With spring weather upon us many people are getting back to their love of outdoor running. With that comes some aches, pains and injuries that many runners experience each season. The following is a list of some of the most common running injuries:
1. Shin splints: Shin splints cause pain along your shin bone at the front of your leg. They are caused by increasing your running distance too quickly before allowing your body to adjust. Shin splints require rest. If they don’t get better with rest, it’s important to see a physiotherapist so the shin splints don’t progress to a stress fracture. Some ways to help prevent shin splints are, avoid increasing your run time by more than 10% each week. Try to shorten your running stride to put less load on your shins and work on strengthening your hips and core to improve your running posture.
2. Hamstring injuries: Hamstring injuries often take time to appear and are caused by small tears in the fibers and connective tissue of the hamstring muscle. When this happens, you may feel a dull ache at the back of your upper leg and can also feel like your hamstring muscle is very tight and stiff. It’s very important to always warm up with stretching prior to going for a run. If you’re just getting back to running after a long winter break then again, it’s important to gradually increase your distance over time. If you start to feel pain, don’t push through it. It’s best to stop and rest for a few days to avoid a more serious strain.
3. Plantar fasciitis: This happens when the bottom of your foot becomes irritated and causes pain and burning. It can be especially painful with the first step of the day as you get out of bed. The tissue in your foot is inflamed and can make it very difficult to run without pain. Ice and proper stretches can help ease the pain of plantar fasciitis but like other injuries it’s important to give your foot the chance to heal which means taking a break from running. To prevent this from happening it’s recommended that you increase your mileage slowly and rotate your running shoes so you’re not overusing specific muscles.
Running is such a great activity to enjoy outdoors. If you warm up properly, increase your distance gradually and give your body rest when it’s needed, then hopefully you will enjoy a pain free, injury free running season.