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Common Running Injuries and How to Prevent Them
Whether you're an elite runner or just starting off, running injuries can happen to anyone. Amadeus Mason, MD shares the most common running injuries and how to prevent them.
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Learn more about Amadeus Mason, MD
Amadeus Mason, MD
Amadeus Mason, MD is an assistant professor in the Orthopaedics and Family Medicine departments at Emory University and is board certified in Sports Medicine at Emory Sports Medicine Center with a special interest in track and field, running and soccer injuries. Dr. Mason is the Team Physician for Georgia Tech and Emory University Track & Field and Cross Country, and a Team Physician for USA Track & Field, and the National Scholastic Athletics Foundation. Dr. Mason also serves as a Sports Medicine consultant in his homeland of Jamaica and as the Chief Medical Officer for USA Track and Field at international competitions.Learn more about Amadeus Mason, MD
Transcription:
Bill Klaproth (Host): Runners, from the weekend warrior to those training for a 5K or marathon face common running injuries. Here to help us understand those injuries and provide tips on how to prevent them is Dr Amadeus Mason, a sports medicine physician at Emory Sports Medicine Center.
Dr. Mason, thanks for your time. So, what is the most common sports running injury that people face?
Amadeus Mason, MD (Guest): Probably the most common running injury that runners face is going to be anterior knee pain in general. That has a number of different components to it. It could be tendinitis, or it could be irritation behind the knee cap. But knee pain is the most common thing that people come in with.
Bill: And that can happen for any level runner, right? For people just starting out to people that have been running all their life?
Dr. Mason: Absolutely. Those injuries with people starting out it tends to be that they are actually doing too much, too soon most of the time. And with those who have been doing it for a long period of time; it’s either there has been a change in their training regiment or they have done a specific thing that has caused that irritation to be flared up.
Bill: Okay, let’s stick with anterior knee pain for a minute then. So, for someone that’s experiencing this; are there tips for them to go home and try to heal this on their own with rest and ice and elevation and then part two is when should someone see the doctor? When is it serious enough for someone to actually seek medical attention?
Dr. Mason: What I normally suggest is if you are training for a specific event, if you are trying to run a 5K, trying to run a marathon and you have a training protocol and you are having pain during training; it’s probably best for you to get into see somebody sooner rather than later so that you can maintain that training regimen. If you are just running for relaxation and for just your own betterment and you develop pain; then taking a week off or decreasing your intensity would be the way to start doing the rest, the anti-inflammatories that RICE therapy that you were talking about and seeing where that goes would be the recommendation I would give.
Bill: Right the RICE, rest, ice, compression and elevation and give that a try for the week before resuming running activities again. So, then I would imagine you also see things like Achilles tendon injuries and foot and ankle problems, pulled muscles, even blisters can get in the way of someone running too, right?
Dr. Mason: Absolutely. And those tend to be the more during a competition time of injury. The blisters you normally see when someone is competing at a race or after a race. The muscle pulls are when they start the add in any kind of speed work and then the ankle injuries usually tend to be when people start doing a lot of hill work if they are trying to prepare for a distance race that will have some hilly work or if they live someplace where there are lot of hills like there are here in Atlanta when they are running and they start doing a lot of up and down hill work the ankle starts to be an issue with irritation.
Bill: So, how do we prevent things like that? Is it in the stretching? Is it in the initial training of just really going slowly? How do we prevent these common running injuries?
Dr. Mason: And I think it’s a little bit of both of what you described. It is trying to have a plan of how you are going to reach your running goals. So, making sure that you have a slow steady progression of your distance and intensity and when you are coming up with that kind of a program for yourself; make sure that you are either increasing distance or intensity and not increasing both, because that will increase the likelihood that you will get one of these types of injuries.
Bill: And what about stretching Dr. Mason, I hear that it may not be all that it's cracked up to be, what's your thoughts on that?
Dr. Mason: That is very controversial. Stretching is very controversial. There have been no good studies that say that stretching prevents injury. But what the very good studies have shown is that stretching does help to improve performance. And so, if you kind of make the nonlinear projection that if you are doing your stretching and getting better performance; the likelihood that you will be injured will be lowered. But there is not a direct correlation to that, but I always do recommend that people do stretching, and it is usually at the end of a training run when the body has been nice and warmed up, that you get the best stretching.
Bill: Very interesting. Alright, let’s talk about equipment now. I would imagine running shoes are vitally important. How do we find the right running shoes for us?
Dr. Mason: the right running shoe for you is going to be and point blank, the most comfortable shoe. You will – I normally recommend that a person will get fitted at a running store where they do a brief evaluation of their running form and put them into a broad category of shoe whether that be a motion control shoe, a stability shoe, or a neutral shoe. But from there, you choose the most comfortable shoe within that class. That has been proven by research to be the best indicator for what is the best shoe for an individual.
Bill: Alright. The most comfortable shoe. And when do shoes wear out? We hear of runners replacing shoes fairly regularly. How do we know when they are past their prime or they are not doing their job, even though they may feel comfortable Dr. Mason, maybe the intonation isn’t right for your feet? How do you know this?
Dr. Mason: That is dependent on mileage and time. If you are doing over 40 miles a week; you probably should be replacing your shoes every three to five hundred miles. If you are under 40 miles a week, you probably should be replacing your shoes every six to eight months. Normally what I would recommend is when you buy a shoe, if it is financial possible, buy two of the same pair of shoes so that you are not buying a new pair of shoes every six months but you can switch to the alternate pair at six months and then do that for six months, switch back and you can get two years out of that on one pair of those two pair of shoes as opposed to having to but something every six months.
Bill: Oh, that makes a lot of sense to have that second pair there so like you said you are not buying a new pair every six months. So, once you find that pair of shoes that you really like, that is really locked in; buy to pairs at once. That makes sense. So, what other tips can you share with us to help prevent common running injuries, just for the general runner and as well as for someone who is really training hard for that marathon? Any other general tips for us Dr. Mason?
Dr. Mason: I think that the big thing is the plan. If they have a plan and it is a reasonably thought out plan; should prevent injury. Second thing is working on doing probably cross training as well, so if you are trying to run a certain distance; it’s not just about putting in the mileage, it’s about okay making sure that you get the strengthening of the core muscles, of the quads, the hamstrings, the calf muscles that help to support the legs, to help prevent injury and kind of the third thing is making sure that you incorporate rest into your training program because it’s not about doing the most mileage, it’s about how to allow your body to compensate to do the most mileage and rest has to be a key part of that.
Bill: Allowing your body to compensate to do the most mileage. Really good advice. And Dr. Mason thank you so much for your time today. Very enjoyable talking with you. For more information please visit www.emoryhealthcare.org that’s www.emoryhealthcare.org . You’re listening to Advancing Your Health with Emory Healthcare. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.
Bill Klaproth (Host): Runners, from the weekend warrior to those training for a 5K or marathon face common running injuries. Here to help us understand those injuries and provide tips on how to prevent them is Dr Amadeus Mason, a sports medicine physician at Emory Sports Medicine Center.
Dr. Mason, thanks for your time. So, what is the most common sports running injury that people face?
Amadeus Mason, MD (Guest): Probably the most common running injury that runners face is going to be anterior knee pain in general. That has a number of different components to it. It could be tendinitis, or it could be irritation behind the knee cap. But knee pain is the most common thing that people come in with.
Bill: And that can happen for any level runner, right? For people just starting out to people that have been running all their life?
Dr. Mason: Absolutely. Those injuries with people starting out it tends to be that they are actually doing too much, too soon most of the time. And with those who have been doing it for a long period of time; it’s either there has been a change in their training regiment or they have done a specific thing that has caused that irritation to be flared up.
Bill: Okay, let’s stick with anterior knee pain for a minute then. So, for someone that’s experiencing this; are there tips for them to go home and try to heal this on their own with rest and ice and elevation and then part two is when should someone see the doctor? When is it serious enough for someone to actually seek medical attention?
Dr. Mason: What I normally suggest is if you are training for a specific event, if you are trying to run a 5K, trying to run a marathon and you have a training protocol and you are having pain during training; it’s probably best for you to get into see somebody sooner rather than later so that you can maintain that training regimen. If you are just running for relaxation and for just your own betterment and you develop pain; then taking a week off or decreasing your intensity would be the way to start doing the rest, the anti-inflammatories that RICE therapy that you were talking about and seeing where that goes would be the recommendation I would give.
Bill: Right the RICE, rest, ice, compression and elevation and give that a try for the week before resuming running activities again. So, then I would imagine you also see things like Achilles tendon injuries and foot and ankle problems, pulled muscles, even blisters can get in the way of someone running too, right?
Dr. Mason: Absolutely. And those tend to be the more during a competition time of injury. The blisters you normally see when someone is competing at a race or after a race. The muscle pulls are when they start the add in any kind of speed work and then the ankle injuries usually tend to be when people start doing a lot of hill work if they are trying to prepare for a distance race that will have some hilly work or if they live someplace where there are lot of hills like there are here in Atlanta when they are running and they start doing a lot of up and down hill work the ankle starts to be an issue with irritation.
Bill: So, how do we prevent things like that? Is it in the stretching? Is it in the initial training of just really going slowly? How do we prevent these common running injuries?
Dr. Mason: And I think it’s a little bit of both of what you described. It is trying to have a plan of how you are going to reach your running goals. So, making sure that you have a slow steady progression of your distance and intensity and when you are coming up with that kind of a program for yourself; make sure that you are either increasing distance or intensity and not increasing both, because that will increase the likelihood that you will get one of these types of injuries.
Bill: And what about stretching Dr. Mason, I hear that it may not be all that it's cracked up to be, what's your thoughts on that?
Dr. Mason: That is very controversial. Stretching is very controversial. There have been no good studies that say that stretching prevents injury. But what the very good studies have shown is that stretching does help to improve performance. And so, if you kind of make the nonlinear projection that if you are doing your stretching and getting better performance; the likelihood that you will be injured will be lowered. But there is not a direct correlation to that, but I always do recommend that people do stretching, and it is usually at the end of a training run when the body has been nice and warmed up, that you get the best stretching.
Bill: Very interesting. Alright, let’s talk about equipment now. I would imagine running shoes are vitally important. How do we find the right running shoes for us?
Dr. Mason: the right running shoe for you is going to be and point blank, the most comfortable shoe. You will – I normally recommend that a person will get fitted at a running store where they do a brief evaluation of their running form and put them into a broad category of shoe whether that be a motion control shoe, a stability shoe, or a neutral shoe. But from there, you choose the most comfortable shoe within that class. That has been proven by research to be the best indicator for what is the best shoe for an individual.
Bill: Alright. The most comfortable shoe. And when do shoes wear out? We hear of runners replacing shoes fairly regularly. How do we know when they are past their prime or they are not doing their job, even though they may feel comfortable Dr. Mason, maybe the intonation isn’t right for your feet? How do you know this?
Dr. Mason: That is dependent on mileage and time. If you are doing over 40 miles a week; you probably should be replacing your shoes every three to five hundred miles. If you are under 40 miles a week, you probably should be replacing your shoes every six to eight months. Normally what I would recommend is when you buy a shoe, if it is financial possible, buy two of the same pair of shoes so that you are not buying a new pair of shoes every six months but you can switch to the alternate pair at six months and then do that for six months, switch back and you can get two years out of that on one pair of those two pair of shoes as opposed to having to but something every six months.
Bill: Oh, that makes a lot of sense to have that second pair there so like you said you are not buying a new pair every six months. So, once you find that pair of shoes that you really like, that is really locked in; buy to pairs at once. That makes sense. So, what other tips can you share with us to help prevent common running injuries, just for the general runner and as well as for someone who is really training hard for that marathon? Any other general tips for us Dr. Mason?
Dr. Mason: I think that the big thing is the plan. If they have a plan and it is a reasonably thought out plan; should prevent injury. Second thing is working on doing probably cross training as well, so if you are trying to run a certain distance; it’s not just about putting in the mileage, it’s about okay making sure that you get the strengthening of the core muscles, of the quads, the hamstrings, the calf muscles that help to support the legs, to help prevent injury and kind of the third thing is making sure that you incorporate rest into your training program because it’s not about doing the most mileage, it’s about how to allow your body to compensate to do the most mileage and rest has to be a key part of that.
Bill: Allowing your body to compensate to do the most mileage. Really good advice. And Dr. Mason thank you so much for your time today. Very enjoyable talking with you. For more information please visit www.emoryhealthcare.org that’s www.emoryhealthcare.org . You’re listening to Advancing Your Health with Emory Healthcare. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.