How to Avoid Injuries: Tips from the Guardian

Last year the Guardian announced that its strategy was to put digital first and it is interesting to see how their digital products take on a life of their own, especially the website. For some time it has not been just an electronic version of the printed page, for example breaking news and live blogging, videos, podcast, and links have been around for some time. What I hadn't realised though was the way they also use the fact that there are no physical constraints on length online to run expanded versions of the printed articles.

Today there was an article on how to avoid running injuries by Sarah Phillips and it is fascinating to see how it was subbed to fit the space. The paper has 950 words but this only represents only 40% of the full online article.

So what has been left out? Some people didn't make the cut at all: 2 elite athletes (Ben Moreau and Benedict Whitby), Dr Joanna Scurr a biomechanics expert, and Boris Bozhinov a gait analyst. All of them had interesting things to say and I might have made a different choice but something had to go and there is no overwhelming reason to choose one tip over another. However I do regret a paragraph from Ben Moreau was cut:

"Most injuries come from the fact that the body isn't ready for it yet. All of a sudden people start hammering themselves, getting really into it at the beginning, and the injuries come from there. I would tell people to build up their training really slowly, and don't feel that every week has to be their best ever. If you build up for a couple of weeks then have an easy week, that allows the body to recover and cope with the extra stress, then slowly start to build again."

I believe most injuries are caused by training errors in trying to drive yourself too hard (and not heel striking as is suggested by Dean Karnazes). This was the clearest warning of that.

Overall though I feel the article is full of good tips on what I think is the most important running subject. Being able to run fundamental everything else is just trying to make the best of that ability.

Trying To Be Injury Free

When people talk of running goals they usually do so in terms of targets: first to run a 10k, 12 marathon, marathon, and then to run them in specific times. I have suddenly realised that, for me, these targets are incidental. For sure they focus the mind, give training a shape and a purpose, and keep you stimulated, but they are not the most important thing. The most important thing is consistency: regularly getting out, not getting distracted, keeping going. It is the basis of everything.

So if you asked me what my running goals are, I would say I have only one and that is to keep on keeping on.

Except that at this precise moment I am not running. I have an injury that has not fully healed and so I am spending my time regretting my stupidity and fretting about how long it now takes for my body to repair itself. My Immediate goal is therefore to let the injury fully heal and then establish a routine that will allow me to stay injury free. Only then will I be able to attain my real goal of consistency.

The pathetic thing is that everytime I am injured I make the same plans but everytime I still do something stupid (my only defence is that it is often a different type of stupid). I am therefore building up a list of things I have learned. Here are my top 5

1. The most vulnerable time is when you are coming back from an injury. My injuries have certainly clustered with long periods without problems interspersed with times when everything seems to go wrong.

I think there are two reasons. The first is that there is a tendency to come back too quickly, when the pain is acceptable rather than gone. The second is more speculative but is based on my experience of back pain (when the whole of the back and shoulders freeze, not just the hurt area): when we are injured other parts of our bodies compensate and we move differently. Imperceptibly we get out of balance and when we run again our gait can be effected, which can cause unusual stresses and lead to new problems.

Lesson: come back gently. The first runs should feel easy and relaxed and you should be very aware of form.

2. Doing too much is a dangerous temptation. This is obviously related to the problems of coming back from injury in a gentle way, but it can also be a problem at other times. A tendency to overestimate ones strength and/or ability is difficult to control. It is easy to make decisions based on memories of what you could do when you were at you peak or what you wished you could do. The inevitable result is a breakdown.

Lesson: be very realistic about your capabilities. It is no use thinking you ought to be able to do something, you have to be sure you can do something. For me realism can be very painful. Sometimes I cannot bear to admit to myself that I am that slow or that out of shape - but it has to be done.

3. Be careful about training on consecutive days. This article says that the number of consecutive days is the second best predictor of running injury (however it gives no supporting reference for this assertion so I don't know how reliable it is). My experience is more to do with intensity: I have had problems with back to back hard days and so I now know variety is important and the old adage of mixing hard and easy days should be followed.

Lesson: Take rest days and make sure easy days are truly easy.

4. Be careful about changing your running style. This might be a little controversial with the current fashion for throwing away cushioned trainers and running barefoot but I believe changes can only be made very carefully and very gradually and should only be done if there is a very good reason. After all our bodies have spent many years adapting to our own way of moving and building very particular strengths. Change too quickly and weaknesses can be exposed. With me it was POSE. For some reason I thought it worth a try, bought a pair of Puma H Streets (the then fashionable minimal shoe) and Hey Presto hurt my ankle.

Lesson: such things should not be done on a whim. Only change your style if you are very sure that you need to and then do so very carefully.

5. Be careful with stretching. It is undoubtably true that running does nothing for your flexibility and a regime of stretching is a good counterbalance, which can help to maintain a good range of movement. However it is not without risk. It is possible to overstretch and cause damage. I am most likely to do this if I stretch after a hard sessions (and I think this is the cause of my current injury). I have therefore come to the conclusion that stretching and running should be separate programmes.

Lesson: not all running injuries are caused by running be just as careful with other forms of training.