Injuries are something everyone deals with. It doesn’t matter if you are an ultra-marathoner, a novice, or anything in between. It could happen on your first mile or your last, a hot day or cold day, a sprint, or even a light jog. Knowing what to do when an injury occurs can assist in returning you to your current activity level as soon as possible.
As soon as an injury occurs, it is important to stop and assess the problem. Determine the severity by the level of pain and your ability to continue running. If you are able to return at the same pace, it may be possible to continue without repercussions. If you are unable to return to running without adjusting your technique, you may need to rest and apply some general rehabilitation approaches. Utilizing the PRICE approach can allow the body’s tissue to recover and inflammation to reduce. Protect, Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate (if possible) the injured area. This approach can be helpful in nearly all new injuries. Protection involves preventing further damage and providing support such as braces or wraps if appropriate. Rest is necessary to allow the tissue to recover and rebuild. This time period varies on how severe the injury is. Jumping back to previous levels of activity too quickly can prolong symptoms and make an injury that should last 2-3 weeks turn into 2-3 months. Applying ice or a cold pack to an injured area assists in decreasing inflammation and swelling, both of which shut down muscle activation. Compression and elevation specifically addresses swelling. Excessive swelling can lead to joint or muscular stiffness and decreased function. Elevating a limb above your heart assists in reduction of swelling.
Common running injuries include muscle strains, joint sprains, joint pain and blisters. A muscle strain occurs when a muscle or muscle group is injured. A joint sprain is when a ligament (a tissue that connects bone to bone and does not shorten or lengthen) is torn/injured. Both strains and sprains have degrees of severity from small tears to partial tears, to complete tears. Mild injuries can be treated with the above PRICE method and can take six to eight weeks to fully heal. Complete tears are less common and usually involve a traumatic event. These require care from a medical professional. Joint pain is often a stress issue that involves excessive physical stress to a particular part of the body. Running gradually breaks down the body’s tissues. Rest, a balanced/healthy diet, and gradual progression of activity level/load allow the tissue to rebuild and strengthen. Joint pain can be treated by the PRICE method as well in addition to gradually increasing load or distance and allowing appropriate rest periods in between. Blisters are less significant but still very frustrating for runners. Using light padding, bandaging, and/or taping can help reduce stress to blisters while running. When blisters open up, it is important to treat them as an open wound. Keep them clean and allow them to heal before dialing up the mileage.
Often times with running, injuries are mild and temporary. However it is important to know when to seek care from a medical professional. Unrelenting pain, inability to walk or bare weight, or debilitating pain that lingers for more than a couple weeks are signs that you should seek medical care. Speak with your local physician or physical therapist to get you back on the path.
