Running is one of the most common exercises to build fitness and maintain health. Particularly as the weather begins to warm up, and the Autumn running events draw to a close, getting out on the road after a hard days work can help to reduce stress and give you a chance to explore the great outdoors.

The flip-side of all these positives, is the increased risk of injuries and complications that can arise from beginning a new exercise program, when the body is not ready.

How Injuries Occur
Imagine you’ve had a big day at work, you’ve sat down for the past 8 hours working to a deadline when you finally finish the task, switch off the computer and realise you’ve got 5 minutes to make it down the street to get your bus. As you run through the office and down onto the street, you realise that your really tight in lots of places and your movement isn’t quite right.

This type of exercise is extremely risky and most commonly will result in injuries. Now imagine if you walked to that bus, sat down for an hour to get home, then put on your running gear and went for a run. Do you think the risk of injuries would have decreased much?
Probably not. The truth is, you have been de-conditioned from sitting down all day. So how do you prepare yourself for exercise?

Preparation
Whilst tempting to go for a run as soon as you leave the office, its important to mentally and physically prepare yourself before any physical activity.
A general guideline to follow is:

– 10 minutes of gentle stretching of all the muscle groups you intend to use
– 10 metre light active exercises (walking lunges, heel raises, high knees)
– light start jogging for 800 metres, prior to the run
– proper hydration and nutrition in the hours leading up to the activity

Common Injuries
Injuries can occur at any time during the activity. Whilst proper preparation will reduce the risk of these injuries, it cannot eliminate the possibility of them occurring. As such be aware of any sore points or tight areas during running and take the appropriate precautions.

Lumbar Facet injuries
Injuries to the sensitive facet joints and neural structures in the back can occur form trauma to the lower back, and also from impact injuries where the spine is not properly stabilized. Facet inures are characterized by a sharp pain in the lower spine with certain movements or when running.

Bursitis
Bursitis is an inflammation of the fluid filled sac surrounding a bone and muscle contact point. Bursitis can occur at the hip or knee and causes sharp pain on movement and contact.

Patello-femoral Pain Syndrome
During running, the patella (knee cap) moves over the top of the tibia repeatedly. This movement should be smooth  and equal, however sometimes weakness of certain muscles causes a lateral or medial shift of the patella during movement. This can lead to a dull pain after running and tenderness to touch.

Injury Prevention
We have discussed proper preparation in regards to warming up before exercising but there are several other factors to consider.
What type of runner you are Forefoot, Midfoot or Heel striker can affect how your body reacts to contact forces. Dom our podiatrist, spoke at length on the topic in his blog post.
The correct footwear can also play an integral part in injury prevention and general comfort during exercise.
Finally, how you recover will directly impact how often you get injuries and how severe they are. It is important to halve a 15 minute cool down period involving stretching, light 10 metre exercises and nutritional supplements. After this period it is still important to maintain flexibility and address any concerns. These will be discussed in next weeks blogs.

Are you ready to run?
Many people wish to run the City to Surf in under an hour or complete their first marathon. But without the proper guidance and supervision, they will not achieve their goals or even worse; they can suffer a serious injury. At Liveactive Sports and Spinal Chiropractic we can assess your suitability for exercise, and also determine any weak or restricted joints in the body, which can help to prevent any risk of injuries, but also help achieve your exercise goals. So contact Jack today, to set your goals and begin to Live Active.