Musculoskeletal issues in the ankles, shins, knees and hips are very common among runners. As a matter of fact, I recently asked a running group at Nike: “If you currently have a running-related injury, or if you have had one in the past, raise your hand.”
There were 25 people in the room, and all 25 raised their hand.
If you think about it, this makes sense. Running is a high-impact activity, which makes it tough on your muscles, bones and joints. When you run, your body weight is multiplied by about three or four times with every foot strike.
Over time, this can take a toll on your body, especially if you’re not running with good form or if you’re not conditioning your muscles properly.
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Importance of strength and conditioning
If you’re a runner, it’s important that you spend some time strength training. Running is really a one-legged sport, meaning you only have one foot on the ground at any given time. For this reason you should strengthen each leg individually. This will allow you to develop strength, balance and symmetry in each leg.
The best way to train each leg individually is by doing simple body-weight exercises, such as one-leg squats, lunges and step-ups. When you do lunges and squats, make sure your chest is up, rear end out and your knee tracks in line with your toes. Don’t let your knee jut out past your toes when you lower down.
It’s also important for runners to have a strong core – which helps take stress and strain off your joints. The best way to strengthen your core is with static (no movement) exercises such as planks, side planks and bird dogs.
[Read: Physical therapy for running injuries.]
Types of shoes
Our feet were actually designed to run barefoot on soil and grass – not in big, cushioned shoes. If this sounds a bit odd to you, just think about our primitive ancestors. They walked and ran on all sorts of terrain without fancy footwear. And the first marathon (which took place around 776 B.C.!) was run barefoot.
The big difference between us and them is that we live in a concrete world, so shoes are important to protect us from injury. However, all that cushioning and padding might not be necessary.
After years of wearing super-cushioned shoes, I now run in shoes that have no cushion or lateral support. I like them because they actually let my foot do what it was made to do. The truth is, the less cushion your shoe has, the more stable your foot will be. Think about balancing on a flat, hard surface, compared to balancing on a squishy, unstable surface. Same rules apply here.
[Read: How to identify a running injury.]
Stride and Strike
The traditional running strike that most people are used to requires that you land on your heel and then roll through your toe. Although this is the most widely used technique, it can actually cause you some problems. Landing on your heel is almost like slamming on the breaks in your car – it causes a jarring force to go through all the joints in your body.
Mid-foot running is much less stressful on the joints. When you do this, you land on your forefoot near the ball of your foot. This forces you to put your body-weight over your foot rather than behind your foot, like you do in heel-to-toe running. When your center of gravity is over the foot, all the other muscles in your body are better able to help take some of the load off your joints. Mid-foot running decreases the amount of shin splints and other running related injuries you suffer from.
When you first try this running method, you may have to adjust the length of your stride. It will take you a bit of time to adjust, but once you do, you’ll notice a big difference in how your body feels after your runs.
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Stretching, foam rolling and massage
Stretching and foam rolling will help reduce the muscular tension and pain in your muscles. Contrary to popular belief, you should not stretch before your runs. Stretching can actually make you more prone to injury if it is done beforehand. Instead, grab a foam roller and roll your muscles out. Save the stretching for after your run.
If you don’t have a foam roller, I suggest you purchase one. They’re only about $20, which is much cheaper than seeing a massage therapist a few times per week. Once you try it, you’ll see a huge decrease in muscular tension.
One of the things that we mandated for the men’s soccer team I coach is foam rolling before and after games. If your muscles are tense, you’re going to be crying when you roll your IT bands and quads. The good news is the more you do it, the less tension and pain you will have before and after your runs.
Joint and muscle pain are common complains in runners – but if you follow this advice, you’ll be well on your way to running pain-free.
[Read: A guide to foam rolling.]
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Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHNis a registered holistic nutritionist, fitness expert and highly sought-after high-performance health coach. He’s also a former professional soccer player and served as the head strength and conditioning and nutrition coach for men’s soccer at the University of Toronto for seven seasons. For more than 13 years, he’s empowered more than 86,000 people to greater health with his no-nonsense approach to health, fitness and nutrition. He’s made it his mission to empower at least 10 million people to greater health and fitness by 2018. Get Yuri’s free “Y-Factor” at www.yurielkaim.com.