It’s pretty apparent that I’m no stranger to injuries. I do my best to prevent running injuries, but sometimes it’s not enough. Plus, most of us are stubborn enough to think an injury won’t happen to us.
But if you feel an injury coming on, the best thing you can do is take care of it right away- don’t expect it to disappear on it’s own.
Injury: Shin Splints
What: Pain in the front of your lower leg, usually towards the inside.
Intervention: Stop running. Rest. Ice. Cross train. Slowly rebuild mileage.
Stretching your calves, running on softer surfaces, and making sure you’re in the right running shoe (not too stiff) can get you back up and running faster.
Compression sleeves or kinesiotaping may help as well.
Injury: IT Band
What: Pain on the outside of the knee (or hip)
Intervention: Rest, ice, stretch, foam roll, strengthen. Cross training can help reduce some of the running-specific friction of the IT band rubbing against your knee.
Alternate running on the “wrong” side of the road- many roads are slightly curved, which can make one leg need to reach farther than the other.
Stretching and foam rolling are key here- loosening the IT band will help prevent so much friction.
Injury: Runner’s knee
(patellofemoral pain syndrome; chondromalacia)
What: Pain under & around the knee cap; may cause grating sensation.
Intervention: Reduce mileage, strengthen muscles around knee (especially quads). Be cautious about deep bending knee activities such as squats and running on hills & hard surfaces.
Straight leg lifts can help focus building the small part of the quad muscle just above your knee cap on the inner side, which can help hold the patella in a more comfortable position. Using tape to hold the patella in the proper position can help too.
Notice some common themes? Rest or cut down on mileage, ice, & get the right shoes for your gait. Don’t power through it!
{ 15 comments… read them below or chime in }
Great post and tips!! My hip usually bugs me, but I try to be careful about it and not over do it!
This is great! Thankfully, I haven’t had an injury causing me to be sidelined. However, this week I was extra tired and my ankle was a little cranky so I took two rest days (wed and thur) and am now rested / ankle is happy for my 7 miler this afternoon!
Thanks for always having great tips!
Thanks! I always say that it will be hips I will need and not knees someday. Maybe this will help me put that off. When I first started running a few years ago, I was heavier and the shin splints were painful. There was a really good stretch I found on coolrunning.com that helped immensely. Basically, stick the front of your feet, just past your toes, under a piece of furniture that comes almost to the floor (sofa, etc) and act like you are trying to lift it with your feet. It felt really good and helped so much. I tell everyone about it when they complain about shin splints.
Ooo I know that one– it feels so good!
Love this post! I’ll definitely be sharing it with my runner friends. I’ve known too many people who have pushed too hard because they felt pressure to keep training for an upcoming race. You’re absolutely right — address the injury immediately or you could face long-term problems that will keep you on the sidelines longer.
Shin splints are common in my family and I got them when I first started running (luckily they have never returned — knock on wood!). I remember doing exercises all around my living room to treat them. The exercises worked, but I felt like a fool walking around and around the apartment on my heels.
Amen! Fantastic highlights. True that on taking it easy when you know something isn’t right.
I do love a good downward dog stretch for my calves. Rolling a tennis ball up and down your calve was another trick I learned.
Great post! I will be seeing a dr. for what i believe is runner’s knees but this is all very helpful for future prevention
I have a doc appointment on Monday to see what’s going on with my knee.
I hope it’s not horrible.
i am soooooooooo notorious for trying to power through things i shouldn’t! definitely the best advice is to take care of it right away
I am so thankful I never had to deal with Shin Splints when I did track in high school. However, I ended up with a herniated disk, arthritis in my spine, and a very tempermental SI joint. A trade off, perhaps? Ha.
I haven’t been running running in forever. I keep meaning to get back into it but I just haven’t found the motivation. And it doesn’t help that my back’s been hurting even more lately. Also haven’t found the motivation to work out to help that, haha.
My cure for all the injuries? Baking. Like peanut butter and chocolate
Peanut butter & baking? I like the sound of that!
I wish I could say that after months of running my shin splints have subsided, but they still plague me. Ice is really the best thing that helps me.
Sooo much better to rest and care for an injury before it gets worse. A week or two off is better than months! Great info..
Know any way to prevent compartment syndrome? I had to stop running a while back because if it and I’m afraid it will happen again
Hmm I don’t know a ton about compartment syndrome, but I know rest, icing, compression, and antiinflammatories are supposed to help. As far as keeping it from happening again, extremely gradual return to activity, maybe sports massage to help loosen up the muscle? I know a lot of people end up having surgery to release the muscle but I wouldn’t try that first
Hope you can get it figured out & start running again!