Runners and Their Running Injuries: The Most Common Injuries

Runners and Their Running Injuries: The Most Common Injuries

If you are facing an overweight issue, go for a run. If you want to increase your stamina, go for a run. Well, the best answer to all these questions is running. But, what if, while focusing on your fitness, you certainly lose control over your body. Resulting in a running injury and a great time loss. 

Well, you might be wondering what the use of knowing an injury is? So let me tell you that a person can never answer until and unless he/she knows the correct question. Therefore, it is important to know which running injury you are facing. Please go through the following article and know some of the most common running injuries and their treatment. 

What are Running Injuries? 

If you are a regular runner, then you might have already faced many of the injuries. Some are due to the shift of joints or muscles. Others are due to the excessive strain or movement of the bones. Some of the common injury areas are feet, knees, and legs (Source). 

Runner’s Knee

It is found to be one of the most common running injuries. It is also known as Patellofemoral syndrome. While running or jumping, this injury prevails around the kneecap or in the front of the person’s knee. Suppose you are already facing some pain in your hips or around the muscles near the knee, then there are high chances of facing this injury. 

A person facing the runner’s knee is supposed to feel a dull pain in one or sometimes both the knees. The pain in the runner’s knee turns worse after a long sitting or exercise. However, performing some activities like jumping, squats, and climbing stairs lead to making it worse. 

It just takes a physical test or an X-ray for the doctor to examine whether the person is suffering from this injury or not. Moreover, for better examination and results, go for a physical therapist. It will surely help you out in recovering at a better rate. It is among the most common foot injuries from running. 

Treatment: Strengthen the hip muscles and quadriceps of your body. Wear orthotic shoes and go for some tight stretching squads. You can also go for a long outdoor run with some good and sporty shoes. It will build your calf muscle and enable your legs to overcome minute running knees. 

IT Band Syndrome

After having a sight at the heading, you might be wondering about the short form, i.e., IT. The band IT is a connective tissue that makes its way from your outer hip to knee. The long connective tissue is known as the iliotibial band. It is also among the common running injuries. 

The reason behind this syndrome is the repetitive friction between the band and the leg bone. The rubbing of the band makes it more friction worthy leading towards the IT band syndrome. It causes extreme pain on the side of your legs. On reaching the severe stage of this syndrome, it may also lead to your legs’ sensitivity. A person having weak gluteal muscles, hips, or abdominals usually face this syndrome.

Treatment: To avoid IT bands, stretch them daily. It will strengthen your legs and hip muscles resulting in impactful and flexible muscles. 

Shin Splints

Splints are also referred to as tibial stress syndrome. Its epicenter or the point of pain is in the inner parts of the lower legs. It often happens while a person runs too quickly and in a good volume. Hard surfaces are the regular ones, i.e., the one who runs on hard surfaces usually faces the splints. 

Its symptoms are easy to read, e.g., if you face a dull pain in the inner or front part of your leg bone tibia shin. The increased amount of pain while exercising or a little bit of swelling near the shin bone can be a shin splint. Therefore, try avoiding such surfaces on long runs. It is also among the common running injuries and can be cured easily. 

Hamstrings Injury

Hamstring injuries are also among the common injuries. The hamstrings work is to decelerate the lower portion of the leg, and that too while your leg is in the swinging phase(while running). People who have tired, weak, or tight hamstrings usually face hamstring injuries. 

The hamstring muscle plays a major role while running. However, if the connective tissues and the fibers of your hamstrings continuously tear, it leads to an injury. You might have heard about the hamstring strain, which arrives slowly. They are also some of the key reasons behind the running injuries. In a hamstring injury, the person feels a dull pain on the backside of the upper leg or any pain while touching the tendered part of the hamstring. Then it can be an indication for the injury. 

Treatment: Stretch and strengthen your hamstrings. Change your running techniques; it might be a cause for your hamstrings. 

Achilles Tendinitis

Suppose you have ever felt an inflammation of the tendon between your heels and calf muscle. Then the pain is referred to as Achilles tendinitis. Running is sometimes like an addiction once started with a continuity; our mind always asks to increase the distance. Therefore, increasing such distances and speed leads to severe inflammation in the tendon or Achilles tendinitis. 

You may think that the pain is common and will require some day’s rest. But my friend, it is not so. If you don’t go for proper treatment, then there is a risk that your whole Achilles tendon would get ruptured. Once it is torn out completely, surgery is the only option left to recover your leg and the tendon.

Avoid running with sore legs and take proper treatment for such running injuries. It will help you out in overcoming the injury.

Ankle Sprain

You might have felt some pain in the middle of your ankle and leg while stretching. Well, that’s a sign that you are into the phase of overstretching. Therefore, first of all avoid overstretching if you don’t want ankle sprain to be a part of your life. 

There is often decoloration, swelling, pain, and bruising near the ankles and legs when caught with the sprain. You cannot even go for a full-motion swing with your affected leg. Once captured by the sprain, then go for physical therapy and cure the injury. 

Treatment – Go for some ankle strengthening exercises, which will result in developing your ankles and legs. Moreover, it will also develop your calf muscles.

Stress Fractures

Stress fractures become a part of life for the runners. These are extremely common and painful at the same time. These commonly occur in the lower leg or on the heel side. A hairline is formed inside your bone because of the continuous impact and stress on your legs and heels. Avoid such running injuries by improving your running technique. 

Go for an X-ray and let yourself know which part of your leg has been affected. Give some rest to that particular area. Get yourself a cramp bandage and some extreme medications as per the doctor. 

Treatment: Surgery, caste, or crutches are the only options in severe cases. Avoid running with sore legs.

Tips to Prevent Injuries

Almost all the injuries are spontaneous, and therefore you can prevent them too. Following are some of the ways you can prevent these injuries from being a part of your life. 

Take care of your nagging injuries: Avoid nagging injuries or take rest when they have already arrived. These injuries don’t turn into severe ones too quickly. Therefore, avoid engaging such injuries. 

Work on the techniques: Sometimes, poor techniques are also the reason behind some injuries. Therefore, prepare yourself with quite good techniques. Indulging in running injuries is a common thing, but if you are using poor techniques for such injuries, it can be a severe problem for you. 

Increase your load slowly: Levelling up your target is a good thing, but moving the target too much high in one go is a foolish task. Level the target up slowly so that your body and legs can also get comfortable with the run. 

Strengthen your hips: You might get surprised by the fact that hips play a major role in your running. Strong hips make your legs quite strong and impactful. 

Final Words

Running injuries are quite common in the life of runners and athletes. Make sure to be careful while running or exercising to avoid running injuries. I hope you like the above article; for more such fitness related articles, stay connected to us. And, don’t forget to drop your review in the comment section.

Aryman

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