training.
3. Train gradually
Continuously increasing your running intensity and distance can assist with preventing injuries. The body needs time to adjust to the pressure of actual activity and subsequently increasing the training load too rapidly can worsen the gamble of issues.
In the event that you’re simply starting to run, it’s critical to design a more loosened up exercise initially and slowly increase the distance and intensity after some time.
Respect the rest intervals between one day of practice and another so that your muscles can recover well from the effort that has just arrived in your routine. Take it easy at first!
4. Strengthen your muscles
Strengthening your leg and center muscles can assist with preventing running-related injuries. Leg muscles, like the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes, are the main muscles utilized in running and making them more grounded decreases the effect of activity kneeling down and lower legs and keeps you from injuring yourself.
The center – that district that associates the lower part of your body to the upper part, including the mid-region and glutes – is likewise significant for running, in view of stance and steadiness. Strengthening these locales is an incredible method for preventing back and lower back injuries.
5. Stretch regularly
Regular stretching, as you have seen previously, helps prevent running injuries, after all, it improves joint flexibility and range of motion.
Furthermore, warming up is good for blood circulation: as it improves, the risk of muscle cramps during practice decreases.
6. Maintain good posture
How about that your stance possibly be dealt with when you are before the PC or television? It’s not exactly that way, alright? Having great stance while running can assist with preventing injuries and further develop performance.
Proper posture involves maintaining:
- shoulders relaxed and back;
- head high;
- the spine in a neutral position.
And it can help reduce even long-term problems. So, adjust your posture while reading this article!
7. Drink water
Many people end up forgetting to drink water during the race and this mistake can lead to much bigger problems later on.
Dehydration causes muscle spasms and exhaustion, impairing your instant and long haul performance. So ensure you drink sufficient water previously, during and after your run.
How much water required relies upon a few factors, like the intensity of the activity and the surrounding temperature, so it is ideal to have the help of a nutritionist worked in sports nourishment to likewise get this kind of direction.
Remember to always listen to your body and reduce intensity or distance if you experience pain or discomfort. With these tips, you can enjoy a safe and healthy run.
Most common causes of running injuries
There are several common causes that can lead to injuries while running. We have put together a list of the biggest problems athletes face when practicing sport. Take a look!
1. Overload
One of the main sources of running injuries is over-burden. This happens when muscles, ligaments, and bones are exposed to more pressure than they are capable of handling.
Doing significant distances immediately or increasing intensity too rapidly are factors that can prompt joint over-burden, creating difficult issues for the individuals who like to run.
2. Wearing inappropriate footwear
In a real sense a thistle in the side of any sprinter, wearing inappropriate footwear can sting more than you imagine.
Tennis shoes that don’t offer sufficient help or that don’t fit completely on your feet can create difficult issues with your joints and lower legs.
3. Posture and running technique problems
Running with poor posture, for example, when a competitor inclines too far forward or in reverse, can put more weight on joints and muscles.
Moreover, poor running method, for example, landing on your impact point instead of your midfoot, can add to an injury.
Remember that stepping correctly while running can, in addition to improving your performance as an athlete, prevent you from getting injured and having to stop doing something you enjoy so much.
4. Uneven or sloping terrain
Whenever you go out for a run, search for level terrain without significant steep segments, on the grounds that inclined terrain can put more weight on certain muscles and joints, while lopsided terrain can increase the gamble of excursions and falls.
5. Lack of heating or cooling
Warming up before running is essential to prepare your muscles and reduce the risk of injury, while cooling down after practice helps reduce muscle tension.
Prepare your body for the activity before it starts and give it the rest it deserves after an intense period of dedication. Seriously, you deserve it!
6. Little muscle strengthening
Feeble muscles will most likely be unable to handle the pressure of running, increasing your gamble of injury.
Besides, an absence of muscle strengthening leads, in additional serious cases, to constant pain that can keep you from continuing to work out.
7. Injury history
Anyone who is not very lucky and comes from a history of injuries prior to practice also needs to be more aware: previous injuries can weaken muscles and make them more prone to future injuries.
Knowing your body can help you take steps to prevent problems and enjoy a safe and healthy running experience.
Anyway, eat a good pre-workout diet, stretch your body without mercy – don’t just pull one arm and the other for 10 seconds, we’re watching, you know? – and try to invest in the most suitable shoes for practicing the sport.