Running can be a sport for everyone and not just the elite runner. Proper warm-up and nutrition is a key to a healthy run. An injury can not only be challenging physically, but it also can effect a person mentally.
What the best training regimen to avoid injury? If a person gets injured – what should they do?
Listen in as Traci Carey answers these and other great questions to help you start and finish you run healthy.
Selected Podcast
How to Prevent Common Running Injuries
Featured Speaker:
Traci Carey, Bryan physical therapist
Traci Carey is a physical therapist with Bryan Health. Transcription:
How to Prevent Common Running Injuries
Melanie Cole (Host): Bryan Health hosts a community run every October to further their commitment to wellness and mental health. For more information about this event, you can go to BryanHealth.org/run. This special podcast series is brought to you by Bryan Health and the Kim Foundation. As mindful runners, we can all take proper precautions to make sure that we'll never have to worry about hurting ourselves, but the reality is, no one is immune to injury. My guest today is Traci Carey. She's a physical therapist with Bryan Health. Welcome to the show, Traci. So, what are some of the most common injuries that you see every day that runners experience?
Traci Carey (Guest): I commonly see multiple injuries in physical therapy, including runner's knee, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and iliotibial band syndrome.
Melanie: Traci, what do you tell people are some red flags to look for with these possible injuries?
Traci: One of the largest red flags is overtraining, especially if you're a running. We want to try to keep your mileage under 40 miles a week since most injuries are after about 40 miles every week, repetitive use overtraining. The other cause of common injuries is stretching after exercises to keep the flexibility in your tissues and prevent re-injury.
Melanie: So, you're saying people are not stretching when they're done?
Traci: Yes, they are not stretching.
Melanie: And, should they stretch beforehand? That's always something that people are very confused about.
Traci: I really encourage people to do a dynamic stretching, or a dynamic warm-up, but you need the tissues to have blood flow first before you stretch, so a lot of times it's just a slow jog or a high knees marching, butt-kick; those types of activities that are dynamic that you're going to be using those muscles warming up, then stretch, and then do your workout.
Melanie: So, Traci how important is gear to avoid running injuries? Let's just kind of start with shoes because walkers say "I don't need running shoes." Runners look for the most technologically advanced shoes--these are the base. What do you tell people about shoes?
Traci: I suggest people have proper shoes for what they're doing. If they're walking, I would recommend going to get a walking shoe. If you're going to jog, or run at all, I would recommend going to a good running store, have them evaluate your pattern or have a physical therapist evaluate your pattern and recommend a shoe for you. The other common reason that I have people need new shoes is because they wear them for too long. I suggest that they get new shoes approximately every 300 miles, either walking or running on your shoes.
Melanie: That's really great advice. Now, if somebody does feel like they've pulled something, injured something, whether we're talking about plantar fasciitis, patella tendonitis, whatever it is, what is the first thing you tell them to do? Do you like them to rest? Ice? Brace? Wrap? What do you want them to do?
Traci: Well, initially after an injury, I would always have them rest a little bit, perform some stretching if it does not hurt, as well as icing, and an anti-inflammatory initially after those first 48 hours is probably the most important. So, resting with a little bit of ice, compression if needed, if that helps it feel better. Any of those activities will help decrease their symptoms and get them back to their sport.
Melanie: Getting them back to their sport is a big deal. They don't want to rest. So, what do you tell them when they've got this little injury about how long they should sit it out? Or, should they try another activity, like go swimming, or walk instead of run, but they're training for a run--what do you tell them?
Traci: Actually, that's of huge importance because I like people to cross-train because if they are injured and they cannot do what they want to do while they're running, I have them do an elliptical or sit on a bike where they don't have the impact at their joint. But, I also encourage them to be part of their running group because otherwise, depression tends to happen and people are less likely to be able to rehab as quickly when they are severely depressed because they are not able to train for what their goal is.
Melanie: So, perfect segue, Traci, into injuries can be challenging physically, obviously, but it can also affect a person mentally. So, if someone is injured, they get that depression, how can someone stay positive and not get down if they can't run or train for their race? What do you tell them about staying mentally strong so that they can continue training or take back up their training once their injury is healed enough?
Traci: This is a common thing with runners, especially when they train for long-distance races like marathons. I see them for physical therapy during their injury and we still have the same goal--that they can do their long-distance run. So, I commonly tell them to "If you're supposed to have a 30-40 minute run this weekend, instead you're going to cross-train. You're going to do the elliptical for 30-40 minutes, but you also stay involved with your team. You encourage them in ways that you can. You try to keep your schedule the same. So, if you would be training that day, you do something that day to keep your cardiovascular system ready to go so when you are ready to go back to full workout schedule, you're able just to jump right in without any problems." And also, I always tell people if they are really sad and it's just not getting better, it's not a problem to go see a counselor and have somebody to talk to about that, but also, your teammates, somebody who also does the same sport as you that has been injured has great ideas on keeping a positive outlook and looking at the big picture. But, after rehabilitation, you'll be back in the swing of things and you'll be able to do everything and meet your goals.
Melanie: Let’s talk about one specific injury and, as a physical therapist, I'm sure you deal with this all the time and every day is plantar fasciitis. People wake up, they're hobbling around, stumbling around, because it hurts so much on their heel. What do you tell them to do about that? Are they rolling on a tennis ball, icing, different shoes? What do you tell them?
Traci: A lot of times, plantar fasciitis is from overtraining or doing hills. So, I definitely tell them to use stretching a lot for pulling those toes back towards their nose, is what I call it. Rolling their foot on tennis balls, getting some blood flow into that tissue--that is some scarring that is involved there. That also helps. Heat and ice, I usually say heat at the beginning of the day to get that tissue some blood flow and some stretch, and at the end of the day ice, or after activity, to keep that inflammation down that you've caused. Some more stretching in that tissue that has been overstretched in the first place.
Melanie: Now, how about runner's knee or patella femoral knee syndrome? Very common. They feel it from running. Do you advocate bracing while they run? What, as a physical therapist, do you want them to do for this?
Traci: I generally would try taping first. If you can do it, a lot of athletes are now using Kinesio tape to stabilize that knee. If that does not offer enough support, you can get one of those neoprene braces. If that is able to let you continue doing your workouts with less pain, that's wonderful, but the goal is to eventually wean yourself back off of it. One of the common causes of runner's knee or patella-femoral syndrome is weak gluteals. So, a lot of strengthening of those bottom muscles really helps decrease that pain and pressure that is pulling on that patella or that kneecap and, over time, they should not need the bracing or the taping any longer.
Melanie: Here's another tough one for you, Traci. How about shin splints? So many athletes of all different kinds experience these and they're a hard muscle to stretch. They're not easy to deal with. What do you tell people about shin splints?
Traci: Well, during shin splints, of course, the first thing I would do is ice that shin. Most people know you take that ice cube and you just rub up and down for 15-20 minutes. That really calms it down a little bit. Good stretching of those calf muscles and ankle muscles is really important, and getting a good shoe with a good cushion or arch really helps. I avoid heels, or climbing or running hills, or up and down stairs for a while, just to prevent that from overstretching again. So, a little bit of rest doesn't hurt any.
Melanie: A little bit of rest doesn't hurt anybody and, as you pointed out, cross-training is so important. In just the last few minutes, your best advice for preventing injuries due to running or activity for event, what do you tell people every day?
Traci: I tell people that they need to have a good warm-up to prevent the injury, dynamically, do a little bit of stretching. Have a good schedule for training and slowly increase your mileage per week. If you can, try to do it on softer surfaces whenever possible because the pavement can be very hard on your joints for injuries as well as making sure you stretch after you do any exercise for a good 15 minutes to prevent those injuries from happening.
Melanie: That's such great information, Traci. Thank you so much for being with us today. If you'd like to learn more about injury prevention and sports physical therapy, you can go to bryanhealth.org. That's bryanhealth.org. You're listening to Bryan Health Radio. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
How to Prevent Common Running Injuries
Melanie Cole (Host): Bryan Health hosts a community run every October to further their commitment to wellness and mental health. For more information about this event, you can go to BryanHealth.org/run. This special podcast series is brought to you by Bryan Health and the Kim Foundation. As mindful runners, we can all take proper precautions to make sure that we'll never have to worry about hurting ourselves, but the reality is, no one is immune to injury. My guest today is Traci Carey. She's a physical therapist with Bryan Health. Welcome to the show, Traci. So, what are some of the most common injuries that you see every day that runners experience?
Traci Carey (Guest): I commonly see multiple injuries in physical therapy, including runner's knee, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and iliotibial band syndrome.
Melanie: Traci, what do you tell people are some red flags to look for with these possible injuries?
Traci: One of the largest red flags is overtraining, especially if you're a running. We want to try to keep your mileage under 40 miles a week since most injuries are after about 40 miles every week, repetitive use overtraining. The other cause of common injuries is stretching after exercises to keep the flexibility in your tissues and prevent re-injury.
Melanie: So, you're saying people are not stretching when they're done?
Traci: Yes, they are not stretching.
Melanie: And, should they stretch beforehand? That's always something that people are very confused about.
Traci: I really encourage people to do a dynamic stretching, or a dynamic warm-up, but you need the tissues to have blood flow first before you stretch, so a lot of times it's just a slow jog or a high knees marching, butt-kick; those types of activities that are dynamic that you're going to be using those muscles warming up, then stretch, and then do your workout.
Melanie: So, Traci how important is gear to avoid running injuries? Let's just kind of start with shoes because walkers say "I don't need running shoes." Runners look for the most technologically advanced shoes--these are the base. What do you tell people about shoes?
Traci: I suggest people have proper shoes for what they're doing. If they're walking, I would recommend going to get a walking shoe. If you're going to jog, or run at all, I would recommend going to a good running store, have them evaluate your pattern or have a physical therapist evaluate your pattern and recommend a shoe for you. The other common reason that I have people need new shoes is because they wear them for too long. I suggest that they get new shoes approximately every 300 miles, either walking or running on your shoes.
Melanie: That's really great advice. Now, if somebody does feel like they've pulled something, injured something, whether we're talking about plantar fasciitis, patella tendonitis, whatever it is, what is the first thing you tell them to do? Do you like them to rest? Ice? Brace? Wrap? What do you want them to do?
Traci: Well, initially after an injury, I would always have them rest a little bit, perform some stretching if it does not hurt, as well as icing, and an anti-inflammatory initially after those first 48 hours is probably the most important. So, resting with a little bit of ice, compression if needed, if that helps it feel better. Any of those activities will help decrease their symptoms and get them back to their sport.
Melanie: Getting them back to their sport is a big deal. They don't want to rest. So, what do you tell them when they've got this little injury about how long they should sit it out? Or, should they try another activity, like go swimming, or walk instead of run, but they're training for a run--what do you tell them?
Traci: Actually, that's of huge importance because I like people to cross-train because if they are injured and they cannot do what they want to do while they're running, I have them do an elliptical or sit on a bike where they don't have the impact at their joint. But, I also encourage them to be part of their running group because otherwise, depression tends to happen and people are less likely to be able to rehab as quickly when they are severely depressed because they are not able to train for what their goal is.
Melanie: So, perfect segue, Traci, into injuries can be challenging physically, obviously, but it can also affect a person mentally. So, if someone is injured, they get that depression, how can someone stay positive and not get down if they can't run or train for their race? What do you tell them about staying mentally strong so that they can continue training or take back up their training once their injury is healed enough?
Traci: This is a common thing with runners, especially when they train for long-distance races like marathons. I see them for physical therapy during their injury and we still have the same goal--that they can do their long-distance run. So, I commonly tell them to "If you're supposed to have a 30-40 minute run this weekend, instead you're going to cross-train. You're going to do the elliptical for 30-40 minutes, but you also stay involved with your team. You encourage them in ways that you can. You try to keep your schedule the same. So, if you would be training that day, you do something that day to keep your cardiovascular system ready to go so when you are ready to go back to full workout schedule, you're able just to jump right in without any problems." And also, I always tell people if they are really sad and it's just not getting better, it's not a problem to go see a counselor and have somebody to talk to about that, but also, your teammates, somebody who also does the same sport as you that has been injured has great ideas on keeping a positive outlook and looking at the big picture. But, after rehabilitation, you'll be back in the swing of things and you'll be able to do everything and meet your goals.
Melanie: Let’s talk about one specific injury and, as a physical therapist, I'm sure you deal with this all the time and every day is plantar fasciitis. People wake up, they're hobbling around, stumbling around, because it hurts so much on their heel. What do you tell them to do about that? Are they rolling on a tennis ball, icing, different shoes? What do you tell them?
Traci: A lot of times, plantar fasciitis is from overtraining or doing hills. So, I definitely tell them to use stretching a lot for pulling those toes back towards their nose, is what I call it. Rolling their foot on tennis balls, getting some blood flow into that tissue--that is some scarring that is involved there. That also helps. Heat and ice, I usually say heat at the beginning of the day to get that tissue some blood flow and some stretch, and at the end of the day ice, or after activity, to keep that inflammation down that you've caused. Some more stretching in that tissue that has been overstretched in the first place.
Melanie: Now, how about runner's knee or patella femoral knee syndrome? Very common. They feel it from running. Do you advocate bracing while they run? What, as a physical therapist, do you want them to do for this?
Traci: I generally would try taping first. If you can do it, a lot of athletes are now using Kinesio tape to stabilize that knee. If that does not offer enough support, you can get one of those neoprene braces. If that is able to let you continue doing your workouts with less pain, that's wonderful, but the goal is to eventually wean yourself back off of it. One of the common causes of runner's knee or patella-femoral syndrome is weak gluteals. So, a lot of strengthening of those bottom muscles really helps decrease that pain and pressure that is pulling on that patella or that kneecap and, over time, they should not need the bracing or the taping any longer.
Melanie: Here's another tough one for you, Traci. How about shin splints? So many athletes of all different kinds experience these and they're a hard muscle to stretch. They're not easy to deal with. What do you tell people about shin splints?
Traci: Well, during shin splints, of course, the first thing I would do is ice that shin. Most people know you take that ice cube and you just rub up and down for 15-20 minutes. That really calms it down a little bit. Good stretching of those calf muscles and ankle muscles is really important, and getting a good shoe with a good cushion or arch really helps. I avoid heels, or climbing or running hills, or up and down stairs for a while, just to prevent that from overstretching again. So, a little bit of rest doesn't hurt any.
Melanie: A little bit of rest doesn't hurt anybody and, as you pointed out, cross-training is so important. In just the last few minutes, your best advice for preventing injuries due to running or activity for event, what do you tell people every day?
Traci: I tell people that they need to have a good warm-up to prevent the injury, dynamically, do a little bit of stretching. Have a good schedule for training and slowly increase your mileage per week. If you can, try to do it on softer surfaces whenever possible because the pavement can be very hard on your joints for injuries as well as making sure you stretch after you do any exercise for a good 15 minutes to prevent those injuries from happening.
Melanie: That's such great information, Traci. Thank you so much for being with us today. If you'd like to learn more about injury prevention and sports physical therapy, you can go to bryanhealth.org. That's bryanhealth.org. You're listening to Bryan Health Radio. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.