Much like running itself, hydrating is one of those things that should be simple. (It’s the most natural thing in the world! You’ve been doing it for years! Your body craves it!) But, unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy.

“By the time you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated,” says Craig Horswill, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “But that doesn’t mean you should drink random, ungodly amounts of water. In fact, it’s probably better to be a little under-hydrated than over-hydrated.”

That’s because the consequences of over-hydration are severe (read: death), and it’s important to note that everyone requires different amounts of water based on their personal physiology, and even the time of year/day that they’re running. (Here, Horswill explains how to determine the right amount of water for your needs.)

RELATED: 5 Ways To Stay Hydrated During Long Runs

Still, dehydration is not exactly ideal, either. You’re looking at compromised performance, feelings of fatigue, and a generally crappy run.

Greg Grosicki, Ph.D., an assistant professor and director of the exercise physiology laboratory at Georgia Southern University notes that severe dehydration can have major consequences, too, including death in extreme cases (losing 10 to 15 percent of your body weight) and passing out. “Triathlete Sarah True recently passed out at Ironman European Championship in Germany; she was winning and fainted just before crossing the finish line.” (It was 100 degrees that day.)

You might even be dehydrated without knowing it: A European Journal of Sport Science study shows that 91 percent of pro basketball, volleyball, handball, and soccer players start practice dehydrated. (Here’s how to tell when you are dangerously dehydrated.)

So what can you do? Don’t go crazy with the H20 (“You don’t need an aggressive hydration strategy if you’re exercising for less than an hour,” Grosicki says), but do look out for these signs of dehydration (especially when it’s hot out!) to have your best run possible.

Signs of Dehydration:

You have a headache.

“Dehydration seems to provoke a shrinking of cells in the brain, so a headache is a hallmark sign of dehydration,” Grosicki says. That’s likely why you get a dull ache in your head during long, hard efforts on hot days or after a few too many post-race celebration beers. Try drinking some water before popping an Advil, or adding in your favorite hydration mix to help your body replenish fluids.
RELATED: How To Hone Your Hydration

You’re not as sharp as usual.

Dehydration compromises your focus, executive function, and motor coordination, according to a Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise review of 33 studies on the topic. We can only speculate as to why, but Grosicki says this could have something to do with the same shrinking brain cells causing your headache.

Your wee is dark.

You’ve probably heard this one since grade school, but it’s true: “When you’re dehydrated, your kidneys try to reabsorb that water back into your body, resulting in darker, highly concentrated urine with a very low volume of fluid,” Grosicki says.

Your easy run feels hard.

Your usual, steady pace may suddenly feel like a struggle. “A loss in fluid volume alters the concentration of your blood volume, so your heart needs to work harder to provide your muscles with the oxygen and nutrients they need,” Grosicki says.

This means your heart rate will increase in order to keep your usual pace, too, so keep an eye on your fitness tracker if you have one. “You can be running at your usual pace, but your heart rate will be 10 to 15 beats higher,” Horswill says. “Same work, same person, same environment – just lack of fluid in the bloodstream.”

RELATED: 5 Reasons Your Muscles Cramp All The Damn Time

You’re cramping up.

“A loss in fluid changes your body’s concentration of electrolytes, like sodium and potassium, which are responsible for muscle contractions,” Grosicki says. “If you disrupt your body’s electrolyte balance, your muscles may contract and cause cramps.”

You feel tired.

Even mild dehydration can make you want to take a nap. “Core temperature is elevated with dehydration, which can affect the brain and induce fatigue,” Horswill says. “There’s also greater strain on the cardiovascular system (indicated by the elevated heart rate), so if dehydration worsens, the heart will have a reduced ability to deliver oxygen,” which – you guessed it – makes you feel tired.

The post Six Key Signs of Dehydration You Should Know About appeared first on Runner's World.

I was 23, a seemingly once-invincible college track athlete who ate, breathed, lived for long distance running. I had some small injuries throughout my career at that point – a muscle strain here, a bout of tendinitis there. This Achilles issue, though, would just not go away.

After pushing through an injury that nearly broke me, I learned that rest isn’t weakness – it’s part of becoming a stronger runner.

After reconstructive surgery, six months of no running, and several failed attempts at a return to running program, I finally felt like myself in the summer of 2022. I was not the same runner who could run 70 miles a week without worrying about injury (and with no stretching routine).

I was a new runner completely. Slower – but more appreciative.

In the months following my Achilles surgery, I vowed to myself, my coach, and the physical therapist that I would never get to that place again. Sure, sometimes injuries pop up. Running to the point of breaking bones and tearing tendons, however, was within my control.

With college athletics behind me, I was getting back into running purely as a hobby and as something to enjoy for myself, not for validation from a coach, teammates, or an online audience.

When I scroll through TikTok or Instagram, I am inundated with running content, from beginner runners just getting into the sport to seasoned athletes chasing a Boston Marathon qualifying time. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of harmful content on these apps. I’m mostly alarmed by the people who push their bodies to the breaking point month after month, year after year. It seems like every week there’s another running influencer with a “get ready with me for an MRI” series.

…it is an issue of a culture where more is good, and rest is seen as laziness.

While injuries can be part of the sport, I’ve seen harmful and obsessive behaviours permeate online running culture. I don’t blame the individuals who are getting injured, but I think it is an issue of a culture where more is good, and rest is seen as laziness.

Take David Goggins, for example. The former US Marine, motivational speaker, and multi-time ultramarathoner spouts a no-nonsense approach to running where pain is good, pushing yourself too far is impossible, and rest days are for the weak.

I disagree wholeheartedly with this approach to anything, but especially running. Pain is not good: pain is your body letting you know that it has had too much. It absolutely is possible to push yourself too far. I know because I’ve done it myself and ended up on the operating table. Rest days are necessary for mental health and physical rehabilitation so that you can continue training and gaining fitness.

In stark contrast to David Goggins, let’s look at an athlete with a healthier relationship with sport: Olympic figure skating champion Alysa Liu. Liu was a childhood phenom but retired at 16 due to burnout from a strict training regimen that required dieting and pushing herself beyond her physical and mental capabilities. She took an extended break from the sport to find what she wanted for herself. Then she came back. Just four years after retiring, she won two gold medals at the Winter Olympics, all with an infectious smile on her face.

After winning gold, Liu, now 20, made it clear that her time away from the sport helped her develop a new mindset.

“Taking a break and stepping back, gaining new perspective … really helped me as a person and helped me understand myself,” she said in a podcast with Olympics.com. Her joy in training and competing after taking time away was evident on the ice when she skated her way to a gold medal. Alysa Liu chose not to suffer for her sport, and she excels because of that, not despite it.

It’s not necessary to suffer and push our bodies beyond our limits to have fun and be successful. There’s no good reason to run ourselves into the ground and be sidelined from the sport we love by a boot or surgery.

I will never be an Olympic champion, but I can train like one: with joy, an appreciation for rest, and respect for all that my body does for me.

The post Pain Is Not a Badge of Honour appeared first on Runner's World.

…there’s no pretending that ageing isn’t real and that bodies don’t change as they get older.

A 2023 study of more than 100 000 American adults published in Circulation found that those who exercised two to four times above the recommended minimum of leisure-time physical activity – 150 to 300 minutes every week of moderate physical activity and 75 to 150 minutes every week of vigorous physical activity – had lower rates of mortality. In other words, the more exercise adults did as they aged, the more likely it was that they lived longer.

Still, there’s no pretending that ageing isn’t real and that bodies don’t change as they get older. From losing muscle mass to hormonal changes, studies have shown that older adults need more recovery time than younger adults.

Without adequate time to recover, even the fittest runners risk a higher likelihood of injury and are less likely to build muscle and strength from their workouts. That means in order to get the most benefits from runs and cross-training, including strength work, older adults need to prioritise recovery time.

If you’re a senior runner or are hoping to encourage an older adult to take up running, here are the best ways to incorporate recovery into training plans.

The Benefits of Maximised Running Recovery for Seniors
An effective recovery practice helps “you rebuild muscle and bone, allows your soft tissue to repair itself, and replaces muscle glycogen [a form of glucose that your muscles use for fuel]. And that takes time,” Polly de Mille, CSCS, exercise physiologist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and registered nurse, who has run 10 marathons, tells Runner’s World. “The workout is the stimulus and the gains come during recovery.”

There are no specific directives on the amount of time it takes to recover. In fact, “recovery is individual to each runner based on intensity and duration of training,” Eric Williamson, PhD, RD, CSCS, a Toronto-based certified specialist in sports dietetics and owner of Unlocked Fitness and Nutrition, tells Runner’s World. But there are a few things you can do to make your recovery restorative and boost your ability to come back stronger.

5 Tips for Creating a Better Recovery Routine as a Senior

1. Optimise your post-workout nutrition
After training, you need to replace protein and carbohydrates to help with muscle repair. “As you age, especially if you’re not weight training, you’re losing muscle mass,” Heidi Skolnik, CDN, sports nutritionist at the Women’s Sports Medicine Centre in New York City, and co-author of Nutrient Timing for Peak Performance, tells Runner’s World. According to research, the rate of that muscle loss can fall between three and eight percent per decade after age 30. “By the time you’re 60, that can be pretty significant,” Skolnik adds.

To that end, eating protein is particularly important for senior athletes. “When you’re older, your body is more resistant to growth and repair – it takes more protein to press that muscle-building button,” Skolnik says.

Lauren Antonucci, RDN, CSSD, author of High Performance Nutrition for Master Athletes, says that for full recovery, senior athletes should eat:

• 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight on a low exercise day.
• 1.4 grams per kilogram of body weight to maintain muscle mass.
• However, endurance athletes should aim for 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight.
• If you’re training multiple times a day, you should eat 2 grams per kilogram of body weight.

To meet these numbers, grab protein from dairy, meat, or plant-based sources, such as tofu. Although the focus here is on post-run recovery nutrition, “fuel your body appropriately at each meal,” Skolnik says. “It’s a bad idea to skip breakfast. You need protein starting in the morning and adequately distributing it through the day, 25 to 30 grams per meal, to maintain muscle. If you’re working out pretty intensely, you might go as high as eating 30 to 40 grams at each meal.”

Antonucci suggests eating within the first 30 to 60 minutes after training. “Sooner is always better without making yourself crazy,” she says. You can’t play catch-up with nutrition, she adds.

Carbohydrates also play an important role in recovery. “There’s so much carb phobia and diet mentality that says, ‘I don’t want to ruin what I did by eating,’ but eating the right amount of carbs helps with power and endurance,” Skolnik says. Carbs also support immune function, she adds.

Skolnik suggests post-workout carbs like easy-to-digest bananas, plain yoghurt, and half a plain bagel with a teaspoon of honey. “You want about 0.7 to 1.2 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight. For a 55kg athlete, that’s about 55 to 65 grams,” Skolnik says. “Older people don’t necessarily need more carbs [than other people], but they don’t need less. If you’re doing the work, you need the fuel. Even if your car’s old, it still needs the gas tank filled.”

2. Stay Hydrated
Like appetite, thirst tends to diminish with age, so older athletes can be more prone to dehydration, the experts agree. Up to 60 percent of your body is water, and if you’re working out hard, you’re losing a lot of it, along with electrolytes – minerals such as sodium, potassium, and calcium. You’ll function better overall, and your body can repair itself better if you’re hydrated.

Determine your hydration needs based on the length and intensity of your workout, your sweat rate, and the heat. The harder you work out, the more you sweat, the greater your risk of being in a dehydrated state or needing more effort to rehydrate.

Skolnik suggests weighing yourself before and after a workout to calculate fluid loss. “You need to double the amount of what you lost in weight to replenish,” she says. Or do a pee test: If you’re hydrated, your urine will be light in colour, she says.

Hydration doesn’t have to come solely from drinking water. “All fluid counts,” Skolnik says. “Juice, milk, tea, or coffee—everything except alcohol. Even meals contribute to hydration, so skipping them makes it harder to stay hydrated.”

3. Don’t Stop Moving
Recovery doesn’t mean sitting on the couch for hours at a time. Recovery should include moderate or even easy levels of activity. For example, if you run hard one day, the next day you could swim, bike, or do yoga, suggests de Mille.

“Bodies are made to move, and tissues do better if they have to take up oxygen and contract and relax,” she explains. “But you want to do this without causing a lot more stress, and mentally, you’ll likely feel better with an active recovery. It can be as simple as 10 minutes of chair yoga.”

4. Try Recovery Tools
There are other ways to help you recover and feel energised, and while not all of them come with research, if they make you feel good, they are worth using:

➥ Compression Garments
Socks or boots that keep your muscles from swelling post-run are a favourite of runners. “There’s no research showing a lot of physical benefits in terms of blood markers of muscle damage,” de Mille says. “Yet many people feel that wearing compression garments after running makes them feel less sore. And if they feel it works for them, then that’s great.”

➥ Cryotherapy and Ice Baths
Cryotherapy exposes your whole body or parts of your body to very cold temperatures, as low as negative 220 degrees, for three to four minutes. Cold water or ice baths mean you sit in water around 50 degrees for five to 10 minutes.

The idea behind these therapies is that you lessen inflammation and soreness. Studies have shown mixed results, but, again, if putting ice on your muscles feels good or taking a cold bath helps, it’s also not harmful. Cryotherapy, however, does come with some risks for people with heart disease or circulation issues, and other conditions, so always check with your doctor before trying anything more than localised icing.

➥ Foam rolling
De Mille likes a foam roller to “address the little trigger points and tight areas to keep soft tissue in good shape.” While some scientific evidence suggests that foam rolling is better served as a warm-up than recovery, other research points to the benefits of foam rolling for addressing muscle soreness, which may help you feel better after a workout.

5. Focus on Sleep
Experts emphasise the benefits of sleep for recovery. In general, sleep or lack thereof affects every aspect of your daily life. For athletes, not sleeping well can affect their reaction time, accuracy, strength, and endurance. Unfortunately, sleeping well is elusive for many seniors, as about 30 percent of older adults get less than seven hours a night, according to research. Those with health issues, trouble with balance or walking, or memory problems may have even more trouble sleeping. But exercise has been shown to help with sleep, especially for older adults.

“Getting good sleep is the best recovery tool to let your body repair itself,” de Mille says. “About 90 minutes to two hours after falling asleep, your body releases growth hormones. You need to let these hormones work their magic so you can come back stronger, less sore and less likely to get injured.”

The post Smart Recovery Strategies for Older Runners appeared first on Runner's World.

Like running uphill, stairs are a great teacher of running efficiency…

The Benefits of Stair Workouts for Runners
Stairs, like hills, up the intensity of a running workout. But the intensity of the stairs’ elevation is often harder than a gradual hill, which increases the load. Physiologically, that intensity “makes you breathe harder and faster so you can take in more oxygen, which spikes your heart rate,” says Meghan Kennihan, certified running coach. Doing stair workouts consistently eventually leads to an improved VO2max, she adds, because your body learns to use oxygen more efficiently — which means faster paces will feel easier on flat ground.

Research proves this: When scientists had sedentary people vigorously climb 60 steps of stairs three times a day (with one to four hours between climbs for recovery) for six weeks, those people showed improvements in their peak oxygen uptake and peak power output in a cycling test, according to a 2019 study published in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

Speaking of power output, stairs work some of the biggest muscles in your body (think: glutes, quads, and calves). Plus, you’re working against gravity to propel yourself up the stairs, which adds resistance — a great way to build strength, says Brady Irwin, owner of and head coach at Science of Speed.

“When you push off each stair, it’s a form of explosive or plyometric training,” adds Kennihan. This kind of training builds strength and power, increasing the ability of your muscles and joints to react upon landing. It also trains your body to recruit muscle fibres more efficiently, which “means you don’t need to work as hard to hit a particular pace,” she explains. “That keeps your energy expenditure lower, so you can go faster longer without fatigue or pick up the pace mid-run without getting as winded.” (In one study published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, two plyometrics training sessions per week over six weeks led to improved 10K times, despite a reduction in training mileage.)

And, in an era where gym access is still limited, stairs become a playground of workout opportunities beyond just sprinting up and down. You can use them to add in other plyometric exercises, as well as variations of standard bodyweight moves, like push-ups, squats, and lunges. Considering how many runners skip strength training, this is an easy way to knock out strength and cardio in one.

How to Incorporate Stair Workouts into Your Routine
An easy way to add stair workouts is to sub them in for hill workouts. But you can also do them in place of a strength training session every so often, during the first half of an easy run, or even in the middle of a longer run.

Whenever you do them, make sure to keep your form on point — since stairs require that explosive form and a little more technique than running in a straight line, you want to be focused and engaged. “Eyes should be straight ahead, not staring down at your feet,” says Kennihan. “Lean slightly forward and pump your arms to help you drive your knees up as you lift your feet up each stair.” Only do stairs at the end of the run if you’ve still got the energy to do them right.

Want to add some incline to your running? Try these workouts from Kennihan and Irwin.

Pyramid Stair Workout

• Warm-up for 10 to 15 minutes running on flat ground
• Run up and down stairs or bleachers for 2 minutes
• Rest for 30 to 60 seconds
• Run up and down stairs or bleachers for 3 minutes
• Rest for 30 to 60 seconds
• Run up and down stairs or bleachers for 4 minutes
• Rest for 30 to 60 seconds
• Run up and down stairs or bleachers for 3 minutes
• Rest for 30 to 60 seconds
• Run up and down stairs or bleachers for 2 minutes
• Rest for 30 to 60 seconds
• Cool down by running for 10 to 15 minutes on flat ground

Total Body Stair Workout

• Warm-up for 10 to 15 minutes running on flat ground
• Run up and down the stairs 5 times
• Perform 10 push-ups at the bottom
• Run up and down the stairs 5 times
• Perform 10 triceps dips at the bottom
• Run up and down the stairs 5 times
• Perform 10 air squats at the bottom
• Run up and down the stairs 5 times
• Perform 10 full sit-ups at the bottom
• Run up and down the stairs 5 times
• Hold a plank for 60 seconds at the bottom
• Repeat the circuit 2 times total
• Cool down by running for 10 to 15 minutes on flat ground

• Warm-up for 10 to 15 minutes running on flat ground (or do this workout after a steady-state run)
• Perform 3 x 30-second pick-ups (start at a jog and increase the speed until you are at a 9/10 intensity), recovering with a 1-minute walk between each rep
• Do 3 x 30 single-step sprints
• Do 3 x 30 double-step sprints
• Do 2 x 20 single steps with lateral bounding
• Do 3 x 10 double-leg jumps
• Cool down by walking or jogging for 10 to 15 minutes on flat ground

Leg Burnout Bleacher Workout

• After a moderate run, perform 3 x 30-second pickups (start at a jog and increase the speed until you are at a 9/10 intensity), recovering with a 1-minute walk between each rep
• Do 2 sets of 4 x 40 stair sprint repeats (run up the stairs, laterally across the bleachers, and down the stairs, then walk laterally across the lower bleacher to recover)
• Take 4 minutes to recover between sets
• Cool down by walking or jogging for 10 minutes on flat ground

The post Running Stairs Is the Secret to More Speed and Power appeared first on Runner's World.

…the lower back — which is a part of your core — plays a pivotal role in running mechanics…

Your core, hips, glutes, and hamstrings together form one big stability machine, so weakness in any one of those muscles forces the others to take up the slack. If you have weak hip and gluteal muscles, for example, as they become fatigued during a run, your lower back is forced to work harder to keep you upright and stable, and you become vulnerable to aches, pain, and injury.

Once lower back pain strikes, it can sideline you, but strengthening your core and stretching the muscles that support the lower spine can help. Research backs this up: One review published in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science found that core strength training can alleviate lower back pain. But to properly address the issue, it’s important to understand the root of the problem.

The Best Lower Back Exercises for Preventing Pain
If you’re trying to fix that nagging back pain — or more importantly prevent it — try the following strength exercises and lower back stretches, demonstrated by Hollis Tuttle, personal trainer and run coach.

Add this routine to your schedule one to three times per week. As always, consult with your doctor before starting any new exercise routine to ensure it’s safe for your condition.

How to use this list: Complete 3 to 5 sets of the following exercises in order. Perform each exercise for the specified number of reps or seconds, resting for 30 seconds between exercises. You will need a large stability ball and an exercise mat.

1. Plank

1. Start on all fours.
2. Lower onto forearms with shoulders directly over elbows.
3. Step feet back into a plank position. Draw shoulders down and back — not hunched.
4. Engage abdominal muscles tight to keep hips in line with shoulders so body forms a long, straight line. Squeeze legs and glutes for support.
5. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds. Gradually add time as your core gets stronger.

Make it harder: Roll onto your right forearm and stack feet to perform a side plank. Repeat on other side.

2. Stability Ball Back Extension

1. Lie facedown on a stability ball with feet resting on floor and core engaged so body forms a straight line.
2. Keeping back naturally arched, place hands behind ears and lower upper body as far as you comfortably can.
3. Squeeze glutes and engage back to and raise torso until it’s in line with lower body.
4. Pause, then slowly lower torso back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for 12-15 reps.

3. Stability Ball Pike

1. Start in a high plank position with shoulders directly over wrists and tops of feet resting on a stability ball. Body should form a straight line from head to ankles.
2. Without bending knees, roll the ball toward chest by raising hips as high as you can toward the ceiling.
3. Pause, then lower hips as you roll the ball back to the starting position.
4. Perform 12-15 reps.

Make it easier: Start with a knee tuck. In a high plank position, place shins on ball. Draw knees toward chest without raising hips as you roll the ball to feet. Repeat, then work your way up to the pike position as you get stronger and more stable.

4. Stability Ball Reverse Leg Raise

1. Lie facedown on a stability ball with hips on the ball, hands on the floor with shoulders over wrists, and legs extended out straight, toes resting on floor.
2. Keeping legs as straight as possible, engage glutes and lower back to lift legs until they are in line with torso.
3. Lower back down to the starting position.
4. Repeat for 15 reps.

5. Glute Bridge

1. Lie faceup on the floor with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, arms resting at sides.
2. Squeezing glutes, lift hips until body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
3. Pause for 3 seconds, and then lower back down to the starting position.
4. Repeat for 15 reps.

6. Locust Pose

1. Lie facedown on the mat with legs extended straight and arms down at sides, palms down.
2. Contract glutes and lower back muscles as you lift head, chest, arms, and legs off the mat and rotate arms so thumbs point toward the ceiling.
3. Hold for 15-30 seconds, and then relax back to the floor for 5 seconds.
4. Repeat for 5 reps.

What else can cause lower back pain?

If it’s not a general weakness in your core or other muscles groups, your lower back pain may come from other issues. While every case is different and individual, here are three common causes of pain in your lower back:

1. Muscle spasms
Muscular pain that comes on suddenly in your lower back is often indicative of a muscle spasm. Your muscles will feel as though they have locked up, and the pain can be severe and debilitating.

2. Sciatica or spinal disc issues
Pain in your lower back that is associated with shooting pains down the back of one or both legs indicates sciatica or discogenic (which relates to the discs of the spine) pain. A pinched nerve causes this discomfort. It often feels sharp compared to the muscle-gripping sensation that you would feel with a spasm.

3. Arthritis
If you feel a chronic general achiness across the whole area of your lower back, you may have arthritis.

All images by: Julia Hembree Smith

The post 6 Lower Back Exercises Can Help Stave off Injury appeared first on Runner's World.

Looking at 15 studies, researchers assessed the effects of total calories (also known as energy), fibre, and fat intake in both male and female runners. They found that women, in particular, had more injuries when their calories and fat intake were lower compared to runners with higher amounts of both. Low fibre was also linked to increased injury risk for both men and women.

The review found that injured female runners consumed 450 fewer calories and 20 grams less fat per day than their uninjured counterparts. Both injured female and male runners had 3 grams less fiber in their diet per day, compared to those who remained injury free.

Consumption of protein, carbohydrates, calcium, and alcohol were also examined as potential factors for injury risk, and researchers determined that none of those played a major part. Although carbs are important for runners in terms of fueling and protein is essential for muscle health — and both are crucial for recovery — the data didn’t show a correlation between higher injury rates and those following low-carb diets versus higher carb consumption, or runners who took in more protein compared to those with lower protein numbers.

“A key takeaway from this research is the importance of meeting overall energy and fat needs, particularly for female athletes, and ensuring enough dietary fibre from whole foods,” lead researcher Erin Colebatch, sports dietitian at the Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity told Runner’s World. “Nutrition should be seen as a key part of injury prevention for runners.”

The Importance of Dietary Fat for Runners
In terms of the protective nature of dietary fat, Colebatch noted that fat plays a crucial role in the absorption of key vitamins needed for bone and muscle health. It also supports hormone production, helps build cell membranes, and plays a role in managing inflammation.

“Low fat intake can disrupt these functions and may increase injury risk,” she said. “Because fat is a major source of dietary energy, low fat intake may also lead to underfueling [not taking in enough calories to support energy expenditure], which could further increase the risk of injury.”

Dietary guidelines from the World Health Organisation recommend that total fat should contribute 20 to 35 percent of total energy intake, she added. In the research, injured females had a lower average fat intake (about 20 percent of total energy) compared to those who consumed between 27 to 29 percent of fat as part of their total calorie intake, and remained injury-free. Male runners reported about 30 percent fat consumption, which likely explains why this association didn’t affect them, said Colebatch.

The Importance of Dietary Fibre for Runners
As for fibre, it had an effect on both male and female runners across numerous studies. When fibre consumption dropped, injury risk went up, Colebatch explained.

“Dietary fibre helps support a healthy gut microbiome, which may play a role in regulating inflammation, immune function, and pain sensitivity,” she said. “Disruption to these processes could increase the risk of bone-stress injuries. Fibre-rich foods, particularly those high in polyphenols — such as berries — could also help reduce inflammation and support musculoskeletal health. When fibre intake is too low, these potential benefits might be lost, possibly making the body more vulnerable to injury.”

What to Know About Overall Nutrition Intake
Because of all this, focusing more attention on individual nutritional needs can be crucial for supporting performance and injury prevention. Meeting both sports nutrition guidelines and general dietary recommendations is a good foundation, Colebatch said.

“Increase calorie intake in line with your physical activity levels,” she notes. “Heavier training days require more fuel. This might involve adding snacks like muesli bars, nut butter on toast, smoothies, or trail mix, or increasing portion sizes at meals. A big bowl of pasta or an extra helping of dessert the night before a long run can support both performance and recovery.”

You may want to try a calorie needs calculator geared toward runners to make sure you’re fueling for your energy needs.

Also, make fibre into a bedrock of your nutritional plan, Colebatch added. By adding a wide variety of high-fibre foods like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, and legumes, runners can not only get fibre, but also essential nutrients like carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals. Timing is key for this, she explained: Overall, runners should reduce fibre intake before runs to avoid digestive issues, but then add fibre-rich foods into meals and snacks during other times of the day.

“If you’re unsure whether you’re meeting your needs, especially if you’re female or have experienced recurring injuries, a registered sports dietitian is the best person to provide expert, individualised support,” said Colebatch.

The post Can Your Diet Influence Your Injury Risk? appeared first on Runner's World.

Similar to what you should eat before and after a run, or what type of recovery strategies can improve performance, stretching can fall into a grey area — the kind filled with contradictory advice and plenty of opinions.

Is stretching optional or mandatory for runners, for example? Can it really offer up injury prevention? Is stretching ever a bad idea?

Here’s a look at common misconceptions, along with research- and expert-backed facts so you can use stretching to your performance advantage.

Although both of these types of stretching play a role in improving your range of motion, it’s generally a good idea to save static stretches for after a workout when your muscles are warm. So make that kind of stretching part of a cool-down, Meg Takacs, a certified running coach tells Runner’s World.

“Focusing on dynamic movement pre-running is helpful for activating the muscles you’re just about to use, and it can also improve your range of motion, which often leads to better running mechanics,” Takacs explains. Dynamic stretching is also a boon before any cross-training you do, whether that’s Pilates or strength training, she adds.

It doesn’t take much commitment to see benefits, either. A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research that looked at the effects of dynamic stretching before a high-intensity run found that one set of 10 reps of moves that targeted five muscle groups — hip extensors and flexors, leg extensors and flexors, and plantar flexors — significantly improved endurance running performance. Those performance improvements were measured by time to exhaustion and total running distance.

Static stretches, on the other hand, can have the opposite effect. In a study in the Journal of Physiology, researchers compared the outcome of static stretching versus dynamic stretching for runners, and specifically for activities like sprinting. They found that doing only static holds for over a minute was associated with substantial declines in strength and power performance. The researchers added that some short-duration static stretching of up to 60 seconds isn’t as harmful — but it should “be applied with caution due to its negligible but still prevalent negative effects.”

“In terms of static stretching after a run, holding each stretch — such as standing hamstring stretch or seated butterfly — for about 20 to 30 seconds can help because it sends a signal to the nervous system to reset back to your baseline,” he tells Runner’s World.

That’s important because exercise creates a notable increase in stress on the body. While that’s beneficial in the short term, it’s also crucial to get the nervous system back to its usual rate of respiration, cardiac output, and metabolic processes as soon as possible to limit that stress, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. An extended cool-down, with those static stretches, can help.

“With the athletes I coach, whether they’re in high school or they’re masters athletes, static stretches are an opportunity to get their heart rate down, which is especially important if you’ve done an intense or longer-duration run,” USA Triathlon-certified coach, Kristen Hislop tells Runner’s World.

Static stretching may also aid with improving your range of motion. In fact, research suggests it can help with hip flexion in particular, according to a research review in the Journal of Sport and Rehabilitation. That research found that static stretching after exercise may also help with hamstring extensibility — which is the ability of your hamstrings to stretch past their resting length, which is a key component of preventing injuries like muscle strain.

“When you stretch too often or for too long, it may lead to muscle irritation,” he tells Runner’s World. “This can worsen if stretching seems to provide short-term relief from pain, such as muscle soreness, because that might make it seem like stretching is a remedy. However, if the pain returns or doesn’t improve over time, you should likely focus on strengthening those muscles instead of stretching them.”

Frequent, intense, and long-duration stretching may also reduce running economy, according to a study in Research in Sports Medicine. That’s because it can reduce musculotendinous stiffness — which is a measure of the amount muscles and tendons resist being stretched. An overabundance of this stiffness may contribute to injuries and poor movement patterns. On the other hand, too little of it may affect running mechanics, Leventhal says. That’s because stiffer tendons and muscles act like springs, propelling a runner forward with greater power and reloading quickly to generate force for the next stride.

This sets up a Goldilocks problem: How do you figure out how much stretching is the “just right” amount that can improve flexibility without losing musculotendinous stiffness?

“As with many strategies when it comes to running, the answer will come down to how you respond on an individual level, and it can take some trial and error to figure it out,” says Takacs.

In terms of general guidelines, tune into where you feel areas of tightness to figure out if you need to stretch or strengthen that area.

Another tip: Logging how you stretch - including specific movements, for how long, and how often you do them - can be a good first step toward understanding how stretching is affecting you and your running performance overall.

https://www.runnersworld.co.za/training/what-active-stretching-actually-means-and-how-to-incorporate-it-into-your-mobility-training/

Research backs this up: A systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2024 in Sports Medicine says that acute static stretching (defined as about four minutes per session) has a moderate positive effect on flexibility, while chronic static stretching (10 minutes per week) has a large positive effect on flexibility.

Let’s take the hip flexors for example. If you perform the Thomas Test and find out you really do need to work on flexibility of the hip flexors, it’s not the best approach to just stretch once and you’re done. Like running, you need consistency. In order to actually see improvements in range of motion, set a goal to stretch your hip flexors for about two minutes five days a week or four minutes three times a week.

“I think everyone should start their day with some mobility work,” Hislop says. “Pick three moves in the morning and be consistent. Currently, mine are sitting at the bottom of a squat, 90/90 hip rotation, and thoracic spine rotation. We need our bodies to move well in general in order to run well.”

For certified running coach Amanda Grimm from We Run, adding 15 to 20 minutes of yoga on rest days makes a big difference for overall flexibility and range of motion for herself and her clients, she tells Runner’s World. She also targets areas on her body that are prone to tightness on days she doesn't run, which she says tends to help her running form.

“Not confining your stretches to run days and putting them in your regular routine instead will enhance overall mobility and help maintain muscle health,” she adds.

Another bonus for daily mobility work through strategic stretches: You’re likely to identify imbalances more easily. For example, you may realise you have differences in range of motion from left to right.

“This can help you identify what is holding you back from doing your best,” says Hislop. “That will help guide how much you need to do before, after, and between runs.”

The post 4 Major Stretching Myths — Busted appeared first on Runner's World.

Runners who sit a lot or don’t do glute exercises need to watch for “dead butt syndrome,” also known as gluteal amnesia. Basically, your butt forgets how to be a butt.

“While the name might sound funny, it can cause problems and be a real pain in the butt to runners and non-runners alike,” Amie Dworecki, certified running coach and personal trainer, tells Runner’s World.

There are four glute muscles on each side of your body, the gluteus maximus (the most superficial of the glutes), the gluteus medius (sits at the top of the butt, and is partially covered by the maximus), the gluteus minimus (completely covered by the other muscles), and the tensor fascia lata (which runs down the thigh). Together, these muscles support humans balance when standing up by keeping your pelvis stable and allowing your legs to move with power.

Strong butt muscles keep you moving, while weak butt muscles make it hard to stand and walk. Beyond that, strong glutes contribute to powerful athletic performance, like running and jumping. Sit too much, and that muscle, the biggest and potentially strongest in the body, can weaken your performance.

Here, learn about dead butt syndrome, including how it can affect runners,and how to keep it from happening to you.

What is dead butt syndrome?
“Dead butt syndrome is when your gluteal muscles, particularly the gluteus medius and maximus, essentially ‘forget’ how to do their job,” Dworecki says. This tends to happen if you sit for long periods, so they can “switch off,” becoming numb or sore.

Dead butt syndrome doesn’t present like your typical injury, Anuja Ghate, a physical therapist who works with runners at Replay PT, tells Runner’s World. “For example, if you have a hamstring injury, you would feel pain in your hamstring area,” Ghate continues. With dead butt syndrome, the pain will be felt in the muscle groups that are being overworked due to glute inactivity, such as the lower back.

Also, notes Ghate, the pain is cumulative. “It starts off as a slight discomfort that goes away and then eventually becomes persistent and more constant,” she says. If you have low back pain that doesn’t go away after a couple of weeks, consider seeing a physical therapist.

Runners who alternate between intense bouts of training and prolonged periods of sitting are particularly vulnerable to dead butt syndrome. The repetitive motions of running often amplify strength imbalances between the glutes and the other muscles used in running, while tight hips from sitting can limit glute engagement, Dworecki says.

Your risk of dead butt syndrome is even higher if you don’t incorporate targeted glute exercises into your strength workouts, explains Ghate.

How does dead butt syndrome impact running?
Given the pivotal roles your glutes play in running, dead butt syndrome can have significant effects on your performance and injury risk.

The primary glute muscles used when you run are the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius. The glute max extends your hip as your foot pushes off the ground, while the glute med keeps your hips and pelvis level when landing on one foot, per Gait & Posture. When these muscles don’t fire correctly, the body shifts the workload to the hip flexors, hamstrings, and lower back muscles. The overworked and fatigued muscles change your running stride and make it harder to maintain proper form. “These factors can reduce your overall running economy, making you tire more quickly and limiting how far or fast you can comfortably go,” Dworecki says.

It also increases your risk of pain and injury. “Any time one muscle group isn’t firing properly, other muscles will compensate; over time, these muscle imbalances can lead to injury,” Ghate tells Runner’s World. “For example, if your glutes aren’t firing properly, your lower back muscles could end up picking up the slack and eventually develop a chronic back ache.”

If you’re battling unexplained aches and pains, see a physical therapist to find out if dead butt syndrome is the culprit. This way, you can get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.

What helps to prevent dead butt syndrome?
Dworecki suggests a two-part strategy to prevent dead butt syndrome: minimise the causes and strengthen the glutes so they stay active and engaged. That means, sit less and do glute exercises during your workouts.

To keep your glutes from falling asleep, break up prolonged periods of sitting by setting reminders to get up, stretch, or walk around every 30 to 60 minutes, says Dworecki. Also, consider using a standing desk and periodically switching the type of chair in which you sit. This can help reduce the strain on any one part of your body, says Dworecki.

Ghate also recommends performing a sprint workout once a week. “Sprinting works the fast-twitch, type 2 muscle fibers, which will help increase the strength of your large glute muscles,” she says.

Next, supplement your running with cross-training workouts to ensure the glutes aren’t constantly over- or under-worked. Activities like yoga, Pilates, swimming, and walking up an incline reinforce balanced hip strength. Meanwhile, hip flexor stretches and foam roller exercises loosen the hips for better glute activation, Dworecki says.

When it’s time to run, perform a dynamic warmup that includes the following exercises to activate the glute muscles. “People shouldn’t be running and thinking of squeezing their butt as they’re doing it,” Ghate says. Instead, before a run, do glute-centric exercises regularly to wake up those fibres so they fire more. This will also help them fire correctly when you run, and you won’t have that muscle imbalance as a consequence.

What moves activate the glutes?
Dworecki suggests doing 10 to 20 reps per side of each exercise as a circuit then repeat.

Glute Bridges

How to Do it:

1. Lie on back with knees bent and feet flat on ground.
2. Squeeze glutes and lift hips off the floor to form a straight line from knees, hips, and shoulders.
3. Hold briefly before lowering hips to floor.

Donkey Kicks

How to Do it:

1. Start on hands and knees with hands under shoulders and knees under hips, abs engaged. You don’t need to keep a yoga block on your back, but it is a great way to make sure you are isolating the glute muscles.
2. Keeping back flat, lift right leg and bend knee. Engage right glute and press right foot toward the ceiling.
3. Squeeze glute at top of move before returning knee to ground.

Clamshell

How to Do it:

1. Lie on side with legs stacked and knees bent at 45-degrees.
2. Engage abdominals. Then, keeping heels together, raise your top knee as high as possible without tilting pelvis forward or backward.
3. Hold briefly before returning your knee to start position.
4. To further challenge the glutes, add a resistance band around the legs.

The post If You Run a Lot — and Sit a Lot — You Could Develop Dead Butt Syndrome appeared first on Runner's World.

That said, strength training for runners is different than it is for your standard gym rat. Runners should focus on targeting the key muscles and movement patterns that will keep you balanced, moving forward, and injury-free. That includes core stability moves, unilateral (or one-sided) exercises, and exercises that work the back of the body.

That’s why we asked our experts to come up with 10 essential strength training exercises for runners, which run coach Jess Movold, certified trainer, demonstrates for you in the video above.

The Benefits of Strength Training for Runners
You can gain plenty of advantages from having a regular strength workout on your schedule. For starters, research shows that it can help improve your running economy, which essentially makes running longer and faster feel easier by making you more efficient. Translation: It boosts your performance for the road.

Also, because many runners’ overuse injuries tend to stem from muscle imbalances or weakness, strength training can also help you sidestep injuries that may leave you sidelined. This keeps you healthy during a full training cycle, so you’re ready to crush it come race day.

Finally, strength training preps you for ease of movement outside of your running shoes and gets you moving in other planes of motion, which makes you a more well-rounded athlete.

How Often Runners Should Strength Train
Experts suggest performing these 10 exercises below for the amount of reps listed twice a week. Add them to your easy run days or cross-training days. Each move below is demonstrated by Hollis Tuttle, certified personal trainer and run coach.

Depending on your skill level, you may want to make some moves harder or easier so you’ll also find modifications and progressions listed. That way, you can come back to this list over and over as you get stronger.

10 Strength Training Exercises for Runners

1. Plank

Works: core, lower back, shoulders

1. Start on all fours. Lower onto forearms with shoulders directly over elbows.
2. Step feet back into a plank position.
3. Draw shoulders down and back — not hunched. Engage abdominal muscles tight to keep hips in line with shoulders so body forms a long, straight line.
4. Squeeze legs and glutes for support. Hold this position for 45-60 seconds. Gradually add time as your core gets stronger.
5. Rest and repeat for 3-5 reps.

Make it easier: Drop to your knees, still maintaining ab engagement.

2. Core Twist

Works: core, obliques

1. Start seated with knees bent 90 degrees, heels on floor, and hands clasped in front of chest.
2. Engage abs and rotate upper body to the right as if you’re reaching right elbow to floor. Keep back tall and rotate from torso.
3. Return to centre.
4. Then repeat on left side. That’s 1 repetition.
5. Do 10-12 reps.

Make it harder: Keep your legs straight, lift heels off floor, or add a dumbbell as shown above.

3. Scorpion

Works: abs, hips, back

1. Start lying facedown with arms out to sides to form a T, thumbs pointing up, and chin rested on floor so the neck is not strained.
2. Bend left knee then swing leg to right to try to touch left toes to right shoulder.
3. Hold for 30 seconds
4. Then return to starting position.
5. Repeat on opposite side with right leg. That’s 1 repetition.
6. Do 3-5 reps.

Make it easier: Simply reach toe to opposite hip instead of shoulder. As you gain mobility and flexibility, you can progress to reach for shoulder.

4. Back Extension

Works: lower back, glutes, middle back, shoulders

1. Lie facedown on a stability ball with feet set wide for balance. Bend elbows and place hands softly behind head.
2. Squeeze glutes and lift torso up. Hold for 1-2 seconds.
3. Release back down to the starting position.
4. Repeat. Do 10-12 reps.

No stability ball? You can do the movement on an exercise mat: Raise your thighs and arms off the ground while your torso stays in contact with the ground.

Make it harder: Hold light dumbbells.

5. Squat to Overhead Press

Works: glutes, quads, hamstrings, lower back, upper back, shoulders

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart. Hold dumbbells with both hands racked at shoulders.
2. Send hips back and down to lower into a squat until thighs are parallel to the floor.
3. Drive through feet to stand back up, and as you do, press the dumbbells overhead, biceps by ears.
4. Lower weights back to shoulders.
5. Repeat. Do 10-12 reps.

Make it easier: Do the squat without the dumbbells, or just hold one dumbbell at chest and perform squats without the press.

6. Overhead Forward Lunge

Works: quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, shoulders, core

1. Start standing, holding one dumbbell straight above shoulders with both hands, arms straight overhead, biceps by ears.
2. Step forward with right leg, and lower down until both knees bend 90 degrees.
3. Press through right heel to stand back up.
4. Repeat with left leg. That’s 1 repetition.
5. Do 6-8 reps on each leg.

Make it easier: Perform the forward lunge without a dumbbell or hold it at shoulder level.

7. Stability Ball Pike-Up

Works: shoulders, core

1. Start in a high plank position with shoulders over wrists, but instead of placing feet on the floor, rest shins on a stability ball.
2. Engage core to pull the stability ball toward chest and lift hips up as you roll the ball forward to the feet.
3. Lower hips and roll feet back out to plank position.
4. Repeat. Do 10-12 reps.

Make it easier: Pull your knees as close as you can to your chest without lifting your hips into the air, then return to plank.

8. Stability Ball Leg Curl

Works: hamstrings, glutes, core

1. Lie faceup on the floor, with hands at sides on mat and and feet on a stability ball, legs straight with soft bend in knees. Keep arms to sides for support and balance.
2. Lift hips up so the body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees.
3. Without allowing hips to drop, roll the ball as close as possible to hips by bending knees and pulling heels toward you.
4. Straighten legs back out.
5. Repeat. Do 6-8 reps.

Make it harder: Do the exercise with just one leg, holding the other leg in the air above your hips.

9. Rotational Shoulder Press

Works: shoulders, triceps, core

1. Stand holding a pair of dumbbells racked at shoulders, with palms facing each other.
2. Press right dumbbell overhead as you rotate from hips to the left.
3. Lower the dumbbell as you rotate back to center.
4. Then press left dumbbell overhead as you rotate to the right. That’s 1 repetition.
5. Continue alternating for 6-8 reps.

Make it easier: Do half of the repetitions without the rotations.

10. Alternating Row

Works: middle back, biceps, core

1. Start standing with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other.
2. With a microbend in the knees, hinge at hips and lower the torso until it’s nearly parallel to the floor.
3. Keep arms straight while bending at hips so the dumbbells hang straight down. This is the starting position.
4. Bend left elbow to pull the left dumbbell to left hip.
5. Lower arm back to starting position.
6. Repeat on right side. That’s 1 repetition.
7. Continue alternating for 10-12 reps.

Make it easier: Perform the move with both hands at once, which requires less core stability.

The post These 10 Exercises Provide the Perfect Strength Training for Runners appeared first on Runner's World.

The Benefits of Single-Leg Exercises for Runners
“Because running is a unilateral sport basically consisting of mini single-leg movements over and over again, these single-leg exercises can help improve motor control in the single-leg position, as well as stability, and they can prevent injury,” Dan Giordano, Personal Trainer and chief medical officer at Bespoke Treatments tells Runner’s World.

To help you build that strength, stability, and power, Runner’s World coach, Jess Movold, offers up the best single-leg exercises for runners.

Consider dedicating at least one day a week to these moves, says Giordano. (You can practice bilateral, or both sides, on different days, he adds.) Doing so will allow you to optimise your training and increase your overall speed. He also suggests practicing this workout without shoes to improve foot muscle strength — also important on the run.

5 Single-Leg Exercises for Runners

How to use this list: Perform each exercise below for 4 sets of 8 reps. Each move is demonstrated by Coach Jess so you can follow proper form.

You will need a step, chair, or bench, and a set of dumbbells or kettlebells for this workout. An exercise mat is optional.

1. Single-Leg Glute Bridge

1. Lie faceup on the mat with knees bent, feet flat on floor, arms resting at sides.
2. Lift right foot of the floor, bending knee and keeping knee over hip.
3. Press through left heel to lift hips up toward ceiling, engaging glutes.
4. Then slowly lower back down. Keep right foot lifted.
5. Repeat for reps.
6. Then switch sides. Make sure core is engaged so you’re not lifting with the lower back.

2. Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift

1. Start standing with weight in left hand.
2. Shift weight to right leg, and with a soft bend in right knee, hinge at the hips by sending butt back. Keep back flat, shoulders down, and core engaged as torso reaches toward the floor and left leg lifts straight back behind you. Only lower until you feel a slight pull in right hamstrings; you don’t have to lower weight to ground.
3. Drive right foot into ground to stand back up, squeezing glutes.
4. Repeat for reps.
5. Then switch sides.

3. Single-Leg Step-Up

1. With right foot on top of a box and left foot on the ground, step up onto the box by driving all of your weight through the right foot, keeping knee over laces, body traveling directly upwards.
2. Drive left knee up toward chest at the top.
3. Slowly lower back down.
4. Repeat for reps.
5. Then switch sides.

4. Single-Leg Squat

1. Standing in front of a chair, facing away from it, lift left leg out in front of you.
2. With chest lifted and shoulders back and down, extend both arms straight out.
3. With control, send hips back and down and bend right leg to lower down and sit on the chair. Keep left foot lifted and upper body tall.
4. Press through right foot to stand back up.
5. Repeat for reps.
6. Then switch sides.

5. Bulgarian Split Squat

1. Stand in front of a chair, bench, box, or step, facing away from it. Take a small step away from the chair. Reach right foot back and rest laces on the chair.
2. Keeping chest tall and slight lean forward, bend left knee to lower as far as you can with control.
3. Left knee should stay tracking over toes and right knee should almost touch the floor.
4. Drive left foot into the floor to stand back up.
5. Repeat for reps.
6. Then switch sides.

The post Add These 5 Single-Leg Exercises to Your Strength Plan Today appeared first on Runner's World.

But if you’ve ever noticed hamstring or back tightness, feel your glutes don’t “turn on” during a leg workout, or you lack that explosive kick to finish out a sprint, you could be a “quad-dominant” runner. And that’s where some problems could pop up, like knee pain.

Here’s what to know about running while quad dominant and how to address it so you stay in balance.

If you can’t see your big toes? “It’s because your knees are settling over your toes and your quads are taking over the balance work your glutes should be doing,” she says. That means you’re likely quad-dominant.

“Quad dominance occurs when the anterior muscles (quads and hip flexors) overpower the posterior muscles (glutes and hamstrings) of the leg,” explains Anne Alise Bonistalli, a Boston-based strength coach and founder of Boom personal training.

How You Become Quad-Dominant
Quad dominance is actually pretty common in the running population, especially in speedier and higher-mileage types. That’s because when you go faster and farther, it takes more power to flex the hip and drive forward, which comes from your quads. Beginner runners are also at risk if they ramp up more mileage than their bodies are used to, says London-Crane.

These characteristics are often paired with some other behaviours that only compound the problem, like not spending time doing the strength training or hill work needed to balance out the back side of your body. “It’s likely that without these weight-bearing activities, your glutes and hamstrings are underdeveloped,” she says.

So, most of the time, quad dominance can be blamed on weak glutes and hamstrings. “When these power muscles are weak, your quads naturally take over and throw off your front-to-back body balance,” London-Crane says.

Another risk factor? Avoiding the great outdoors for treadmill runs, over and over again. That’s because pounding on the treadmill takes some of the hamstring-glute function out of the equation, since the belt is essentially pulling your legs back, explains Angela Rubin, a former studio manager of Precision Running Lab at Equinox Chestnut Hill. As a result, your posterior chain may need even more strengthening.

What’s more: “Especially in our day and age where most of us sit at desks for work, it’s really easy to be quad-dominant,” Rubin says. Spending hours at a desk can shorten and tighten both the hip flexors and quadriceps.

The Problem With Quad-Dominant Running
Any bodily imbalance potentially ups injury risk and has the ability to hinder performance, Rubin says.

Healthy, stable knees, for one, require two oppositional forces, including “strong quads to straighten the knee and help to flex the foot forward, and strong hamstrings to bend the knee and help to pull the leg backward,” London Crane says. “These two muscles should be working together, and when they’re not, you put your knee at risk.”

What’s more, a muscle imbalance in your lower half can mess with your goals on the road, too. Basically, you can’t quite maximise speed and efficiency if you’re only truly utilising one-half of your body.

Look at it this way: If your quads are taking over for your hammies or your glutes, you’re not allowing these important muscles to do their thing.

“Your glutes are your powerhouse, and most fatigue-resistant muscle,” Bonistalli says. “Without the glutes and hamstrings strength in helping drive each and every stride you make, you are not reaching your full running potential.”

How to Fix Quad-Dominance
The good news: Even if you’ve suffered strength or flexibility imbalances, recurring injuries, or gone your whole life without properly engaging your glutes, you can change things — and it’s worth considering if you’re noticing injuries or feel like your glutes are “sleepy,” and don’t fire during your lower-body exercises.

Your move? Work on balancing out your body. Balance, in large, comes in the form of building your posterior chain, Rubin says. “Focus on both the hamstrings and glutes to counterbalance all the quad activation,” she suggests.

Foam rolling your quads, hamstrings, adductors, IT band, and active release of your tensor fascia latae (TFL/hip abductor) and iliopsoas (hip flexor) will alleviate any tension in your legs after hitting the road, and if done regularly, can help to prevent injury, Bonistalli says. “To get back to a ‘normal state’ you need to release the muscles that are tense and then activate and strengthen the muscles that are weak,” she explains.

Just remember: Any change to your workout habits takes time and practice. And moving too quickly — like adding in 50 deadlifts out of the blue — can be a recipe for injury, London Crane says. “Be sure to gradually ramp up your glute-activating exercises in the same way you’d gradually ramp up your weekly mileage,” she says.

The post Try This Test to See if You’re a Quad-Dominant Runner appeared first on Runner's World.

If you want to start foam rolling, but aren’t sure how, when, or the best moves to make it happen, use this advice to implement it into your run routine.

What is foam rolling and what are the benefits?
Known as a myofascial release technique, foam rolling is a practice that (you guessed it!) involves a foam roller (or a dense cylinder made of foam) to massage muscles and fascia, helping to relieve tightness and soreness and to get blood flowing to the affected area.

Dr Michael Clark, a physical therapist and chief science advisor for the National Academy of Sports Medicine tells Runner’s World that foam rolling can be a valuable part of a healthy runner’s warm-up and cool-down routine. According to Clark, because foam rolling improves circulation, it can prep your body for workout and then help it wind down post-run.

Several studies have examined the benefits of foam rolling. According to a review published in the International Journal of Exercise Science, in June 2022, foam rolling can offer a safe way to enhance performance and recovery. However, this article does point out that we still lack robust evidence on the exact mechanisms that drive these benefits.

In a study published in the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapy in 2020, foam rolling was found to reduce muscle stiffness and increase range of motion, particularly when used with dynamic stretching in an active warm-up. The study also found that it could reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMS), which is why it’s smart to foam roll immediately after your run or strength-training routine.

Finally, a review published in The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in April 2022 points to studies that found the practice can increase blood flow and circulation and that it can also help you feel psychologically relaxed — an important component of recovery. Although these researchers also point out the need for more research examining the benefits of foam rolling, they also revealed no adverse affects to the practice. So if it makes you feel good pre or post-run, that’s a win.

The Best Foam Rolling Moves for Runners
When practicing these foam rolling moves, make sure to roll slowly — don’t rush it. When you find a tender spot, pause on that spot (or roll just slightly back and forth and up and down) until you feel it soften or release.

Foam Rolling Moves to Add to Your Warmup

1. Calves

Sit on the floor with legs extended. Place the roller under left calf. Rest right foot on the floor or cross right ankle over left for extra pressure. Use hands to lift hips off floor, then roll from the ankle to below the knee. Rotate left leg in, then out. Repeat on right calf.

2. Outer Quad

Lie on left side with foam roller near left hip. Cross right leg over top of left and rest right foot on floor with knee bent. Using forearm, roll along outer thigh from outer hip to just above the knee. Increase the pressure by stacking legs. Repeat on right side.

3. Piriformis

Sit on the roller with left knee bent, foot on floor. Cross right ankle over left knee. Lean onto left side and roll forward and back along left outer hip and glute, using left leg to control the pressure. Rotate hips left and right to find the trigger points and knots, then concentrate there for 60 seconds. Repeat on right side.

Foam Rolling Moves to Add to Your Cooldown

1. Hamstrings

Sit on the floor and place roller under thighs. Use hands to lift hips, then roll from the knees to the glutes. To increase the pressure, cross right leg over left and roll one leg at time, turning left leg in and out. Repeat on right leg.

2. Adductors

Lie facedown on amat, forearms flat on the floor, shoulders over elbows. Keep right leg extended out to the side, knee bent. Place the roller on inner right thigh area and use forearms and left leg to shift weight back and forth to roll the inner right thigh. Roll from knee to hip. Repeat on left leg.

3. Quadriceps

Lie facedown on mat on forearms with a roller placed under front thighs. Use forearms to shift back and forth to slowly roll up and down from the bottom of the hip to the top of the knee.

The post How to Add Foam Rolling to Your Run Routine appeared first on Runner's World.

When you’ve just finished an intense workout or long run, your body may crave the fast cooldown that a cold bath — complete with ice floating on top — can provide, but do they really work? New research published in the journal Sports Sciences for Health suggests they can, as long as you follow the correct guidelines.

Researchers surveyed 111 athletes, coaches, and support practitioners—like physical therapists—about their cold-water immersion (CWI) protocols and observations. Of those, 78 percent found the practice beneficial for recovery, in large part because of reduced inflammation and increased pain relief.

Researchers also found a high degree of awareness of the physiological benefits associated with post-exercise CWI, including alterations in blood flow and reduction in tissue temperature.

That said, more than half of respondents used a water temperature outside of the recommended range of 8 to 15 degrees Celsius, and only 14 percent followed the guidelines of being in the water for 10 to 15 minutes. In fact, the most popular immersion time was only about two to five minutes at a temperature colder than 8 degrees.

“There seems a discordance between the knowledge of the benefits and understanding of the mechanisms controlling them,” lead author Dr Robert Allen, lecturer in human physiology at the University of Central Lancashire noted in a news release. “The protocol during CWI is important. In many cases, what’s being used in practice will not be offering the benefits they’re trying to achieve.”

“If that threshold isn’t reached, the body may not have enough of a stimulus to produce the needed response,” she said. “In this case, that’s pain relief and reduced inflammation.”

Her recommendation is to gradually phase into the 10- to 15-minute period and to ensure the temperature is within that 8 to 1 5 degree span with a waterproof thermometer. She suggested starting with five minutes, for example, or trying a higher temperature for 10 minutes and decreasing the temp by a few degrees every other session, until you’re in the recommended temperature range.

The post Best Ice Bath Temperature and Duration to Reap Recovery Benefits, According to Research appeared first on Runner's World.

You might think you’re covered, considering the many benefits of running, but the truth is everyone can develop age-related muscle loss—even those of us who clock countless kilometres on our feet. Plus, if you don’t do anything to counteract your muscle loss, then your condition can progress into a musculoskeletal condition known as sarcopenia.

For that reason, we spoke to experts and dug into the research to find out what runners need to know about age-related muscle loss, as well as how to prevent and reverse sarcopenia.

What is sarcopenia and how does it differ from age-related muscle loss?

To be considered sarcopenic, Mark Peterson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., associate professor at the University of Michigan says someone must have declines in not only muscle mass, but also strength and function to the point that it is detrimental to one’s health. In fact, sarcopenia can be so detrimental that it can increase your risk of falls and fractures, and even can lead to functional decline, frailty, and mortality. “All of us will not experience sarcopenia, but we will experience a deceleration of muscle mass and strength with age,” Peterson adds.

How is sarcopenia diagnosed?

“Sarcopenia is defined as the loss of muscle function linked to a reduction in muscle mass,” Alfonso Cruz Jentoft, Ph.D., lead researcher for the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People and director of the geriatric department of Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid tells Runner’s World. While in the past, experts said if you were older and had low muscle mass, then you also have sarcopenia, but now you have to show signs of decline in strength and function.

If you experience a loss in strength—which you might notice when it becomes difficult to lift items you normally could in the past—that’s the first sign of sarcopenia. There’s also a decline in muscle quality or quantity—which doctors measure through a DXA scan, CT, or MRI—and in severe cases, a decline in physical performance, which is assessed with a gait speed test or timed up-and-go test.

If you suspect you have sarcopenia, you can reach out to your primary care physician to test you for the condition. Despite how much experts and researchers understand about the sarcopenia, there isn’t a universal way to screen people for it and many cases go undetected, Jentoft writes in a research paper. This makes it hard to pinpoint if the condition adversely effects one group of people over another.

What runners should know about sarcopenia

Naturally, Jentoft says, “older adults are at higher risk for developing sarcopenia. Those who are physically inactive, do not exercise, or do not eat well—especially those who do not eat enough protein—are at the highest risk.” Jentoft defines enough protein as 1 to 1.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight a day for older adults and 1.5 grams for older adults living with sarcopenia.

Also, people—young and old—living with other health conditions like osteoporosis, cerebral palsy, and some neurodevelopmental conditions can develop the condition as well, says Peterson.

While exercise is smart for the ageing population at risk for sarcopenia, running won’t necessarily stave off the condition. “Aerobic-type exercise, like running, does not do much for counteracting sarcopenia and depending on your nutrition intake, it can actually exacerbate it, if you’re in a caloric deficit,” says Brad Schoenfeld, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., professor of exercise science at Lehman College and director of the graduate program in human performance and fitness. Long-distance runners who don’t strength train, he says, are just as prone to developing the sarcopenia as a sedentary individual.

Paterson agrees: “If a competitive runner in college or beyond, stops running as avidly as they did, they have a higher risk for potentially having sarcopenia and osteoporosis, if they don’t maintain some kind of fitness regimen that lends itself towards preservation of muscle and bone.”

How to prevent and reverse age-related muscle loss and sarcopenia

Nutrition and exercise are key factors in the solution to prevent age-related muscle loss and sarcopenia. “Movement is only one half of the equation, the other half is adequate nutrition,” says Peterson.

Research backs this up: One study published in the journalArchives of Gerontology and Geriatrics in 2019, found that older adults who took a daily whey protein supplement and practiced regular resistance exercises for a 12-week period had greater improvements in hand grip strength when compared to those who only practiced resistance training.

Why? For starters, protein is a key component in building muscle. “The only way that you can have improvements and muscle synthesis is by replacing the amino acids and protein that you have taken from the muscle to repair and recover from that stimulus,” Peterson says.

Plus, he adds, “when somebody becomes malnutritional—whether that’s because they don’t take in anything or all they eat is garbage—they can become high risk for sarcopenia.” Research echos this too: A cohort study published in the journal Nutrients in 2019 found malnutrition is a strong predictor of the onset of sarcopenia, increasing risk four-fold.

What’s more: Other studies have found taking nutrition supplements like vitamin D can help improve muscle quality in older adults. Researchers of a randomised trail published in 2015 found after 12 weeks of resistance training, elderly men who also received a vitamin D supplement had greater improvements in muscle quality than the younger men who received the training regiment. (However, vitamin D didn’t have an effect on muscle hypertrophy or strength.)

Another study, published in the Geriatrics & Gerontology International journal in 2019, found that a 12-week program, which included bodyweight exercises, protein, and a vitamin D supplement was an effective way to improve muscle quality and strength in sarcopenic individuals.

While running might not protect you from the condition, other forms of exercise will offer some advantages for your muscles. “Sarcopenia reflects muscle atrophy, which is a loss of muscle. And hypertrophy is the gaining of muscle mass,” Schoenfeld says. To counteract sarcopenia, you need to focus on training for hypertrophy. And to do that, you need resistance exercises, like weight training.

Exactly how to train to reduce risk of age-related muscle loss and sarcopenia

Schoenfeld recommends regimented resistance exercises to stave off sarcopenia, and he suggests aiming for two to three strength sessions per week, working for 30 to 45 minutes. “You just have to lift hard,” he says, suggesting you lift close to failure.

Most importantly, you want to focus on progressive overload—gradually increasing the amount of weight you lift overtime. For beginners to master this technique, Schoenfeld suggests lifting about 65 to 75 percent of your one-rep max (the most you can lift for just one repetition) for 10 to 15 reps each set. That means that if your one-rep max is 45 kilograms, then you should start out lifting anywhere between 30 to 35 kilograms and progress the load from there.

Melissa Boyd, NASM-certified personal trainer says, “As you progress, the focus should be on slowly adding more weight while doing fewer reps and building full-body strength instead of just exhausting the body, which will affect your running.”

If you don’t know where to start, then try this basic workout designed by Boyd to help you build strength. Complete each move for the number of reps and sets listed below, resting for one to two minutes in between each set.

Squat

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Send hips back and down, and bend knees until thighs are parallel with the ground. Remember to keep knees and toes in line and chest lifted as you squat. Press through feet to stand back up. Repeat. Complete 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Push-Up

Start in a high plank position and place your hands shoulder-width apart or slightly wider with shoulders stacked directly over wrists. Engage core and make sure body forms a straight line from head to heels. Inhale, then bend elbows to lower chest to the floor. Your elbows form a 45-degree angle with body. Then keep core engaged and hips in line with the rest of body, exhale, and push back up to plank. Repeat. Complete as many reps as you can.

Good Morning

Stand with feet hip-width apart. With a flat back and knees slightly bent, hinge at the hips, sending butt straight back and lowering torso until you feel a deep stretch in the hamstrings. Keep back flat. Engage glutes and drive feet into the floor to stand back up. Repeat. Complete 3 sets of 10-12 reps. To make it harder, step into a long resistance band, and loop it across upper back. Or hold a dumbbell across shoulders, behind your head.

Bent-Over Row

Stand with feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand. Hinge at the hips, sending butt straight back, with back flat. Extend arms down in front of you, palms facing each other. Then, row weights to ribcage, keeping elbows close to sides. Straighten arms back down. Repeat. Complete 3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Lateral Band Walk

Place a resistance band around ankles. Start with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent, then take two steps to the left, then two steps to the right. Complete 3 sets for 45 seconds each.

The post How to Prevent and Reverse Age-Related Muscle Loss appeared first on Runner's World.

“You have to play the long game,” Amelia Boone, 38, obstacle racing world champ and ultra runner, tells Runner’s World. “What are your goals? Always err on the side of caution.”

Boone hasn’t always erred on the side of caution. In 2016 she ran through what seemed to be a niggle in her adductor, in the lead-up to Western States. During a descent it felt like her leg was breaking in half. “I had thought it was a strain,” Boone recalls. “It was a femoral stress fracture.” She was on crutches for three months, sidelined for six.

Since then, Boone shuts things down early if she feels pain or something that changes her gait. As of this writing, she’s battling some yet-to-be-determined pains.

“I was positive I broke my femur again,” she says. “The imaging shows everything is totally fine. But I still feel pain, so how do I work through it?” A question many runners have asked themselves.

Runners are notorious for not listening to their bodies, particularly when it might mean stopping something they love, says Joel Allen, P.T., M.S.P.T. But early diagnosis and intervention can mean the difference between nailing that goal race or sitting out for months or more.

What an Injury v. an Ache Feels Like

When assessing your own aches and pains, a good rule of thumb is that an injury often feels painful, a sharp pain like a stabbing or shooting, says Allen, a veteran triathlete. In many cases, that acute painful sensation is indicative of a muscle tear or bone fracture.

Of course, overuse injuries can develop over time, Allen says. In that case, if you experience muscle soreness that lasts three or more days, he recommends seeking medical attention. Injuries aren’t going to go away after a few days, he explains.

If you’re trying to determine if you should run through pain, here are signs you might be injured:

• Sharp or stabbing pain
• Pain that lasts more than three days, even if it occurs only during running (not necessarily after)
• Swelling and bruising

Compared to typical soreness, which should:

• Dissipate within a couple of days; for example delayed-onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) will come on 24 to 36 hours after a tough workout and then subside with light physical activity and time.
• Not interfere with everyday activities
• Feel better with light foam rolling and stretching

Even if runners don’t always listen when their bodies tell them to stop, they know their bodies well. Boone, for example, knows that pain that lasts for three runs is more than an ache. Or if she experiences pain during everyday, non-running activities, then that’s the sign of a more serious issue.

“Today I pay attention to the nature of pain,” she says. “As we get older, aches and pains might pop up when we start to run, but those should settle down within a mile or so. If they don’t, that’s a flag to shut it down.”

Keep an Eye Out for Common Running Injuries

Without the proper running mechanics, warmups and cooldowns, rest and recovery, and a gradual approach to training—yes, a lot of moving parts—runners will likely find themselves staring down a running injury at some point in their career, Allen says.

Common injuries include:

• Piriformis syndrome
• Shin splints
• Lower back pain
• Ankle pain
• IT band syndrome
• Plantar fasciitis
• Achilles tendinitis
• Runner’s knee
• Hamstring strain
• Stress fracture
• Hip bursitis
• Shoulder pain

Any weight-bearing joint—back, hip, knee, ankle, toes, and feet—Allen says, can be a common place for running injuries. So it’s important to pay special attention to these areas if they’re talking to you via aches and pains.

“People feel running is running, but it’s so technical, and running mechanics are so important,” he says, noting that as a breed, we need to focus on strength training, including core strength. Other physical therapists also suggest focusing on mobility and flexibility.

Allen emphasises the importance of not only a dynamic warmup but a dynamic cooldown, too. Especially as we age, these warmups and cooldowns can help mitigate the natural decline in muscle elasticity. “These don’t necessarily take up a lot of time,” he says. “It’s about making it a part of your routine, like brushing your teeth.”

When to See a Doctor (And When to Listen to Them)

You know your body, and when something doesn’t go away or you have feelings of sharp, stabbing, or shooting pain, it’s a good time to seek medical attention, whether that’s a physical therapist, orthopedist, sports medicine doctor, or a general practitioner. And there’s something to be said about finding healthcare providers who are runners (or exercise enthusiasts) because they tend to get it: You don’t want to just stop running because something hurts.

“You don’t have to be a runner to understand, but it helps,” says Allen, who’s had his own share of running-related injuries. “Personally, I never tell someone not to run unless I feel it’s going to make them feel worse or injure themselves more or lead them down the line of more injuries.”

Instead, Allen tries to find ways to modify running—a less voluminous or intense training program, finding different surfaces or shoes, or adding flexibility and strength exercises.

Of course, these modifications are possible if runners are assessed and diagnosed early. “Once you have a stress fracture, you have a stress fracture,” Allen says. “There’s no magic pill to fix that.”

Chloe Costigan, D.P.T., agrees: “Rest alone infrequently resolves an issue. My goal is to try to keep you as active as possible while moving toward less pain.” She points out that when able, continuing to run gives her and her athletes a way to measure the effectiveness of treatment and modifications. If prescribed treatment tactics “aren’t moving you away from pain and increased running tolerance, we should back off a bit of volume and intensity of running,” Costigan tells Runner’s World. “This is a dynamic, ongoing conversation.”

Former collegiate runner, Blain Masterson, lost a year of running due to a stress fracture from running on “just an ache” and not trusting (or, really, being stubborn about) doctor’s orders. The 23-year-old high school English teacher was heading into his junior year of college with sights on the number-two spot on the cross-country team. Eight miles into a 17-miler Masterson felt a burning sensation on the top of his right foot. He brushed it off, ran another five miles before sitting down to investigate.

“I took my shoe off and pressed down on my cuboid [bone, in the midfoot] and a spider web of pain and heat spread over my foot,” he tells Runner’s World. “I kind of knew that was it [for my season].” He ran back to complete the 17 miles before he was diagnosed with a stress fracture.

Instead of following his doctor’s and coach’s recovery plan, though, Masterson would sneak out in the middle of the night to log miles. He felt shame and guilt when the injury would flare up again, and he’d have to feign disbelief around his medical and coaching teams.

“The doctors knew what they were talking about, but I was stubborn, and I knew I had sacrificed the long-term benefit for the short-term pleasure,” Masterson says.

In the end, he ran off and on throughout the latter part of his junior year and eked out a senior outdoor season, albeit a disappointing one. He’s left with the question of “what could have been” if he’d followed his recovery plan.

Masterson sought several opinions, and Allen says it’s always good to get a second or even third opinion—especially if the advice is something you don’t want to hear. Many physical therapists, for example, offer a free consultation. “In a lot of cases, no, you don’t need therapy, maybe just some guidance,” Allen says. “And we can nip it in the bud.” But again, that’s if you catch it early.

What to Do If You Have a Big Race Around the Corner

When runners have been training for a goal race, particularly a longer distance like a half marathon, marathon, or ultramarathon, it can be hard to accept that they may have to table it for an injury.

Boone pulled out of a race this spring to focus on addressing her injuries and recovery; she’s eyeing another one in June. “I have plenty of time, and I’m coming in with a good base,” she says, noting runners have to be flexible with their training to address aches and possible injuries.

Depending on the nature of ache or possible injury, Allen stops short of telling his athletes to forgo a goal race altogether.

“You have to look at the big picture,” he says. “It’s better to go in healthy and undertrained than push through an injury.” That might mean skipping the last 30- kilometre and focusing on cross-training; you won’t lose marathon fitness in a week or even two, he says.

Costigan asks her athletes, “What is the point of racing?” Are they trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon? Complete a World Marathon Major? “Identifying the motivation for racing is imperative in determining whether an athlete should race through an injury,” Costigan says.

Then she’ll assess the cost of racing. “There is certainly a risk that an athlete will be worse after racing,” she says, noting a ruptured Achilles tendon makes walking impossible. “It’s a matter of finding a net positive.” Tuning into your body, talking with a medical expert, and figuring out the best plan for you (and your ache) will help you make the right choice about whether you should run through pain.

The post Is That a Running Ache or an Injury? appeared first on Runner's World.

In an ideal situation, the bones in the vertebrae and the other spots in the spine are strong and healthy. But when these vertebrae are aggravated, it can not only derail your run, but many of your other day-to-day activities.

Your pelvis also plays a major role in how your lower back functions. The sacroiliac (or SI) joints move efficiently in a normal running gait, but if the SI joints are not moving as they should, it can add wear and tear to your lower back area.

Lower back pain is common among new runners or runners who have taken some time off. It tends to happen when you run too strong and too quickly, before your body is ready. If you already have lower back pain, running may exacerbate it, especially if you’re not taking precautions to strengthen your lower back.

There are three types of common pain that can occur in your lower back as a runner: muscle-related pain, bone-related pain, and discogenic pain, according to Jordan Metzl, M.D., a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

Here is how you can identify lower back pain, common causes and how to treat it.

Identifying symptoms of lower back pain when running

Muscle-related pain occurs on either side of the lower part of your spine. You’ll know you have it if you feel spasms or feel pain on one side of your spine or the other, especially when you twist or move, says Metzl.

Bone-related pain feels like general achiness throughout the entire area of your lower back. If you’re over 65, chances are that you’re experiencing arthritic back pain, which is when your bones rub together because you’ve lost the cushion between them, adds Metzl.

“With discogenic pain, this is characterised by pain that gets worse when you bend forward, and most importantly, shoots down your legs,” says Metzl. If you suspect discogenic pain, he advises seeing a doctor right away.

Common causes of lower back pain when running

It can be hard to find the exact culprits for your lower back pain, especially if you normally suffer from it. For runners, common causes of lower back pain include improper form, weak muscles, and possibly more severe issues.

• Poor form: Researchers of a recent study published in the journal Pain Research and Management found posture and running gait were one of several causes for lower back pain after surveying 800 marathon runners. Proper form is important for any runner. If you improve your posture and your form, you’re more likely to prevent injuries and you will also be able to run with ease.
• Muscle weakness: Muscle-related back pain happens when the muscles that surround your back—your core, hips, glutes, and hamstrings—aren’t strong, which forces your back muscles to pick up the slack. “If you have weak hip and gluteal muscles, for example, as they become fatigued during a run, your lower back is forced to work harder to keep you upright and stable, and you become vulnerable to injury,” Metzl says.
• Bone issues: Bone-related pain may be caused by arthritis, and discogenic pain is caused by a bulging or slipped disc, he says. You should see your doctor if you suspect you have either of these.

Treating lower back pain

If you’re experiencing bone- or muscle-related lower back pain when running, there are stretches and exercises you can do to relieve the discomfort you’re feeling.

First and foremost, Metzl recommends foam rolling your back. “The idea is to loosen up the muscles that are aching and tight,” he says. “It’s like a deep-tissue massage you can do every single day.”

Rolling out your hamstrings is also a good idea because if you have tight hamstrings, it accentuates the inward curve in your lumbar spine. “By loosening up your hamstrings, it can take a lot of the pressure off your lower back,” he says.

If these options aren’t working, your doctor can perform an X-ray, which is the best way to view your bones and muscles to diagnose any specific problems.

For discogenic pain, seek treatment from your doctor immediately.

“If you’re getting pain shooting down your legs into your toes, or if you’re bent over like a human comma, just go to your doctor,” Metzl says. Your doctor will likely perform an MRI, which is the best way to diagnose this type of pain. Epidural injections, and in some cases surgery, might be recommended.

Preventing lower back pain

Developing a solid base of running first and giving your body time to adapt to the stress running places on your back will decrease your risk of back injury.

Strength training is key when it comes to preventing lower back pain. “I can’t emphasise this enough: Strong muscles, strong core muscles, and a strong kinetic chain will take load of an achy back,” Metzl says. Having strong core muscles is especially important because these muscles are located on both sides of your spine and work to support it. Among some of Metzl’s favourite exercises to strengthen your muscles and prevent lower back pain are mountain climbers and planks.

Yoga and physical therapy are also helpful in many cases. Watch the video above for examples of exercises—like glute bridges, pikes, and planks—that can help you keep lower back pain when running at bay.

The post How to Beat Lower Back Pain appeared first on Runner's World.

But more than anything else—along the lines of 15 times a day—athletes walk into his office complaining of heel and arch pain when running. “In the close to 30 years I’ve been practicing, it has definitely increased,” he says.

What’s to blame for this parade of aching feet—and what can you do if find yourself suffering? Here’s what Conenello and other sports medicine experts advise.

What causes arch pain when running?

In some cases, arch pain when running signals plantar fasciitis. If runners know the term, they probably associate it with heel pain, Conenello says. Indeed, many cases involve a stabbing, stepped-on-a-nail sensation near the back of the foot, especially first thing in the morning.

But the plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that runs all the way from your heel to the base of your toes. When the four plantar muscles underneath it become weak or deconditioned, the plantar fascia sustains more stress with each step, triggering inflammation. This can cause soreness anywhere along the bottom of your foot, including your arch, he says.

Like many other foot issues, plantar fasciitis and other types of arch pain can come from two primary sources, says Maggie Fournier, D.P.M., a sports podiatrist, and past president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine: Intrinsic factors, which are related to your individual anatomy and physiology, and extrinsic factors, which come from outside your body—think shoes, terrain, or training habits.

On the intrinsic side, high arches can cause pain if you don’t have the right footwear to support them. Conversely, low arches or flat feet can also contribute, especially in the wrong shoe, says Judith Sperling, D.P.M., a podiatrist who has worked as part of the medical teams for the New York City, Boston, L.A., and Twin Cities Marathons.

As your arch caves in, your posterior tibial tendon—which attaches the calf to the inside of the foot—works overtime to support it, and eventually can become fatigued and painful. Arch pain when running can also result from osteoarthritis in the joints across the middle of the foot, she says.

External causes of arch pain from running include ramping up your training too quickly. Adding too many fast kilometres proves especially risky, due to the added pounding, Fournier says.

Making a switch from running on softer surfaces to harder ones—say, going from trails to roads or gravel to concrete—can also bring on tenderness in this area, as can always running on the same side of the road, if the street is sloped or cambered. Fournier also sees arch pain in runners who hang on to their running shoes well past their expiration date.

And then there are the things you do the 23 or so hours of the day you’re not running. Wearing non-supportive shoes, especially for activities that involve lots of standing or walking, don’t do your feet any favours. Of course, staying sedentary isn’t the solution—sitting too much contributes to weakness in your plantar muscles, Conenello points out.

How can you manage arch pain from running on your own—and when should you see a doctor?

More than three-fourths of the time, Conenello believes, runners can address arch pain from running at home. Try this stretch throughout the day: While seated, grab your big toe, pull it back as far as you can tolerate, and hold it for 10 seconds. Repeat 10 times. This will help release the plantar fascia.

While you have your foot in your hand, rub gently along the bottom. If you find a spot that’s particularly sensitive, massage it using a tennis ball to break up scar tissue, he says. You can also use a frozen water bottle, which adds the pain-relief and potential anti-inflammatory properties of ice. Just be sure not to leave your foot resting in one spot on it for too long, or you can get frostbite, Sperling warns.

Going barefoot at times might strengthen foot muscles when you’re healthy, but if you’re already in pain, wear supportive shoes at all times, even just around the house, Fournier says. Over-the-counter arch supports can give your plantar fascia an added bit of support and respite until you’re pain-free.

Anti-inflammatory medications can sometimes help relieve symptoms. “But if it’s not responding right away—within the first few days—stop,” Conenello says. It’s likely inflammation isn’t the culprit, and “you’re just going to be taking medication that you don’t really need and can actually be detrimental in the long run,” posing a risk of side effects like kidney damage and gastrointestinal issues.

If your arch pain doesn’t diminish with time and home treatment, if it alters your gait, or if you see external signs such as swelling, redness, or bruising, it’s a good idea to pause your running and book a doctor’s visit, Fournier says.

A podiatrist, orthopedic specialist, or other sports-medicine provider can use MRI or other imaging to rule out serious injuries, such as stress fractures or ruptures of the plantar fascia. They can also assess both your history and your body’s structure and function to determine the underlying cause of your pain.

What are the best treatments for arch pain from running?

If treatments like ice, rest, and massage fail to provide relief, your doctor may offer other options, depending on your diagnosis and contributing factors. Physical therapy often proves effective, Fournier says. Protocols may include strengthening, stretches, and hands-on manipulation.

Some doctors will suggest a cortisone injection, but Conenello recommends against it for athletes. “It’s a Band-Aid that’s short-lived and [the pain] is going to come back with a vengeance,” he says.

Many types of arch pain when—from plantar fasciitis to posterior tibial tendinitis to osteoarthritis—respond well to a newer treatment called extracorporeal shock wave therapy, or ESWT, Conenello and Sperling say. ESWT uses pressure waves to stimulate the production of proteins that may reduce inflammation, promote blood vessel growth, and allow soft tissue and nerves to regenerate.

While increasing evidence supports its use for these conditions, according to a recent research review in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, some insurance companies consider it experimental and don’t cover it. Discussing the pros and cons with your doctor can help you determine if it’s worth it in your case.

Often, you can keep running while you have treatment. “If it doesn’t hurt while you’re doing it or when you’re done or the next day, then that distance is fine to do,” Sperling says. “But if the pain increases, then you really need to back off or hold off for a couple of weeks until it calms down.”

Cross-training—pool running, swimming, or cycling with a low resistance and high rpm—can replace some or all of your mileage, helping you maintain fitness with less strain on your feet, she says.

How can you prevent arch pain?

“As far as prevention goes, I think the shoe is the number one,” Sperling says. There’s no magical footwear type that’s right for everyone, though—head to your local shoe retailer, ask trained shoe-fitters for their advice, and choose a model that fits comfortably.

The shoe you end up with “might be against the shoe that I would normally recommend,” Conenello says. “But if that’s the one you feel good in, that’s the one you should wear.”

For example, minimalist shoes can relieve arch pain for some people by activating foot muscles. But for people whose issues stem from their posterior tibial tendon, the very same pair can prove aggravating, Sperling says.

In fact, consider buying more than one brand and model and rotating them, so you aren’t putting the exact same pressure on your foot with each run, Conenello suggests. Once you find the perfect fit or fits, track your mileage, and replace them approximately every 550 kilometres or so, Fournier recommends.

Besides good footwear, a proper training program—one that progresses slowly over time—also can prove protective. Instead of logging the same 30 minutes at a moderate pace on the treadmill or 10km loop around your neighborhood, try faster runs, slower jogs, hills, trails, and track workouts. Not only will you protect your arches from too much repetitive motion, Conenello says, you’ll likely also wind up a stronger, faster runner.

The post What to Do About That Nagging Arch Pain appeared first on Runner's World.

No, not a running buddy who won’t stop talking during hard efforts, we’re talking about an actual pain in your left or right buttock that causes regular discomfort before and after a run.

Why does my buttock hurt?

Although there are many things that can contribute to pain in the right or left buttock cheek, which are made up of your glute muscles and flesh, piriformis syndrome is among the most common causes. The piriformis is a powerful, small muscle that sits deep behind the glute and is responsible for external rotation of the hip joint. Next to the piriformis is the sciatic nerve. When the nerve gets irritated, either through repetitive activities like running or prolonged sitting, this causes a deep, dull pain.

“The sciatic nerve is a big bundle of nerves that supplies motor and sensory function from the hips all the way down to the toes,” says Blake Dircksen, C.S.C.S., doctor of physical therapy. “So when the nerve is chronically compressed, you may experience symptoms all the way down the leg.”

In a perfect world, the sciatic nerve is able to slide, glide, and bend with movements such as hip flexion and rotation. When it’s compressed, that mobility is compromised. Common symptoms of butt cheek pain include a deep burning or cramping in the glute or posterior thigh, tingling or a shooting pain down the leg, and discomfort with sitting on hard surfaces. The good news is that there are a number of things that you can do to alleviate the pain.

How can I relieve the pain in my buttock?

In the short term, mix up your activity levels. So, if you feel sharp pain in your buttock when sitting or running—do the opposite. On a plane? Get up and walk around. Hitting a speed workout at the track when that zing kicks in? Slow down, and take some time off. Small tweaks, such as making an effort to minimise sitting time or using a soft cushion when sitting on hard surfaces and removing wallets from the back pocket can make a major difference, according to Dircksen.

Also, you may want to consider having an expert evaluate your gait, as excessive over-pronation, or the inward movement of the foot when you land, has been shown to contribute to the issue, says exercise physiologist Susan Paul.

In the long term, it’s all about stretching and strengthening the piriformis and the surrounding muscles to help reduce muscle tension. Here, Dircksen outlines four techniques to counteracting piriformis syndrome. Try them out to relieve the nagging pain in your buttock.

1. Sciatic Nerve Flossing

Start sitting on the edge of a chair or bench so that the side that is bothering you is hanging off. Rest both feet flat on the floor. Bend the leg that is bothering you, point the toes, and draw the toes back behind you as you look up and back toward the ceiling. It’s okay to feel a slight amount of discomfort here. Next, straighten that knee and extend that leg out in front of you as you flex the toes. Reverse back to the starting position and repeat the motion with leg, but this time by tucking your chin to your chest. Return to starting position. That’s one rep. Do 12 reps.

2. Figure Four Foam Rolling

Start sitting on a foam roller. Reach your left arm back, placing it a few inches behind you. Cross left ankle over right knee, creating a figure four position. Shift your weight slightly to the left hip area. Roll forward and back a few inches for about 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat on opposite side.

3. Dynamic Hamstring Stretch

Start in a runners lunge with your right foot forward, both hands on the floor framing your foot. Slowly straighten your right leg as much as possible, feeling a stretch up the back of the hamstring. Return back to start for one rep. Do 12 reps; repeat on other leg.

4. 90/90 External Rotation Stretch

Sit on the floor with the right leg bent at a 90-degree angle in front of you, with the outside of the right leg on the floor, right shin is parallel to shoulders, and thigh is extending straight forward from right hip. Position the left leg behind you, with knee bent at a 90-degree angle and the inside of the leg on the floor. Right heel and left knee should line up. Placing hands lightly on the floor on either side of the right leg, gently lean shoulders forward over right leg without rounding your back. Hold for 2 seconds. Sit up straight then lean back, placing hands lightly on the floor behind hips. Hold for 2 seconds. Continue leaning forward and back for 30 seconds.

The post How to Get Rid of Nagging Pain in Your Butt Cheek appeared first on Runner's World.

Eating a diet rich in foods containing vitamin K can provide a significant protective effect when it comes to heart health, according to new research.

Researchers looked at dietary data from more than 50,000 people taking part in a decades-long study in Denmark. They found that those who ate more foods high in vitamin K had a 21 percent lower risk of developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease than those who ate the lowest amounts.

The effect was highest among those who consumed green leafy vegetables and vegetable oils, which have a form of the vitamin called K1, according to lead author Nicola Bondonno, Ph.D., a research fellow at the Institute for Nutrition Research, at Edith Cowan University in Australia. But, she told Runner’s World, there was also lower risk among those who ate foods high in a form called K2, found in animal products and fermented foods.

Although it’s possible to get a boost of vitamin K through taking supplements—much as you can isolate other vitamins or minerals in the same way—previous studies on supplements in general cast doubt on whether this is the best route.

For example, a 2019 research review looked at both observational studies and randomised trials on multivitamins, antioxidants, folic acid, vitamin E, folic acid, and beta-carotene, which have all shown promise for cardiovascular health. But researchers found little evidence that any of them aided in prevention or treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Getting these compounds through food, however, is a very different story. That’s because dietary sources not only have a range of vitamins, they also tend to have fibre, antioxidants, and healthy fats, which all work together to improve your heart function, according to Robert Greenfield, M.D., cardiologist and lipidologist at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California.

For instance, foods high in vitamin K—such as dark leafy greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and avocados—are also abundant in other vitamins and minerals that benefit the heart, Greenfield told Runner’s World. Those include iron, magnesium, and zinc. Meats and dairy high in vitamin K—such as beef liver, chicken, and hard cheeses—also provide protein and healthy fats. Greenfield added that vitamin K is fat soluble, which means you need a bit of fat for proper absorption, so dietary options may be an advantage there as well.

One more benefit to getting vitamin K in your diet: It doesn’t take much effort to see benefits. In the recent study, those who had more of the vitamin didn’t see greater benefits, said Bondonno. So, adding options like chard or spinach to a meal every day is likely enough of a heart booster, she said.

“The multitude of bioactive compounds in vitamin K-rich vegetables can protect you against other chronic diseases in many different ways,” she said. “And the takeaway is that they help protect against cardiovascular disease as well.”

The post Boost Your Heart Health with Vitamin K appeared first on Runner's World.

Several culprits can make plantar fasciitis pop up, including drastically or suddenly increasing mileage, specific foot structures, and the wrong running shoes. All of these causes can overload the plantar fascia—the connective tissue that runs from your heel to the base of your toes—resulting in heel pain. To help you sidestep this common ache, here’s what to know what running with plantar fasciitis, including how to recognise it, treat it, and prevent it from happening again.

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

A little anatomy lesson: The plantar fascia is a tissue that looks like a series of fat rubber bands and extends from the heel toward the toes, along the arch of the foot. It’s made of collagen, a rigid protein that’s not very stretchy. The stress of overuse, over-pronation, or overused shoes can rip tiny tears in it the plantar fascia tissue, causing heel pain and inflammation—that’s plantar fasciitis.

Identifying Plantar Fasciitis Symptoms

Plantar fasciitis sufferers feel a sharp stab or deep ache in the heel or along the arch of the foot, according to Jordan Metzl, M.D., a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

Another telltale sign of the condition: You feel pain as soon as you put your foot on the ground in the morning. The morning hobble you may experience comes from your foot trying to heal itself in a contracted position overnight. Taking that first step out of bed causes sudden strain on the bottom of your foot, resulting in pain in your heel or arch. The pain can recur after long spells of sitting, but it tends to fade during a run once the area is warmed up.

A third symptom those running with plantar fasciitis might experience is pain during push off while hitting your stride.

Common Causes of Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis-related heel pain tends to strike those who overtrain, neglect to stretch their calf muscles, or overdo hill workouts and speed intervals. “When you have very tight calf muscles, they will pull on the plantar fascia and cause a lot of pain,” Metzl says.

A sudden increase in training mileage or a quick uptick in speed training means you overwork the muscles when they’re not quite ready, which can lead to conditions like plantar fasciitis.

Gear is super important too. Wearing worn running shoes or constantly running on hard surfaces like asphalt or concrete can increase your risk of the condition. And to top it off, wearing high heels all day and then switching into flat running shoes may also increase your chances of heel pain from plantar fasciitis.

Finally, biomechanical issues may also cause plantar fasciitis. Those issues include high arches or flat feet or even excessive pronation.

The Best Plantar Fasciitis Treatment

Plantar fasciitis can be a nagging problem, which gets worse and more difficult to treat the longer you have it. So it’s best to address the issue as soon as you feel pain.

“When the fascia comes off the bone, it gets chronically inflamed and can heal exceptionally slowly,” Metzl says. “Plantar fasciitis can be sore for months because the healing response is proportionate to blood flow. When something has a good blood supply like a muscle, it heals quickly, but the plantar fascia essentially has no blood supply so it can take longer to heal.”

The first step in treating plantar fasciitis is to reduce swelling. Metzl recommends sticking your foot in an ice bucket or freezing a bottle of water and rolling your foot on top of it. You can also massage your foot with a golf ball.

At least one other study backs up the benefits of using myofascial release (think: foam rolling or self massage) to help address plantar fasciitis pain. Research also shows that stretching (particularly the plantar fascia itself, but also the calves) can help to alleviate the aches associated with the condition.

While the running shoes you choose is important—you don’t want to wear a worn-out pair or one that doesn’t support your gait—what shoes you wear when you’re not clocking kilometres also matters. The key feature to look for in all shoes is arch support. And keep in mind that walking around barefoot or in flimsy shoes can delay recovery.

When to See a Doctor About Plantar Fasciitis

If pain is present for more than a couple weeks, see a medical professional about the problem. Your doctor might suggest treatment options such as orthotics, foot taping, cortisone injections, night splints, and/or anti-inflammatory medicine to decrease symptoms.

For more stubborn cases, your doctor might prescribe physical therapy or shock-wave therapy—an FDA-approved plantar-fasciitis treatment. Increasingly, doctors are looking at platelet-rich plasma (or PRP), in which a doctor takes blood out of your arm, spins it down, takes out the platelets, and injects them into the fascia, for cases that just aren’t getting better.

For some runners who continue to experience symptoms even after treatment, surgery might be necessary. That’s often a last resort and your doctor would need to consider several factors, including your overall health and medical history, before deciding to go the surgery route.

Preventing Plantar Fasciitis

To prevent plantar fasciitis, run on soft surfaces, keep mileage increases to less than 10 percent per week, and wear the proper shoes for your foot type and gait. If you’re unsure if you’re in the right shoe, seek out advice from a professional. A gait analysis can help you spot issues with your run form, which might contribute to injuries like plantar fasciitis.

Strengthening the muscles in your midfoot with barefoot exercises and experimenting with your running style by shortening your stride and quickening your cadence can also help.

Metzl says it’s also important to stretch the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon to loosen them up. While it’s typical to experience pain in just one foot, massage and stretch both feet. Do it first thing in the morning and three times during the day.

The following stretches can help you avoid injury:

• Achilles Tendon Stretch: Stand with the affected foot behind the healthy one. Point the toes of your back foot toward the heel of your front foot and lean into a wall. Bend your front knee and keep your back knee straight, heel firmly planted on the floor. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat.
• Plantar Fascia Stretch: Sit down, and place the foot with heel pain across your knee. Using your hand on the side affected by plantar fasciitis, pull your toes back toward your shin until you feel a stretch in your arch. Hold for 10 seconds. Run your thumb along your foot—you should feel tension. Repeat.

The post What to Know About Running With Plantar Fasciitis appeared first on Runner's World.

Rhythmic breathing allows you to slide easily into an effort and pace at which everything glides on.

Eventually I came across an article called “Breath Play,” by Ian Jackson, a coach and distance runner, which related breathing cycles with running cadence. Later I found a study by Dennis Bramble, Ph.D., and David Carrier, Ph.D., of the University of Utah, explaining that the greatest impact stress of running occurs when one’s foot strike coincides with the beginning of an exhalation. This means that if you begin to exhale every time your left foot hits the ground, the left side of your body will continually suffer the greatest running stress.

Hmm. My most frequent injury was to my left hip flexor. So I began to think: What if I could create a pattern that coordinated foot strike and breathing such that I would land alternately on my left foot and then right foot at the beginning of every exhale? Perhaps I could finally get healthy. It was worth a try.

I developed a pattern of rhythmic breathing and began using it between my junior and senior years of university. I also trained for and ran my first marathon the winter before graduating and finished in a respectable 2:52:45.

I continued to work on my rhythmic breathing technique during my runs while pursuing my master’s degree in physical education and exercise physiology, during which time I trained for my second marathon. I honed in on a the three-step method for faster running during that second marathon and ran an incredibly even 2:33:29. Now I knew I could manage my effort through rhythmic breathing with a great deal of success. Since then, I’ve taught this method to the many runners I’ve coached over the years. It can work for you, too.

What is the rhythmic breathing technique?

Rhythmic breathing can play a key role in keeping you injury-free, as it has for me. But to understand how that can happen, first consider some of the stresses of running. When your foot hits the ground, the force of impact equals two to three times your body weight, and as research by Utah’s Bramble and Carrier showed, the impact stress is greatest when your foot strikes the ground at the beginning of an exhalation.

This is because when you exhale, your diaphragm and the muscles associated with the diaphragm relax, creating less stability in your core. Less stability at the time of greatest impact makes a perfect storm for injury.

So always landing on the same foot at the beginning of exhalation compounds the problem: It causes one side of your body to continuously absorb the greatest impact force of running, which causes it to become increasingly worn down and vulnerable to injury. Rhythmic breathing, on the other hand, coordinates footstrike with inhalation and exhalation in an odd/even pattern so that you will land alternately on your right and left foot at the beginning of every exhalation. This way, the impact stress of running will be shared equally across both sides of your body.

An analogy would be if you loaded a backpack down with books and then slung it over your right shoulder. With all this weight on one side of your body, you’d be forced to compensate physically, placing more stress on one side. But if you were to slip that same heavy backpack over both shoulders, the load would be distributed evenly. You’d put your body in a position to better manage that stress, and your back would stay healthy.

It stands to reason that if one side of the body relentlessly endures the greater impact stress, that side will become worn down and vulnerable to injury. The rhythmic breathing technique allows a slight rest to both sides of the body from the greatest immediate impact stress of running. But there’s more to it than a pattern of footstrikes, exhales, and inhales that keeps you injury-free. Rhythmic breathing also focuses your attention on your breath patterns and opens the way for it to become the source of how you train and race.

The benefits of rhythmic breathing

Attention to breathing has a long history in Eastern philosophy. Dennis Lewis, a longtime student of Taoism and other Eastern philosophies, teaches breathing and shares the following Taoist belief: “To breathe fully is to live fully, to manifest the full range of power of our inborn potential for vitality in everything that we sense, feel, think, and do.”

In Hinduism, yoga teaches pranayama—breath work. Prana means breath as a life-giving force: The work of breathing draws life-giving force into the body. And that work is accomplished through diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, which means that as you inhale, you contract the diaphragm fully to allow maximum volume in the thoracic (chest) cavity for maximum expansion of the lungs and maximum intake of air. Rhythmic breathing does the same thing, drawing the breath—the life force—into the body through controlled, focused diaphragmatic breathing. Through rhythmic running we breathe fully and, as the Taoist would say, realise our vitality.

Rhythmic breathing also creates a pathway to a deep centeredness. Practitioners of every style of yoga, martial arts, relaxation, and meditation use breath work to connect mind, body, and spirit. In the martial arts, this inner connection and centeredness allows more immediate and precise control of the physical body.

The same can be accomplished when you practice rhythmic breathing while running. You achieve centeredness first by focusing your mind on fitting your breathing to an optimal foot strike pattern. Then your awareness of breathing links mind and body and creates a smooth pathway to gauging the effort of running. Rhythmic breathing helps you feel your running, and that ability to feel your running allows you immediate and precise control.

Yoga teaches that controlling your breathing can help you control your body and quiet your mind. When we allow ourselves to become distracted by trying to match our running effort to a pace we’ve defined with numbers on a watch, we break that mind/body connection. We open up a gap where stress and tension can enter. And we create a disturbance in the flow of running that hinders our success and enjoyment.

Rhythmic breathing is calming, and awareness of breathing draws your focus toward calm. It allows you to remain as relaxed as possible, quieting any stress in the body that could inhibit performance. And if you should feel a twinge of tension or discomfort, you can mentally “push” it out of the body as you exhale.

During moderate or long runs, rhythmic breathing allows you to slide easily into an effort and pace at which everything glides on autopilot. Your breathing is comfortable, your cadence is smooth and even, and the rhythm of both combines for that “harmonious vibration with nature.”

How to breathe while running

Before learning the rhythmic patterns that will take your running to a new level, you must first become a belly breather, that is, learn to breathe from your diaphragm. When you inhale, your diaphragm contracts and moves downward, while muscles in your chest contract to expand your rib cage, which increases the volume in your chest cavity and draws air into your lungs.

Working your diaphragm to its fullest potential allows your lungs to expand to their greatest volume and fill with the largest amount of air, which of course you need for your running. The more air you inhale, the more oxygen is available to be transferred through your circulatory system to your working muscles.

Awareness of breathing draws your focus towards calm.

Many people underuse their diaphragm, relying too much on their chest muscles and therefore taking in less oxygen, which is so important to energy production. The other downside of breathing from your chest is that these muscles (the intercostals) are smaller and will fatigue more quickly than your diaphragm will.

To rely less on your chest muscles to breathe, you’ll want to train yourself to breathe from your belly, that is, with your diaphragm. Practice belly breathing both lying down and sitting or standing, since you should be breathing diaphragmatically at all times—whether you’re running, sleeping, eating, or reading a book. Here’s how to learn the technique:

• Lie down on your back.
• Keep your upper chest and shoulders still.
• Focus on raising your belly as you inhale.
• Lower your belly as you exhale.
• Inhale and exhale through both your nose and mouth.

How to establish a breathing pattern

Many runners develop a 2:2 pattern of breathing, meaning they inhale for two foot strikes and exhale for two foot strikes. Some breathe in for three steps and exhale for three steps. Both have the same result—your exhale is always on the same side. Breathing patterns that extend the inhale will shift the point of exhalation alternately from left to right or from right to left, from one side of the body to the other. The singular point of all rhythmic breathing patterns is this: Exhale on alternate foot strikes as you run. You never want to continually exhale on the same foot.

The rhythmic breathing technique I recommend calls for a longer inhale than exhale. Why the longer inhale? Your diaphragm and other breathing muscles contract during inhalation, which brings stability to your core. These same muscles relax during exhalation, decreasing stability. With the goal of injury prevention in mind, it’s best to hit the ground more often when your body is at its most stable—during inhalation.

Let’s start with a 5-count or 3:2 pattern of rhythmic breathing, which will apply to most of your running. Inhale for three steps and exhale for two. Practice first on the floor:

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Place a hand on your belly and make sure that you are belly breathing.
3. Breathe through your nose and your mouth.
4. Inhale to the count of 3 and exhale to the count of 2. You might count it this way: “in-2-3,” “out-2,” “in-2-3,” “out-2,” and so forth.
5. Concentrate on a continuous breath as you inhale over the 3 counts and a continuous breath as you exhale.
6. Once you become comfortable with the inhale/exhale pattern, add foot taps to mimic walking steps.

Exhale on alternate foot strikes as you run.You never want to continually exhale on the same foot.

The post Run Faster With Rhythmic Breathing appeared first on Runner's World.

If you drink coffee all day or you take caffeine pills for athletic performance benefits, you may want to track the amount of caffeine you’re consuming. Higher doses of caffeine may up your risk of developing osteoporosis, according to a study in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

Researchers looked at 24 people, half of whom chewed a non-caffeinated gum and the other chewing a caffeinated version, and over the course of six hours, they got fresh gum several times. The latter group ended up consuming about 800 mg of caffeine—that’s the equivalent of eight cups of coffee.

That group saw a significant increase in terms of calcium in their urine—about 77 percent more at the end of six hours than when they started. High amounts of calcium output indicate that the kidneys are releasing the mineral faster than the body can replace it.

That led the researchers to conclude that over the long term, this could put those in the caffeinated group at a much higher risk of bone density issues and, potentially, a greater risk of developing osteoporosis, which causes your bones to become weak and brittle. This is an issue that tends to impact older adults most, since we lose bone density naturally as we age, but the researchers concluded that athletes could be at risk as well if they’re using caffeine for performance enhancement.

For example, although eight cups of coffee is excessive, many energy drinks have between 300 to 400 mg in one can, and some energy shots can have that much as well. Supplements with caffeine, such as pre-workout mixes, can range between 150 to 300 mg per serving. That means it may be possible to get to 800 mg and even above without draining the coffee pot, said Kristin Gillespie, R.D., dietitian and nutritional counsellor based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

“When consumed in moderation, the effect of caffeine is fairly modest,” she told Runner’s World. “Where we get into trouble is with those higher amounts, so cutting back would be your best option.”

The FDA recommends 400 mg of caffeine per day as generally safe, and even with that amount, Gillespie suggested making sure you consume adequate calcium and vitamin D, which are both critical for maintaining bone health.

“Ideally, this would come from your diet, but if you struggle with getting adequate amounts, consider incorporating a supplement,” she said. “Also, exercising regularly is a vital part of bone health, so that can balance out higher amounts of caffeine.” (It’s worth noting, consult a registered dietitian or medical professional before adding any supplements into your diet.)

The post Excess Caffeine Intake Could Be Bad For Your Bones appeared first on Runner's World.

Unfortunately, it’s a little more complex than that. There are a number of factors that can get in the way of you putting one foot in front of the other. One in particular: your gait, which is how your body moves in space as you run.

“[While] there’s no ‘right’ way to run, we do know in terms of injury prevention or perhaps efficiency for movement for performance, there are better ways to do it,” Heather A, Milton, M.S., R.C.E.P., C.S.C.S., exercise physiologist supervisor at NYU Langone Health Sports Performance Centre, tells Runner’s World.

It’s worth noting that gait and stride are slightly different things: gait refers to the cycle your leg travels through during one step, and stride length is the distance covered between the spot where one foot hits the ground and the next time that same foot hits the ground again, which Robert Maschi, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., associate clinical professor in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences department at Drexel University, previously told Runner’s World.

Additionally, your foot can interact with the ground in different ways:

• Pronation: Your foot rolls inward
• Supination: Your foot rolls outward
• Neutral: Your foot doesn’t roll to either side

When you land, you should be doing so in a way that sets your body up for success, according to Doug Adams, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., a certified running gait analyst. That means “your foot is stacked underneath of your knee, and then you can maintain a good posture throughout the stance phase,” he tells Runner’s World.

Those who struggle with their running gait—whether due to strength deficiencies, pathomechanics (elements in the running form you want to minimise), or simply being unaware of their own running mechanics—can be linked to one of five main gait categories, says Adams:

• Overstrider
• Collapser
• Bouncer
• Glute amnesiac
• Weaver

Each comes with its own set of identifying factors that can impede efficiency, and, more often than not, lead to very particular injuries—but these categories aren’t a foolproof way to predict potential injuries. In fact, research in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports involving nearly 300 injured and healthy runners found that there is no single gait pattern that reduces the likelihood of developing an injury, explains Reed Ferber, Ph.D., director of the Running Injury Clinic at the University of Calgary and one of the study’s authors.

Still, many running experts agree with Adams’s research-backed categorisations. (He literally teaches courses in gait analyzation.) Here, Adams, along with a few other running experts, dive into what’s behind these five categories and what tweaks you can make to maximise your running.

1. The Overstrider

Who they are: Runners who land with their foot way out in front of them with less bend in their knee and their toes more pointed toward the sky.

The cause: These runners often have a low cadence, which is the number of steps you take per minute. An optimal cadence when running is around 180.

Why it may be a problem: “This running pattern is consistent with greater impact forces across the foot, knee, and even the hip,” explains Colleen Brough, D.P.T., an assistant professor in the physical therapy program at Columbia University. “I would argue that these runners may be at greater risk of developing bone stress injuries.” Think: shin splints, stress reactions, and stress fractures. Not to mention, your foot landing in front of your centre of mass acts as braking force, which is going to negatively impact your pace.

How to identify it: Look at a picture of yourself running from the side. Draw a line straight up from the ankle. If your foot is way in front of your knee, you are overstriding.

What you can do: You want to do drills (think: standing as close as you can to a wall and marching in place) that teach you how to land with your foot stacked underneath your knee, advises Adams.. Increasing your step rate by 5 to 10 percent can also help correct an overstrider’s pattern, adds Brough. In fact, research shows that a quicker cadence, even if it’s subtle, can “substantially reduce the loading to the hip and knee joints during running,” which can help ward off injury. Last, Milton suggests cueing runners to land softly, which she says “typically gets people a little bit more with their feet underneath them and maybe even shifting more to the midfoot if they are a heavy heel striker.”

2. The Collapser

Who they are: Runners whose hips and knees collapse inward because of the stress of running.

The cause: This pattern is often driven by poor lumbopelvic control, says Brough, which is the inability to maintain good control of your pelvis when standing on one leg.

Why it may be a problem: Many runners who present with hallmark running injuries like patellofemoral pain syndrome, high hamstring strain, and Achilles tendinosis have a “collapser” running pattern, says Brough. You’ll also likely see IT band syndrome, bone stress injuries, and shin, hip, and back pain, says Adams.

How to identify it: Perform 1 to 3 reps of a single-leg squat to see whether or not your pelvis drops to one side or if your knees drift inward.

What you can do: Most commonly, this is a strength issue, and you need to shore up your core, hip, and glute strength, according to Adams, who also notes that you can have a stiffness that can force you into these mechanics as well. Strengthening your quad and lower back muscles will also help to prevent collapse, adds Ferber.

3. The Bouncer

Who they are: Runners who are pushing themselves up instead of pushing and propelling themselves forward.

The cause: Tight hips limit mobility, making it harder for your leg to extend behind you when you run, explains Adams. The result: You take off earlier and move straight up and down. Tight calves or weakness in your glutes or back may also be a culprit. Milton says a “bouncer” likely has less posterior chain strength in general.

Why it may be a problem: The higher up you go, the more gravity’s pulling you down, which means more ground reaction forces when you land, according to Milton. This results in a higher risk for stress fractures and shin splints. You’ll also recruit a lot more of the quads for braking, says Adams, which can then cause knee pain.

How to identify it: Invest in a smartwatch that measures vertical oscillation (the up-and-down bounce in your stride). “When you are doing easy runs, if that number is in the 9 to to 10 centimetres range or higher, you’re on the verge of bouncing too much,” says Adams.

What you can do: Adams suggests going back to those wall-marching drills, but this time, put a sticky note on the wall and use it as a visual guide to keep your body from going up and down too much.

4. The Glute Amnesiac

Who they are: Runners who overuse their hamstrings, calves, and/or lower back muscles to power their run instead of engaging their glutes.

The cause: Blame all that time you spend sitting typing away on your computer at work or binge-watching your favourite show. Here’s why: When you’re stuck in a seated position for long periods, your hip flexors ​get stuck in a shortened position and become tight​, which can cause the glutes to stop firing properly.

Why this may be a problem: Not only do glutes equal power, but they also help stabilise the pelvis. Glutes that aren’t firing correctly can contribute to hip pain, lower back pain, and anterior knee pain, says Adams. Not to mention, a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise revealed that glute size was the difference maker between elite sprinters, sub-elite sprinters, and non-sprinters.

How to identify it: These runners often lean really far back—think Bernie Lowmax in Weekend at Bernie’s, says Adams—so they don’t have to use their glutes to keep their body upright, says Adams.

What you can do: Resisted running is key here. Adams advises putting a resistance band around your waist while a partner holds the other end as you try to run forward. This forces your body into that slightly forward lean when you run, which is more optimal and helps you get more comfortable with this position, which can feel a bit unstable, says Adams.

If you are experiencing anterior knee pain, which accounts for 40 percent of running injuries, as a result of you not using your glutes, Adams says you can almost instantly fix the issue by simply leaning forward. “This takes a lot of the stress off the back side of your body and puts it on the front side of the body,” he explains. Ferber also says that side leg raises and other exercises that strengthen your hip abductor muscles will help manage this gait pattern.

5. The Weaver

Who they are: Runners who operate on a narrow base of support, when leg lands too close to the midline of the body.

The cause: These runners often have poor glute and core activation during running, which translates to poor lumbopelvic control, says Brough.

Why this may be a problem: For Ferber, who calls this a cross-over strike pattern, he says running this way places increased stress on the IT band. Research in Sports Biomechanics backs this up, revealing that those with a narrower stride width have greater IT band strain and strain rate. You may also experience lateral shin pain, Adams says.

How to identify it: These runners are notorious for kicking the inside of their leg. They also have a lot of arm swing back and forth because “they’re trying to combat the motion of their legs, so they’ll swing their arms more across their body than forward and backward,” says Adams, who also notes that these runners often wear out the outside of their shoe very quickly as well.

What you can do: Find a line on a nearby track or the road (be super careful of cars!), put one foot on the line, and don’t let the other foot touch the line while you run, Adams advises. The goal here is to try and keep your legs a little wider apart. Ferber also suggests hip strengthening to help support the IT band and reduce tension.

The post How To Fix Your Running Gait appeared first on Runner's World.

If you’re starting to see overuse injuries like knee issues or ankle pain flare up while running, that could be a wake-up call to adjust your body mechanics—and that doesn’t mean only your foot strike and stride length. According to a new study in the journal Human Movement Science, your angle of forward lean when running could be a major factor for performance as well.

“Your angle of forward lean when running could be a major factor for performance as well.”

Researchers recruited 23 young runners between the ages of 18 and 23 and had them do three running trials with different trunk positions: a 10-, 20-, and 30-degree angle of flexion. They found that the more a runner leaned forward, the bigger impact it had on stride length, ground reaction, and joint movement.

Over time, those could add up as factors for injury, according to lead author Anna Warrener, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado Denver.

Although the research had limitations in terms of participant number and age range, it does shed light on the way your posture can affect your stride, she told Runner’s World.

“The aim of the research wasn’t to suggest there’s a ‘perfect form’ that everyone should try to achieve, because that doesn’t exist,” she said. “There’s a wide variation in terms of how people run, but it’s helpful to see that if you play around with how much you lean, it could have significant effects on how you run in general.”

For example, she added, leaning forward more has a tendency to shorten stride length and increase stride frequency. In other words, the greater angle led to a smaller range of motion and potential over-stride, Warrener said. The overuse injury potential there would be to the hip, which would have to work harder to accommodate those shorter strides, she added.

That also tends to increase the amount of ground reaction force. For example, the largest amount of lean at 30 degrees boosted reaction loading by 29 percent.

“This finding about shorter stride actually surprised us because we thought if you lean forward, your leg would extend further to support you, but the opposite is true,” she said. “It’s a good indication that if you’re having issues like knee problems or hip pain, you have to look beyond the joints themselves and at what’s happening overall. Each link in the chain matters.”

To work on improving your overall posture, adding exercises such as a hip flexor stretch, glute bridge, upper trapezius stretch, and lumbar mobilisation stretch (upward-facing dog yoga pose a.k.a. Urdhva Mukha Svanasana) into your daily routine can help.

The post Improving Your Running Posture May Help You Prevent Injury appeared first on Runner's World.

Running is an empowering sport. However, when you begin to feel irritated or itchy down there, that confidence can begin to dissipate, or, at the very least, you may just feel annoyed. It’s possible that you’re dealing with a yeast infection or maybe even bacterial vaginosis (BV)—and some people are more prone to these types of vaginal infections than others.

If you are someone who’s susceptible to either or both infections, running long distances could exacerbate your risk of developing an infection down under. The good news? They’re both completely treatable and may even be preventable.

There are several ways you can attempt to stave off these types of vaginal infections. But before we share some of these tips, Stacy De-Lin, M.D., a gynaecologist and family planning specialist, explains what each infection is and lends insight into how you might get them. After all, knowledge is power, right?

What is bacterial vaginosis?

“You have a blend of bacteria and yeast in your vagina that’s naturally occurring, and bacterial vaginosis occurs when there’s an overgrowth of a certain type of bacteria in your vagina,” De-Lin tells Runner’s World.

When that balance gets disrupted, you may start to notice some of these several common symptoms.

• A thin gray discharge
• Discomfort or irritation
• A fish-like odour
• Itching

“We don’t know what causes it necessarily—some people are just more prone to it than others—but we do know there are things you can do that can make it more likely,” says De-Lin.

Douching and using fragranced products, such as scented pads and vaginal wipes, can increase the risk of BV, for example. De-Lin adds that having sex used to be thought of as a potential cause for BV, however experts no longer think that’s the case.

What is a yeast infection?

Also known as candidiasis, De-Lin says that a yeast infection describes the imbalance of yeast and healthy bacteria in the vagina. So when someone has a vaginal yeast infection, it just means they have an overgrowth of yeast in that region.

Here are the most common symptoms, De-Lin says.

• Feeling itchy (De-Lin says a yeast infection is “often much more strongly associated with itching”)
• A thick cottage cheese-like vaginal discharge
• Having visible redness or irritation on the vulva

Unlike BV, we have more information about what causes yeast infections. In fact, underlying conditions such as type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or any health issue that compromises the immune system can all make the vagina more susceptible to yeast overgrowth.

What’s more, De-Lin notes that taking a course of antibiotics can also increase the likelihood of infection as it kills off all bacteria—including the healthy kind.

Why are long-distance runners more susceptible to BV or a yeast infection?

In warmer weather the risks of dealing with either infection are even higher, and that’s simply because we’re sweating a lot more while running.

“For runners, you’re sweating a lot into your underwear and all of the friction that happens with running can definitely lead to an increase in yeast, and it can cause that yeast to multiply,” says De-Lin. “It’s more common for runners to have that external yeast infection.”

When this occurs on a penis, it’s often referred to as “jock itch,” whereas when this occurs on the vulva, it’s referred to as an “external yeast infection.”

How can you lower your risk of both BV and yeast infections?

Tip 1: Ditch the nylon undies.

Your gynaecologist or physician may have told you once before that cotton underwear is the best choice for avoiding yeast infections. However, De-Lin says that it may not be that limiting. In fact, it may come down to trial and error to see what works best for your body.

“I kind of tell patients to figure it out for themselves. Cotton is much better than a nylon-type underwear, which will just trap moisture,” says De-Lin. “Cotton can absorb moisture, which can pull it away from the vulva, but then what’s sort of counter to that is if you wear the [cotton] underwear for a very long time, there can be moisture contained there.”

There’s also underwear that’s marketed as “sweat wicking,” which works well for some, but for others, it can be irritating to their vulva. The key may be to single out which pairs of underwear are causing flare-ups—so don’t go out and buy all cotton or all sweat wicking underwear until you figure it out.

Tip 2: After you’re done running, get out of your sweaty underwear or shorts immediately.

One of the worst things you can do after a long run is sit around in sweat-filled clothes.

“Whenever you finish exercising, it’s a good idea to have a spare pair of underwear or to go without underwear afterwards so that you’re not having any of these wet surfaces adhering to your body for long periods of time,” says De-Lin. “Normalising not wearing underwear, I think, is a good thing after a run—it’s fine not to wear underwear!”

In fact, you should also ditch your sweaty sports bra after a run, too. As De-Lin notes, the area beneath your breasts can trap sweat in and the friction caused by an ill-fitting sports bra can increase the likelihood of getting a yeast infection on the skin. An external yeast infection under the breasts looks like a rash that appears red or reddish brown, is raised, and may even itch.

People with larger breasts are especially susceptible, as their breasts are more likely to rub against the skin and upper torso than smaller ones. To help prevent this, De-Lin advises finding a supportive sports bra that lifts the breasts up toward the chest.

Tip 3: Find shorts that fit well and reduce friction against the skin.

Running without underwear? Use the same trial and error method De-Lin recommends you try with your underwear with your shorts as well, because, again, it largely comes down to the individual. Is it better to wear shorts with built-in mesh-like underwear or to “go commando” and just wear compression shorts? Instead of trying to bucket your shorts into categories, De-Lin encourages runners to be cognisant of which shorts are causing the most friction down there. (Hint: This is why doctors, including De-Lin, often advise against running in thongs!)

“If you’re wearing Spanx that are kind of loosely-fitting but still tight, they can cause irritation on the vulva,” De-Lin. “Generally, Spanx or biker shorts keep skin from rubbing against itself and help to protect skin, but may not breathe well, so changing shortly after exercise would be the best for skin.”

So if you’re going to wear compression shorts on your long-runs, you’ll want to seek out pairs that are form-fitting. But again, make sure to strip out of them right after you’re done exercising.

Tip 4: Stay away from the “feminine wipes.”

The vagina is both powerful and efficient—it cleans itself via discharge, so you don’t have to feel the need to use products that claim to maintain or restore pH balance.

“There are a lot of products out there that say you can use these wipes to help you become more fresh if you can’t get into a shower, and those are often loaded with things that are very irritating to the skin that have fragrances that actually can lead to more yeast and more BV,” says De-Lin.

If you cannot get into a shower straight after your run, don’t sweat it (quite literally). The main priority should be to get out of your wet clothes and then, when you do have the opportunity to shower, De-Lin says to wash the vulva only using water. If you are going to use soap, use unscented soap, but in small amounts and only externally.

The Bottom line

Remember, if you do get a yeast infection or BV, know that they happen sometimes and that’s okay—both are treatable through medication. While De-Lin assures that not treating a yeast infection isn’t life-threatening by any means, symptoms can worsen (i.e. more itching and irritation). Worst-case scenario, it could develop into severe vulvar candidiasis and experience skin breakdown which could then lead to painful skin ulceration.

If you leave BV untreated, your risk for contracting an STD increases. In some cases, De-Lin adds, untreated BV can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease or, if pregnant, can increase the risk of premature birth.

If you suspect that you have either infection, make an appointment to see your doctor.

The post How to Treat and Prevent Vaginal Infections When Training appeared first on Runner's World.

For instance, they said I would suffer the burn of chafed skin. They explained I would likely experience the strange dichotomy between the urgent need to poop halfway through a training run and the impossibility of pooping on race day morning. And then, a man with a shaved bald head and sunburned scalp told me that if I was lucky, and if I trained hard enough, my toenails would turn black. He revelled in the pride of his own bruised nail beds.

“Ah yes, the first time I ever got one was my first marathon,” he said, remembering it, like he should have earned a Purple Heart. He gave us the current status of his feet: His left big toenail had fallen off, his right big toenail was permanently blue. The others in the group laughed and nodded along. Many said they, too, had mangled toenails.

“But doesn’t that hurt?” I asked.

“Sometimes,” the sunburned man said. “But it shows you are putting in the work.”

At first I did not believe that experiencing disfigurement was a necessary part of marathon training. But of course, I had never run the distance before. I wondered how many miles it would take for me to earn my first black toenail. I did research. I read how the impact of a toe repeatedly bashing up against the inside of a shoe can cause a toenail to bruise. My Google searches said that it happens to runners tackling longer distances. It sounded like the sunburned bald man was right. This magical rite of passage would confirm that I could tolerate long miles and prove I was a real runner.

Anyone who runs is a real runner, regardless of the colour of your toes.

Beginners seldom suffer black toenails because they do not yet have the number of foot strikes that would warrant one, Runner’s World previously reported. I felt like my perfectly pedicured toes were a telltale sign that I was new to longer distances. As I reached my peak training weeks, I checked my feet nightly half hoping a nail bed would appear purple at the very least.

Now, after three marathon training cycles, a lot of miles, and totally normal toenails, I wonder: What exactly does the black toenail prove? Maybe the toenail reminds us of all the miles and pain we have endured, acting as a visible representation of the sacrifice of the runner. Perhaps it announces to the world (if the afflicted is so bold as to wear flip flops, which those in this tribe so often are): “Hey, I am a runner. And I’m a serious runner, too.” But why do we need the reminder—and why would we need to show off the pain of training if we know we’ve left our best out on the road?

During that first training cycle, as I longed for a black toenail, I unwittingly prevented trauma to my feet by making sure my shoes fit well. I had visited a local running shop and purchased a pair that was a thumb-width distance from the tip of my longest toe to the end of my shoe. I wore thin socks, clipped my toenails short, and laced my shoes to ensure they were not too snug or loose. That’s the thing: Black toenails are generally pretty easy to prevent, even if you are running long distances, even if you are actively trying to cause one.

I wondered, too, why so many experienced runners get them. Maybe the shoes they adore and refuse to give up don’t have enough room for their feet. A heavy foot strike causes more intense micro-traumas than someone lighter on their feet, research in Podiatry Today suggests. Like any injury, the volume of miles tolerated by one runner could damage another.

So, let’s say you do everything right, and you just run so much that your tiny toenails slowly turn purple, blue, and black—why is this considered positive? How have we let what is essentially a gear problem, or an overtraining injury, become something a group of athletes aspires to achieve?

The running community really leans into the “no pain, no gain” fallacy. We thrive on the agony of the miles and brag about how far, how fast, how much we push ourselves. But running doesn’t have to be treacherous. Yes, the sport is hard—you might feel out of breath, your leg muscles might feel exhausted, or your feet could ache. Those sensations are normal. But you can make progress without tormenting yourself. And to be real, if you’re training at the paces you’re supposed to, the biggest anguish you’ll likely face is boredom on a long run.

Perhaps runners have too much of a dependence on suffering. Celebrating black toenails is representative of an overall ethos that encourages runners to push past the point of pain. It’s time to change that line of thinking. Running—any distance at any pace in any circumstance—is already challenging enough. Let’s give ourselves and each other a break and applaud our ability to run, not our dedication to discomfort. A “real runner” is not determined by how much they hurt or how messed up their feet look. Real runners take care of their bodies and real runners can make it to the finish line unscathed.

If, for whatever reason, your poor toes get beat up as you train, it happens. Accept it, treat it, check your shoes and your socks, and be kind to those little appendages as they heal. But do not buy into the culture of the sunburned bald man. Those who are wounded in marathoning action, who believe they are tougher, stronger, and more genuine runners because of their tar-coloured toenails, are mistaken. Anyone who runs is a real runner, regardless of the colour of your toes.

The post Black Toenails Need Not Be a Rite of Passage appeared first on Runner's World.

Claims are often made about injury prevention, improved speed, improved running efficiency, and certain ways being more “natural.” As with most universal claims in running, there’s a great deal of misinformation here. Let’s look at the facts about foot strikes.

People will proudly proclaim that they’re midfoot or forefoot strikers. They’re almost always wrong.

The ways you land

The three main types of foot strikes are heel, midfoot, and forefoot. Those whose feet first make contact with the ground at the rear part (heel) are known as heel strikers. Those whose front and rear part of the feet land at the same time are known as midfoot strikers. (Whether midfoot strikers exist is a matter of debate; most researchers contend that there’s always a bias toward one end of the foot at landing). Those whose feet first make contact with the ground at the front part of the foot (forefoot) are known as forefoot strikers.

The majority of distance runners are heel strikers. This is true regardless of elite or recreational status, with at least 70 percent hitting the ground first at the heel. This may be because heel striking has been found to be more energy-efficient at slow to medium speeds. Sprinters tend to land farther forward. As speed changes dramatically, there is often, but not always, a change in foot strike. This makes sense, given that a rearfoot strike has too much ground contact time and sprints efforts are so short that energy efficiency isn’t an issue.

For distance runners, however, particularly as the distance run increases, there are suggestions that a forefoot strike is less efficient, given the increased energy expenditure. Variation in foot strike exists at all levels of distance and competition, and will depend on what movement pattern the individual has optimised.

Different types, but not different rates of injury

There’s no valid current evidence to suggest that injury rates are different among foot strikes. In fact, the only thing associated with greater injury risk is trying to actively change your foot strike too quickly.

There are differences in injury types and locations among foot strikes; each one places different loads onto different parts of the body. Forefoot striking has been associated with greater loads through the Achilles tendon, calf, ankle joints, and forefoot, and therefore a greater risk of injury in those areas. Rearfoot strikers demonstrate increased load through the patella (kneecap), patellar tendon, knee, and hip, and have a greater risk of injury at those respective locations.

Each type also uses and stresses joints to different degrees. Forefoot strikers use more joint movement through the ankle, with far less movement through the knee and hip. Heel strikers use less ankle motion, with far more motion through the knee and hip. Different or changing foot strikes don’t change load, they simply shift it elsewhere. The same can be said of injuries. Injury risk isn’t reduced by a different foot strike, it’s simply moved to different body parts.

Yes, elite distance runners are heel strikers

There have been many claims about a certain foot strike being more efficient or faster. Most recently, many claims have been made that forefoot striking is more common among elite athletes and therefore must be faster. In sprinters, this has found to be true. Due to their extremely high speed, most sprinters use a forefoot strike, with its shorter ground contact time. This ends up being efficient over shorter distances, but the amount of energy expenditure required has been found to be inefficient over longer distances.

Heel striking at slow to moderate speeds has been found to be more energy-efficient, hence why a majority of distance runners may be heel strikers. Additionally, no link has been found between elite runners and a certain type of foot strike. Even among elites, there’s variation in foot strike, with the highest percentage being heel strikers. There’s even some anecdotal evidence that the best runners in the world are proficient at using all different types depending on terrain, fatigue, and other factors.

Mechanics of heel striking

Landing heel-first may be efficient for many reasons. The heel bone, also known as the calcaneus, is naturally curved. This curve allows for an efficient roll forward during a heel-first contact. This phenomenon is known as the heel rocker of the foot, which, along with the midfoot and forefoot rocker, improves energy efficiency in distance running and walking.

Forefoot strikers may get a boost from the elasticity of loading their calves like a spring, but doing so takes a high amount of energy. Additionally, landing forefoot-first means that you miss out on appropriately utilising the heel rocker. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and different runners can optimise each of the strategies to incredibly high levels. It does, however, mean there are benefits and negatives to each foot strike.

It’s often said that forefoot striking is more natural. Proponents of barefoot and minimalist running claimed that barefoot runners tend to run with a more forward initial strike. It was even claimed that everyone who switched out of traditional shoes immediately began forefoot striking. Better studies demonstrated that this isn’t true.

Additionally, anyone who has done gait analysis or worked in a running store and watched people suddenly run barefoot knows how variable this response is. Those who run barefoot or in low-heel, light minimalist shoes still heel strike at a fairly high rate and have variable foot strikes just like those wearing traditional shoes.

What most people do instead of switching their foot strike is shorten their stride and increase their step rate. Doing so decreases the impact with each foot strike. Changing step rate also changes the angle of inclination, or the angle of the foot relative to the ground. This has been suggested to be more important than foot strike, as even slight variations in the inclination angle during a heel strike has been shown to change impact forces.

Foot strike fallacies

The final point about foot strike is something that I run into often in my clinical practice. People will proudly proclaim that they’re midfoot or forefoot strikers. They’re almost always wrong. Studies and clinical experience have suggested repeatedly that runners have poor body sense when it comes to knowing what part of their foot hits the ground first. Even experienced runners have frequently been shown to be wrong about this. So don’t believe them. No one needs to be embarrassed about their foot strike, and there are far more important things to worry about.

In summary, having or changing to a midfoot or forefoot strike from a heel strike doesn’t improve running speed or economy in distance runners, doesn’t decrease impact forces, and doesn’t lower injury risk. Besides, most runners who think they’re changing usually aren’t. Again, injury rates among types of foot strikes aren’t different, but the areas that are at risk are. Heel strikers have a greater risk of injury at the knee and hip, while forefoot strikers have a greater risk of injury at the Achilles tendon, calf, ankle, and foot.

There are far more effective ways to improve performance than switching your foot strike. Among them are intelligent training, optimising your recovery, having appropriate strength, balance and alignment, wearing appropriate shoes, and eating and sleeping properly. So don’t worry—it’s okay to be a heel striker.

The post It’s Okay to Be a Heel Striker appeared first on Runner's World.

“If running is something you love and you start to notice that it’s a drag, try taking a day or two off and doing something different,”

It’s easy to think that running every day—even if it’s just for a few kilometres—is making us stronger and faster in the long term. But is this “no days off” mentality doing more harm than good? We turned to Angela Fifer, Ph.D., C.M.P.C., executive board member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, and Janet Hamilton, C.S.C.S., to find out.

There are multiple reasons people might adhere to a “no days off” philosophy, Fifer says. For one, some people find that it’s easier to keep up with running and other types of exercise if they make it a daily habit. Another is that athletes (of any ability) are usually competitive not just with others but with themselves, too, which can lead to adding just one more workout or just one more kilometre.

“Our competitive nature sometimes overrides our logic and reason when we want something really bad, like that next PR, race goal, or new distance,” Fifer says.

Hamilton adds that others run every day to calm their nerves, provide moments of clarity, or help with anxiety or depression in their daily lives.

Is It Okay to Run Every Day?

There are people who can handle training every day and others who find themselves having a really tough time getting back to the gym or back out for a run after a day off, according to Fifer.

But we need time to recover mentally, and even taking one day off can give our bodies and minds the chance to do so. If we don’t let our bodies recover, there’s the chance of getting burnt out, Fifer says.

We also need to allow ourselves time to recover physically. As it turns out, taking it easy from time too time helps our bodies get stronger, according to Hamilton.

“Physiologically, the body responds to stimulus by getting strong if it has the opportunity to respond,” she says. “In other words, periods of overload—or ‘hard’ days—followed by periods of recovery—‘easy’ days—will provide the best option for most [people].”

This is because our bodies go through a process called adaptation, Hamilton explains, where physiological changes on the cellular level—such as building more mitochondria and blood vessels, and making more blood and stronger muscle fibres—occur. Your body can’t do all of this if you don’t give it the appropriate amount of time (and fuel) to actually do so, she says. However, the “appropriate” amount of time varies depending on the person.

“Some athletes can get away with a very short, easy-paced run as their ‘recovery’ days. Others find that they do better with a true ‘rest’ day. And others may find that they respond best if they do an activity that is much lower stress than running—perhaps walking or maybe doing some easy swimming,” Hamilton says.

“So is a little running on a rest day okay for mere mortals? It can be. As long as you keep the volume and intensity very light, you can still get the recovery benefits,” Runner’s World previously reported.

The number one thing to keep in mind, according to Hamilton, is that whatever your preferred recovery activity is, it shouldn’t take away from the process of stimulating those physiological changes. In other words, you’re not doing yourself any favours by doing a hard pool workout. Just because you’re not running, a hard workout is still a hard workout no matter what.

“Most runners, though, will find that they perform better in races if they respect the process of training and the physiological demands that are placed on their bodies as they ramp up. Sleep is part of training. Rest is part of training. If you want to be the best, you must provide both stress (overload) and rest (recovery),” she says.

Signs You Might Benefit From Taking a Rest Day

There are both psychological and physiological signs that you might need a day (or more) off from running.

According to Fifer, the number one sign you might need a day off to benefit your mental health is if you don’t feel motivated to tackle your runs and workouts, or you’re not actually enjoying doing them.

“If running is something you love and you start to notice that it’s a drag, try taking a day or two off and doing something different,” Fifer says. “Taking a couple of days can help you to recharge.”

Physically, there’s a few key signs to look out for. Among them are: regular sleep disturbances, an elevated morning heart rate, the inability to fight off a cold, a sense of generalised fatigue, loss of appetite, feeling stiff or sore in general or feeling discomfort in a localised area, and feeling like it’s getting harder to maintain your normal training pace.

“I like to tell my athletes, ‘Listen to the whispers of your body, it will never have to shout at you.’ That simply means that if they tune into the more subtle signals that they’re pushing too hard—or the whispers—and respect those signals by altering the plan to allow for some recovery, then they might be able to avoid injury—or the shout.”

The Bottom Line

Taking a day (or more) off can give us a sometimes much-needed break from the pressure of paces, kilometres, and PRs we want to beat.

“The constant thought and pressure we might place on ourselves to accomplish our goals is really exhausting mentally,” Fifer says. “While our goals are really important, it is also important not to forget that there are other great things in life that matter as well.”

Fifer notes, too, that even elite athletes take days off.

“Maintaining perspective when training and racing is really important,” she says. “And sometimes it is a willingness to do so that will help us to take that next step forward towards our goals. We might feel so much better after a day or two off that we are even more aligned with our goals and ready to keep training hard to catch them.”

However, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, and you should find a routine that works best for you.

“Each person will have unique goals and, thus, unique needs,” Hamilton says. “The person who manages their depression or anxiety by running every day has a very different goal and need than the person who is training with a specific race distance and race goal in mind. That first person may need that daily run no matter what, but that second person may find that they need rest days in order to perform at their best on the subsequent key workout or race.”

The post Is Running Every Day More Harmful Than Helpful? appeared first on Runner's World.

If you’re experiencing a sore Achilles tendon and battling Achilles pain from running, we’ve got all the info you need on why that could be happening, how to treat it, and how to prevent it from coming back to derail your performance.

Symptoms of Achilles Tendinitis

Achilles tendinitis is characterised by dull or sharp pain anywhere along the back of the tendon but usually close to the heel. Other signs you might have Achilles tendinitis include: limited ankle flexibility, redness or a burning sensation in the Achilles area, a nodule (a lumpy buildup of scar tissue) that can be felt on the tendon, or a cracking sound (scar tissue rubbing against the tendon) when your ankle moves. Pain in the lower portion of the Achilles region is more serious due to the limited blood flow to that region.

If not treated, you can develop Achilles tendinosis, which is chronic inflammation with fluid. Over time, this can result in a degenerative tear of the tendon that shows as a lump in the area. If you feel a lump, consult a physician immediately.

Common Causes of Achilles Tendinitis

Tight or fatigued calf muscles, which transfer too much of the burden of running to the Achilles, can be brought on by not stretching the calves properly, increasing mileage too quickly, or simply overtraining.

Excessive hill running or speedwork, both of which stress the Achilles more than other types of running, can also cause tendinitis.

Stiff running shoes, which can force the Achilles to twist, cause some cases. Runners who overpronate (when the feet rotate too far inward on impact) are most susceptible to Achilles tendinitis.

If you start experiencing pain in the Achilles region, stop running.

“An irritated Achilles tendon can turn into a more serious tendinosis and partial or complete tear of the Achilles in very rapid succession,” says Jordan Metzl, M.D., a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City . “So if your Achilles hurts and that’s changing the way you run, it’s time to start cross-training. You don’t want to make a bad injury worse by running through it.”

“The stronger the muscles, the less the loading force is on the tendon…”

Treatment of Achilles Tendinitis

If you feel a lump or a nodule in the area, go see a physician immediately.

Otherwise, to reduce swelling and ease irritation, Metzl suggests icing the area for 15 to 20 minutes several times a day until the inflammation subsides. You can also try anti-inflammatory medicines such as ibuprofen or anti-inflammatory creams. Self-massage may also help.

If the injury doesn’t respond to home treatment in two weeks, see a doctor, physical therapist, or orthopedic surgeon. Surgery to scrape scar tissue off the tendon is a last resort as it’s not very effective and often just stimulates more scar tissue.

What’s more important than just addressing the symptoms is treating the root of the problem. One common culprit is tightness in the calf muscles. Stretch your calves or roll them out with a foam roller. Be sure to roll the muscles and not the tendon area, Metzl adds.

Another treatment option is strengthening the calf muscles with eccentric strength exercises, which apply load to the calf muscle while it is lengthened.

To do this: Find a stair or raised platform (having a railing or wall for support helps). Place toes on the stair and let heels hang off. Use the railing to lift up onto your toes, then lower your weight down very slowly so that your heels fall below the level of the stair. You can start with one leg at a time, using the other foot for balance. Then progress to both legs at the same time.

Don’t start running again until you can do toe raises without pain. Next, move on to skipping rope, then jumping jacks, and then gradually begin running again. You should be back to easy running in six to eight weeks.

Metzl suggests staying away from high-impact, weight-bearing exercises while your Achilles tendinitis is healing, and trying low-impact activities like swimming, pool running, or cycling in a low gear instead.

Prevention of Achilles Tendinitis

To prevent the recurrence of Achilles tendinitis, it’s important to strengthen the muscles in your calves and feet. “The stronger the muscles, the less the loading force is on the tendon,” Metzl says.

Stretching your calves is also key for prevention. One of the best stretches for the Achilles is also the simplest. Stand on the balls of your feet on stairs, a curb, or a low rung of a ladder. Drop both heels down and hold for 10 seconds. To increase the intensity of the stretch, keep one foot flat and lower the other heel. Then switch legs.

Achilles tendinitis is also linked to over-striding or when your foot touches down in front of your body. Metzl suggests focusing on improving your running form by shortening your stride and quickening your cadence to avoid heel-striking too heavily.

Other prevention methods you can try are experimenting with more supportive shoes or orthotics to help control foot pronation, avoiding running in worn-out shoes, easing into any running program, and incorporating rest into your training schedule.

The post Sore Achilles Tendon? Here’s How to Treat It appeared first on Runner's World.

Perfectionism, according to the American Psychological Association, is “the tendency to demand of others or of oneself an extremely high or even flawless level of performance, in excess of what is required by the situation.” It’s associated with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other mental health issues. For runners, it can also lead to burnout, an increased risk of injury, and a loss of the simple but profound pleasure our sport can bring.

Lennie Waite, Ph.D. and an Olympic steeplechaser, says that perfectionism can surface in runners in a handful of ways. Such athletes are often overly self-critical, even when they’ve given their best effort; quick to blame themselves for poor performances, despite the cause being out of their control; likely to train through injury or at an intense level for longer than is beneficial; and inclined to feel like they “should” or “must” run, rather than doing it out of desire.

As to why perfectionism is so prevalent in running, Waite offers two theories.

“There are a lot of numbers involved [in running], and hitting numbered targets is right up a perfectionist’s alley,” she says.

Secondly, as most athletes can attest, diligence, discipline, and a whatever-it-takes attitude are essential ingredients in a successful career. Runners with those qualities are sure to hit their mileage, execute their workouts, do all the little things, and generally hold themselves accountable for getting the work done no matter what.

But a darker side of perfectionism can emerge when it goes unchecked. Waite says that athletes who hold themselves to the highest of standards, with no room for error, often miss or brush off the early warning signs of burnout, chronic fatigue, or injury. They’re also easily ensnared by the comparison trap, which is a recipe for exhaustion and dissatisfaction. Finally, as Waite explains, incessant striving to be flawless can steal the joy from performances and the sport itself, as rarely do plans unfold exactly as we’d hoped.

My pursuit of perfection

This is familiar territory for me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an irrational fear of failing and letting others down. Once I got serious about running, those worries blossomed alongside my desire to optimise every running-related variable I could think of: mileage, form, nutrition, sleep, core work, recovery, and on and on. There’s no doubt that some of that helped me jump from one level to the next, as I went from an 11:07 3,200-meter runner in high school to a 69:40 half marathoner today.

But at many points along the way, that line of thinking and striving has been counterproductive. In addition to becoming extremely self-critical and hungry for approval, I picked up some habits that have held me back. I was riddled by injuries throughout college, some of which I’m sure I could have avoided had I been more attentive and patient. More than once, I’ve started a new training log midseason after a few unplanned days off. I’ve spent full nights ruminating about poor races (and worrying about ones to come). And saddest of all, I’ve let the fear of falling short keep me from trying more times than I can count.

A prime example: One day during my senior year in university, my coach called me into his office and told me I’d been medically cleared to race the regional cross-country championship. He expected me to jump with joy—I’d been out all year due to a hip injury that required surgery, and all I’d wanted was to be back in uniform, cranking with my teammates.

But I surprised him by bursting into tears. Instead of the low-pressure opportunity to help my team and put an obscene amount of rehabbing and cross-training to use, all I could see was how unprepared I was: I’d done only a few workouts on land, zero with hills. However fit I was, I wasn’t where I’d been in prior seasons. I was certain I’d embarrass myself and let my team down.

My coach eventually talked me off the ledge, convincing me that he wasn’t asking for a miracle performance—just my best effort. Good thing, because the next weekend, I helped my team advance to the national championship by the slimmest of margins. Were it up do me, I never would have spiked up that day, and my fear of inadequacy would have been fed. But instead, I learned what it’s like to show up undercooked, give my best, and walk away a little braver. To this day, whenever I’m tempted to hold out from something until I feel fully prepared (which is still more often than not), I think of that race and what I would have lost had I sat it out.

An Olympian’s perspective

Molly Seidel, a Tokyo Olympic qualifier in the marathon, has been open about her own history with perfectionism. For years, so much of her running was focused on doing everything just right: getting in the perfect training, eating the perfect foods, and controlling every element of her life. At times, it looked like she’d landed on the winning formula.

I was so focused on making the team and making sure that everything was going to go perfect, and then I just broke.

The part of her journey that competitors and fans couldn’t see was how deeply Seidel suffered as a result. In addition to numerous injuries, an eating disorder, and a close call with early retirement, Seidel was heavily burdened by what felt like an obligation to excellence. Once she won her first title as a junior, anything less than victory was deemed “extreme failure.” The three titles that followed offered more relief than joy, and by the time her eligibility ran dry, Seidel had begun to crack.

It all came crashing down in her buildup to the 2016 Olympic Track and Field Trials. “I was so focused on making the team and making sure that everything was going to go perfect,” she says, “and then I just broke.” Seidel didn’t even make it to the starting line of what was meant to be the biggest race of her life.

She spent the next four years unlearning some of her destructive tendencies. Much of her progress was made while in intense eating disorder therapy, including the realisation that “the universe is chaos and you can’t control anything.” So many runners are obsessed with marginal gains—“a culture of optimisation,” Seidel calls it—that they don’t realise that the aggregate is what matters most. As she sees it now, if the majority of the time you’re making sound decisions and getting in the work, you have some wiggle room for things that bring you joy but aren’t necessarily performance-enhancing (like ice cream, beer, or an all-day music festival).

Seidel’s path to the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials couldn’t have been more different from her attempt four years earlier on the track. She calls her marathon buildup “the epitome of anti-perfection,” having recently left her first pro team, placed her trust in a brand new coach, and barely survived the training. She dropped out of numerous workouts and at times felt like she was just out there winging it for an event she had no experience with.

But on race day, Seidel rose to the occasion, beating all but one competitor to make her first Olympic team. Since then, she’s strung together her longest stretch of healthy training in years, and nabbed personal records in the half and full marathons. If that’s not an endorsement for an approach with some wiggle room, I don’t know what is.

Moving past perfectionism

If you, too, lean toward perfectionism, here’s some collective advice for working on it.

“Don’t let perfect be the enemy of great.” One of Seidel’s therapists fed her that line, and it stuck. It applies to running and any other domain: school, work, parenting, relationships, etc.

Give yourself a challenge. Perfectionists tend to respond to challenges, Waite says, so use that to your advantage. Challenge yourself to take a regular off day if you normally avoid them, or try a new restaurant every so often if you find comfort in preparing every bite yourself.

Write (or talk) it out. Journaling has been an instrumental in my journey past perfectionism, and some may find the same with therapy. Recognising why I do what I do and where my fears come from is the first step in replacing some of my habits with healthier ones.

Expose yourself to situations in which you have little control. For Seidel and me, traveling (especially to East Africa) has been the ultimate instructor in flexibility and adaptability. Look for opportunities that put you out of your element, and practice going with the flow.

Prioritise longevity and sustainability. Waite encourages runners to operate according to their long-term health and relationships with running, rather than the desire to tick every training box every day.

Consider the aggregate. Instead of overanalysing every detail that might impact your running, focus on “the broad strokes or the aggregate,” as Seidel has learned to do. A solid body of work gives you room for the occasional indulgent meal, poor workout, and bad night of sleep.

The post Why Perfectionism Can Hurt Your Running appeared first on Runner's World.

It should go without saying that running is a high-impact sport. So if it seems like you and your running buddies are constantly taking turns battling injuries—big and small—you’re not alone: Nearly half of all non-professional runners sustain injuries, according to research by Jonatan Jungmalm, Ph.D., in the Department of Food, Nutrition, and Sport Science at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

As part of his doctoral dissertation, Jungmalm recruited more than 200 recreational runners between 18 and 55 years old and monitored them over a one-year period. “To take part in the study, they had to have been running for at least a year, have run an average of at least 15 km per week over the past year and have been injury free for at least six months,” Science Daily reported.

He found that 46 percent of these runners reported injuries over the course of a year, and the most common locations were the knee—accounting for 27 percent of all injuries—and the Achilles tendon and calf area, representing about 25 percent of all injuries.

Those with a previous injury were almost twice as likely to sustain a running-related injury as those without one, according to a result of Jungmalm’s that was published recently in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy.

Also, newer runners tend to have higher injury incidence rates, Jungmalm told Runner’s World. He added that previous research indicates that running-related injuries seem to be the biggest reason that recreational runners quit.

Recreational runners will, on average, experience at least one injury in about 225 hours of running.

Also not part of the research was whether any specific strategies helped minimise injury risk, but physical therapist Carol Mack, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., owner of CLE Sports PT & Performance, told Runner’s World that risk factors include mismanagement of training load, experience, and biomechanics.

With training load, many recreational runners track mileage, Mack said, and while that’s helpful, it doesn’t give a full picture of true load. Mileage is external load, but it doesn’t measure the body’s physiological response to a run, known as internal load. For that, you’d need to be aware of intensity, heart rate, and level of fatigue. For example, Mack said, think about a 10K run done on tired legs at a fast pace versus fresh legs at a slow pace. The distance is the same, but each workout feels different and has distinctive effects on the body.

“In Jungmalm’s work, it’s noted that four injuries occurred during a single session that was rated with the highest intensity, or a pace-related injury,” Mack said. “There is some evidence out there that higher intensity workouts are associated with injury occurrence. Therefore, recreational runners should understand that intense, pace-related workouts like tempo runs or speedwork can be very taxing on the body.”

She added that it’s best to consult with a coach about how to best incorporate them into your training, and it’s very important to give yourself enough rest and recovery after those workouts.

Experience is also a factor, and as the research indicates, newer runners have higher injury rates. Mack said this might show up as not knowing when it’s okay to push through pain versus when it’s not, or not knowing how fast or far to take some training runs.

The biomechanics factor means paying attention to proper form, said Mack. For those who experience repeat injuries, this might be a major factor, and she added that running gait retraining may help.

If you seem to always be getting injured, it’s best to consult with professionals—a running coach, sports medicine physician, physical therapist, etc.—to nail down the reason why and what you can personally do to stay healthy.

The post Keep getting injured? You’re not alone appeared first on Runner's World.

When presented with these symptoms, some doctors are quick to diagnose asthma and prescribe inhalers. Because the breathing problems might be accompanied by allergies or respiratory sickness, medications or time off might also be prescribed. But for some runners, their symptoms don’t go away, leading to frustration and that much more stress about their breathing.

What if the answer were something else entirely? You could be dealing with paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder (PVFMD) or, more generally, vocal fold dysfunction (VFD). Here’s how to know if your breathing problems while running might stem from VFD, and what to do if that’s the case.

What Is Vocal Cord Dysfunction?

VFD occurs when, instead of the vocal cords opening freely during inhalation, they remain tightened or closed off. This is why runners with VFD will often wheeze when breathing in, unlike in asthma when the wheeze is often heard while breathing out. Once the natural pattern of vocal cords opening and closing becomes uncoordinated, it can become a pattern.

While the incidence of VFD remains difficult to pinpoint, owing to the difficulties in diagnosis, it’s estimated that at least 5 percent of elite endurance athletes experience VFD, with a higher percentage for recreational and younger athletes. Women and academic high achievers seem to be more susceptible than the general population. In the general public, one study out of Copenhagen discovered exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction in 7.5 percent of randomly selected participants.

Endurance athletes are more likely to experience VFD because exercise is a trigger for the symptoms to arise and prolonged activity results in acute awareness of bad breathing. Without stopping and allowing the vocal folds to reset and resume their natural relaxed pattern, the disrupted pattern will continue until exercise has stopped. Unlike other sports, running doesn’t allow for breaks to recalibrate breathing and for the body to reset, so the effects of dysfunction can build over the course of a run.

Stress

Stress, either physical or emotional, can exacerbate the problem. When you’re experiencing a sustained period of stress, most of your muscles become tighter. This includes the muscles in the neck and those surrounding the voice box. This will directly lead to the vocal folds becoming tighter or closed. Other physical triggers include changes in weather (especially breathing in cold air), coincident conditions such as seasonal allergies or asthma, and acid reflux, all of which runners tend to encounter. If your neck and nearby muscles remain in tightened for too long, that tightness can become your norm.

This disorder has been noticed to occur more frequently in runners who are making a step up, be it fighting for a scholarship in their final seasons of high school, joining a collegiate team, or beginning to make a big jump in performance. Whether they can feel it or not, carrying added perceived pressure can result in physical tightness and changes in the body.

Because runners are typically high achievers, they might continue to push through instances of labored breathing, exacerbating the problem. When their breathing feels out of control, they might start to panic, and their breathing might become even shorter and shallower. Teammates and coaches might hear a difference in breathing, the athlete might no longer keep up in workouts, and their performances might slip. If an athlete feels alienated from their group or worried about what’s going on, the problem can worsen.

All of these factors can contribute to a negative feedback loop and emotional stress. Once a pattern is established, even showing up to practice might trigger breathing changes.

Breathe Easy

The best current treatment for vocal cord dysfunction involves a multidisciplinary approach. You can seek diagnosis and treatment from a speech and language pathologist who has experience in the topic, an ear, nose, and throat doctor/otolaryngologist, a psychologist, and other specialists in the field.

Be open and honest about your symptoms. It often helps to take notes and share what you’re feeling, when you feel it, and what you’ve already tried in terms of changes or medications.

After diagnosis, learning about the breathing system anatomy can be a first step in treatment for many athletes. Doing diaphragmatic or “belly” breathing as often as possible, as opposed to high or chest breathing, will be important in resetting the vocal fold pattern. Successful treatment often includes relaxing and retraining the vocal cords, such as Laryngeal Control Therapy. Throat massage including manipulation of the adam’s apple can also help.

Treatments

Because VFD is often considered a sensory-motor disorder, increasing your sensation accuracy and self-awareness of the vocal cords can also be useful. Many athletes cite picturing and visualising their vocal folds blowing open with a relaxed throat posture during inhalation as an important turning point.

To make this your norm, start practicing diaphragmatic breathing during a rest state while picturing and trying to feel your vocal folds opening. Once this becomes more natural, try it while walking, then slow jogging, and so on until you can use these techniques during all of your runs.

Current treatments gaining popularity involve small cameras placed in the throat that can show the athlete’s vocal folds opening and closing during exercise for maximum visual feedback. Eventually, the athlete will feel the difference without needing to use the camera.

Practice breathing, relaxation, and warm up techniques daily. Being willing to slow down and take breaks as necessary can shorten the length of disorder. As many as 80 percent of treated athletes no longer had to use asthma medications after going through such treatments.

If mental stress seems to be a major culprit to onset of symptoms, seeking a sports psychiatrist may be an integral asset to breaking this cycle. Without uncovering and treating any mental triggers you may have, the symptoms are at risk to start up again in a similar stress environment.

Lastly, remember you’re not alone. Many high level athletes have dealt with and received help for VFD. With a more efficient breathing pattern, you can come out of treatment faster and smoother than ever before!

The post Are Your Breathing Problems Caused by Vocal Cord Dysfunction? appeared first on Runner's World.

Bringing awareness to your breathing builds more efficiency, a steadier pace, and a calmer mind, even during high-​pressure races, says Boulder-based pro runner and coach Neely Spence Gracey. If you focus on solid breathing, “you’ll be able to push through fatigue and maintain form,” she says. Here’s how.

Breathing Basics: Slow Down and Belly-Breathe

The most common reason new runners gasp for air? They haven’t regulated their response of ‘fight or flight’ to ‘rest and digest’. This impacts their heart and lungs enough that they can’t run without reaching their ventilatory threshold, the point at which you can’t breathe deeply or quickly enough to fulfil your body’s demand for oxygen, says running coach Erik Bies, a physical therapist and clinic director at Movement Systems in Seattle. Once you near this point, your body’s stress response kicks in, causing you to panic and struggle even more.

To avoid this, slow down at first. Stick to a pace that allows you to speak a few words or sentences (throw in walk breaks every few minutes, if you have to). Jordan recommends inhaling through your nose and out through your mouth for the best gas exchange at an easy pace. With a few weeks of consistent training, your body adapts in ways that increase your ventilatory threshold – for instance, your muscles sprout new blood vessels, says Kyle Barnes, PhD, assistant professor of exercise science at Grand Valley State University.

Many new runners breathe from their chest instead of their diaphragm, further limiting their oxygen intake. Combat this with belly breathing. For five minutes in the morning or before you run, lie down and place your hand on your stomach. Take slow, deep breaths that lift your hand as you inhale and sink it as you exhale. Once you’re comfortable on the ground, try taking belly breaths when walking, then running.

The Intermediate Trick: Focus and Find Rhythm

From there, it’s time to take focused breathing on the move with rhythmic patterns. Gracey recommends starting by inhaling for two counts, then exhaling for two, a pattern called 2:2 breathing. This will help you pace yourself better – the steadier you’re breathing, the less likely you are to go out too hard – and ensure a steady flow of oxygen to your muscles.

Try it walking first, then on easy runs, beginning with one minute at a time every kilometre or two, and gradually increasing the duration of your focus.

As you grow more comfortable with focused breathing, you can use it for faster runs, such as intervals and tempo. Paying attention to your breath can help you gauge your pace and tolerate the discomfort of speedy paces, so you can improve your ventilatory threshold even further, Bies says.

Start by using 2:2 breathing during strides – 15- to 20-second bursts of faster running – or 30-second hill repeats, Gracey recommends. Eventually, you can extend the rhythm throughout longer intervals – say, faster kilometre or 1 600m repetitions.

On easy runs, try 3:3 or 4:4 breathing, she says. Others recommend experimenting with a longer inhale than exhale – 2:1 for faster running, 4:3 or 3:2 for easier running – to see what feels more natural for you. Doing so may better distribute the impact across both sides of your body.

An Advanced Hack: Count and Train Your Diaphragm

During workouts and races, Gracey uses 2:2 breathing paired with mentally tallying her strides. The first four-count inhalation and exhalation is one. The second is two, and so on. She counts from one to 100, then starts over again. “It gives me small goals to work towards,” she says, “and keeps me focused and present.”

Counting breaths proves especially useful in races that feature varying terrain, she says, because it’s harder to breathe on uphills and easier on downhills. Keeping your respiration steady, rather than freaking out about the numbers on your watch, ensures you’ll even out around your goal pace eventually.

While consistent running strengthens your breathing muscles, you can take them to boot camp for a bigger boost using a device such as POWERbreathe (import only, in SA). “Essentially, it’s like dumbbells for your diaphragm,” Barnes says. Experts call this inspiratory muscle training. Start with two sets of 30 breaths at two different times of the day, using a resistance that’s challenging but that you can complete with good form. (Think breathing from your belly, not shrugging your shoulders or straining your neck.)

You’ll probably see a difference within two to three weeks, or even sooner. In one recent study, Barnes found runners improved their performance in a 3 200m time trial when they did 30 resisted breaths immediately beforehand as a warm-up.

Stop the Stitch

Stitches often occur when your diaphragm or another breathing-related muscle cramps up, probably because you’re running too fast for your ventilatory threshold, says physical therapist Erik Bies. To stop one, try pursed-lip breathing: slow down, pucker your lips, and slowly exhale with force, as if you were blowing out candles. This helps your diaphragm relax. Eating a gel can help, too, as electrolyte imbalances may make your breathing muscles lock up.

Cardio Capacity

How well can our bodies utilise the oxygen we breathe? According to the Journal of Sports Medicine, here’s how the typical VO2 max measurements of marathoners stack up.

Air Quality Alerts

Gasping is just one sign of poor breathing, says Jordan. Watch for these other red flags that may indicate you’re not using your diaphragm efficiently.

1. Tightness or pain in your neck or back
2. Shoulders that raise and lower
3. Asymmetrical rotation in your torso
4. An arched back and flared ribs
5. Paradoxical breathing, when your stomach rises as you exhale and sinks when you inhale

The post HOW TO: Breathe Better To Run Longer & Faster appeared first on Runner's World.

What is stride length?

The word “stride” is used pretty casually among runners and is often confused with your gait or your step count. But “stride length is the distance covered between the spot where one foot hits the ground and the next time that same foot hits the ground again,” says Robert Maschi, an associate clinical professor in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences department at Drexel University and the leader of Drexel’s Running Performance and Research Centre.

That’s two steps – one with your right foot, one with your left. The number of steps you take is always twice the number of strides, and the number of steps you take per minute is called cadence.

It’s hard to think about – or tinker with – your stride length without also considering your cadence and pace, says Erika Lee Sperl, a kinesiologist and high-performance sport consultant for Orreco, a sports and data analytics company in Los Angeles. “If you’re maintaining the same pace but running with a shortened stride length, you’ll increase your cadence because you’ll be taking more steps per minute,” she explains. “If you lengthen your stride, you’ll be taking less steps per minute at the same pace.”

What is the ideal stride length?

The short answer: It depends. You’ve probably heard that an average of 180 steps per minute is the “magic number” for cadence. “This is based on observations by the famous running coach Jack Daniels, who wrote that the majority of elite distance runners at the 1984 Olympic games had a cadence of 180 foot strikes per minute and higher,” says Maschi. Recreational runners, though, tend to run with a cadence of 140-170 foot strikes per minute, he adds.

It’s actually not just the overall length of a step or a stride that’s important, says Maschi. “What’s most important is the position of the foot relative to the centre of your body (your centre of mass) when it contacts the ground,” he explains.

RELATED: How to Correct Overstriding

That’s because stride length functions on a bell curve. “Research has repeatedly shown that overstriding – that is, running with the leading foot extended too far in front of the body and thus hell striking – is a prime factor for increased risk of injury,” says Sperl. “Plus, overstriding places the body in a biomechanically inefficient position to move into the second stage of the gait cycle, and is subsequently less effective in generating forward momentum.”

On the flip side, if your stride length is too short, you can’t store enough energy in the swing phase of your gait, and you won’t be able to use as much force when you hit the push-off phase of your gait, which means you’ll have less forward momentum, Sperl explains.

What determines stride length?

Well, you do. Some people naturally prefer a longer stride, and others fall into a shorter stride.

While many people think stride length has to do with height or leg length, it’s not just runners with long legs who have a long stride and vice versa, says Maschi; research shows that runners with long legs can have a short stride, while shorter runners can have a long stride.

There are a lot of variables that go into the equation, including your individual biometrics: your overall height, the length of your legs, and running biomechanics like your foot strike, says Sperl. “Some of the other variables that determine stride length are body weight, flexibility, and stiffness (or how much the joints of the foot, knee, and hip move during the running gait,” says Maschi.

Plus, your stride length can change during a run, Maschi explains. As you go uphill, your steps tend to get shorter, and you take more of them. On the downhill, your steps will open up, and you’ll take fewer of them. When you generate more power, like during a sprint to the finish, your step length, cadence, or both can increase. And the more fatigued you get, the more your step length, cadence, or both usually decreases (hello, marathon shuffle).

So why does stride length matter?

Remember how stride length goes hand in hand with cadence and pace? “To run faster, a runner needs to either cover more ground with each step length, increase cadence, or a combination of both,” says Sperl.

But finding your ideal stride length and cadence isn’t just about gaining speed. It will also improve your efficiency. “At your ideal stride length and cadence, you’ll be able to run at the same pace with reduced heart rate and oxygen consumption,” explains Maschi. “That reduced heart rate and oxygen consumption would lead to a lower energy cost and effort while running.”

It also helps protect you from injury. “One of the most common injuries in runners is patellofemoral pain, or Runner’s Knee,” says Sperl. “And that’s very common when you have just a slight tendency to overstride – even if it’s not very obvious. Your knee is more extended when your foot hits the ground, so your leg is straighter and further in front of you. The way the force from the ground pushes back up through your body in that position can lead to increased risk of patellofemoral pain.”

Should you change your stride length?

Probably not. Whether you’re a new runner or an experienced one, the stride length you naturally choose is likely your most efficient, according to a 2017 study published in the International Journal of Exercise Science that compared runners’ preferred stride length to strides of plus and minus 8 and 16 percent of their normal stride length.

“The body is remarkably adept at remembering movement patterns, and this includes your stride length and steps per minute,” says Sperl. “Sometimes it’s counterproductive to try and change biomechanical patterns that have been ingrained for years.”

RELATED: 6 Common Injuries You Should Never Train Through

That said, if you can mess with your stride in the right direction, it could make you more efficient, says Maschi. Runners who increased their running cadence a small amount above their self-selected cadence immediately lowered their heart rate in a study published in PLOS One.

Increasing your cadence by 5 and 10 percent over your preferred cadence can also decrease overstriding and reduce impact and bracing forces to potentially avoid running-related injuries, research published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found.

If you do tend to overstride (if you’re constantly suffering from hamstring issues, that could be a clue), you may want to get a proper gait evaluation from a qualified physical therapist, biomechanical specialist, or kinesiologist, says Sperl.

FWIW, experienced runners tend to select a cadence that’s closer to optimal for energy expenditure than novice runners, says research published in the European Journal of Sport Science. “So it may take some practice to find your most optimal cadence and stride length,” says Maschi. Start by finding your current cadence, then play with taking five to 10 steps more or less,” says Sperl. A heart rate monitor and/or smartwatch can help you see where you’re most efficient.

The post Should You Change Your Stride Length? appeared first on Runner's World.

Resistance bands snap back against all these excuses. They’re relatively cheap – you can buy a complete set for the price of one lightweight dumbbell. They take up minimal space, which makes them easy to store at home, tuck into a travel bag, or bring to the park. And, most importantly, they’re incredibly versatile. Constructed from flexible latex that’s colour-coded according to its thickness, bands are available in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Smaller bands are typically looped around the limbs and used to add resistance or feedback to bodyweight moves, while larger bands can be used in place of weights or anchored for pulling, pushing, and isometric movements. When it comes to training with resistance bands, progression and regression is pretty simple: Beginners should start with a lighter band that offers less resistance and level up as their strength increases. Advanced athletes should challenge themselves with a thicker, heavier band.

There are hundreds of exercises runners can do with a just a few different bands, but, to get you started, we asked three running coaches to share their favourites. Here are their top eight recommendations.

How to use this list: Review the exercises below as demonstrated by Bradford Shreve, certified personal trainer at Life Time Athletic at Sky in New York. Perform each move according to the reps and sets instructed for a killer total-body workout or perform the Lateral Banded Walk, Banded Squat With Leg Lift, Plank Row, and Star Jacks as a pre-run warmup.

Lateral Banded Walk

“Many runners (myself included) are prone to feeling like their butt is ‘dead’ during a run,” says Pam Moore, running coach and occupational therapist in Boulder, Colorado. “I would describe it as a dull ache and tightness that makes you feel like punching yourself in the butt.” To prevent the dreaded “dead butt” sensation, Moore suggests using lateral banded walks to activate the hip and glute muscles before hitting the road.

Loop a resistance band around your ankles. Starting with the feet shoulder-width apart and the knees slightly bent, take 15 steps to the right, then 15 steps to the left. That’s 1 set. Move slowly, stepping wide enough to feel the band’s resistance, and think about pushing the knees out (rather than allowing them to collapse inward). Complete 2 to 3 sets; you should feel warmed up, not fatigued.

Banded Squat With Leg Lift

“Road runners do a lot of front and back movement. That often leads to under-developed abductor muscles (muscles that move the limbs away from the body’s midline), which can lead to injuries,” says Kelly Gerard, running coach and co-founder of the Kukimbe app. To get runners moving in more than just one plane of motion, she adds a lateral leg lift to a basic, banded squat.

With a small resistance band positioned around the thighs, stand with the feet hip-width apart. Hinge the hips and lower down into a deep squat. As you return to a standing position, use the hip and glute muscles to lift the right leg out to the side. Place the right foot on the ground and repeat the entire movement for a total of 20 reps. Repeat on left leg.

Banded Star Jacks

“This is a great, explosive move that really gets your heart rate up!” says Gerard. The added resistance around the ankles turns this gym class staple into an endurance challenge that also strengthens the glutes, hips, quads, and hamstrings. Use banded star jacks in a dynamic warmup or during high-intensity interval training.

Place a small resistance band around the ankles and stand with the feet shoulder-width apart. Jump the feet apart as you raise both hands overhead (so body forms a star with head, hands, and feet as the points). Jump the feet together as you bring the arms back down to sides. Continue at a moderate pace for intervals of 30 to 60 seconds.

Banded Plank

Running speed starts with running efficiency, which starts with a solid core. You’ll feel this spicy plank variation all throughout your middle as the subtle yet effective leg movements fire up the glutes, hips, and hamstrings.

With a resistance band looped around your ankles, get into a forearm plank position with shoulders over elbows and core engaged so body forms a straight line from head to heels. Lift the right foot straight up about 30 centimetres, then return it to the starting position. Repeat for a total of 10 reps before switching sides.

Pallof Press

If Mary Johnson, USATF Level 1 certified running coach and founder of Lift.Run.Perform, could recommend just one resistance band exercise that targets the core, she’d pick the paloff press. “It’s an anti-rotation exercise, which means it’s forcing the core to resist the force of the band from pulling it in the opposite direction,” she explains. You’ll feel this one all throughout the trunk, especially in the obliques.

At about chest height, loop one end of a large resistance band around a pole, squat rack, or rig. With the left side of your body facing the pole, come to a tall kneeling position and grasp the other end of the band with both hands at chest height (make sure you’re far enough away from the pole so that there’s resistance on the band). Tighten the core and push the band directly in front of the chest. Use your core to resist the pull of the band to rotate your torso. Hold for 45 seconds, then return the hands to the chest. Complete three reps before repeating with the right side of the body facing the pole.

Deadbug With Band

Johnsons’s second favourite core exercise using a band? The deadbug. “It’s another anti-rotation exercise, which runners need plenty of,” she says. “The biggest challenge with this is keeping the back flat against the ground, and not allowing the pelvis to shift.”

Loop one end of a resistance band around the lower part of a pole, squat rack, or rig to anchor. Loop or hold the other end with right hand. Lie faceup and your feet closest to the anchor. Extend arms straight up (there should be tension on the band). Keeping the lower back pressed into the floor, lift the legs so that shins are parallel to floor and knees have a 90-degree bend. Slowly straighten left leg and allow left foot to hover just above the floor, as you reach right arm overhead at the same time. Bring left leg and right arm back to the starting position. Complete 6 reps. Then repeat with right leg and left arm for 1 set. Perform 3 sets.

Isometric Lunge and Row

The “iso” or isometric lunge and row challenges balance, stability, and core strength while also engaging the upper body. “This one is a total body movement,” says Johnson.

At hip height, loop one end of a large resistance band around a pole, squat rack, or rig. Facing the pole, drop into a lunge with left leg forward, right knee hovering above the floor. Hold the band with the right hand (there should be some tension) and pull hand toward right ribs. Repeat for 10 to 12 reps before switching legs and arms. Complete 3 sets on each side.

Plank Row With Band

The “pulling” motion used in this move is hard to replicate with bodyweight exercises, which is why the band is essential here. Upper body work isn’t on every runner’s radar, but it’s still very important because you need a strong arm swing to power you up hills and through sprints. “So many of my athletes are asking how they can get a stronger upper body,” Johnson says. “Since many runners do have a weaker upper body, the use of the band allows the athlete to do the movement correctly.”

Loop one end of a resistance band around the lower part of a pole, squat rack, or rig to anchor. With your head facing the anchor, start in a high plank position with wrists under shoulders and core engaged so that body forms a straight line from head to heels. Grab the other end of the resistance band with right hand (there should be some tension). Pull hand to right ribs, but be sure to keep hips square. Complete 6 reps then repeat on left side for 1 set. Do 3 sets.

The post 8 Resistance Band Exercises For A Killer Workout appeared first on Runner's World.

Those are some of the claims about cannabidiol (CBD) oil. You will  most certainly have heard about this cannabis extract, which is said to provide widespread health benefits without the drawbacks of marijuana.

A growing number of athletes, including many in the trail running and ultramarathon community, consider CBD a key part of their regimen. And because of these adopters, my interest piqued on CBD and its proposed benefits. Could CBD help my running? Can it help yours? I decided to find out.

But before we explore how runners and other athletes use CBD, here’s what you need to know.

What is CBD?

CBD is shorthand for cannabidiol, one of the more than 100 cannabinoids found in cannabis. CBD products are said to deliver their many claimed benefits by boosting the body’s endocannabinoid system, which is a system that “is a unique signaling pathway that controls the function of a variety of systems throughout the body, including the cardiovascular system,” says Nicholas DiPatrizio, Ph.D., a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine. (More on the endocannabinoid system later.)

Endocannabinoids are familiar to runners because of their theorised role in running-induced mood boosts. That euphoric phenomenon is thought to be from activation of the same receptors in the brain that the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in marijuana acts upon. CBD “works through distinct—albeit not definitively identified—signaling systems than THC,” DiPatrizio says. CBD is non-psychoactive, which means it doesn’t produce a high.

Here are some other common questions to think about:

Cibdol CBD Oil STRONG 10% CBD (3000mg), 30ml

R2,895

BUY NOW

Is CBD Legal?

Almost all commercially available CBD products are made from industrial hemp, a cannabis plant that, by definition, contains not more than 0.3 percent THC. In May 2019 cannabidiol was removed from from the list of highly controlled drugs. And until 15 May 2020 ‘preparations’ containing CBD will be legal to sell by anyone, not just pharmacies.

In terms of athletics, hemp-derived CBD was removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances in 2017.

Hemp legalisation and more companies targeting athletes should further separate CBD from its cultural association with marijuana.

How Do You Take CBD?

CBD products come in a variety of forms, including tinctures, gel caps, and topical applications. One US-athlete-focused company, Floyd’s of Leadville, offers a protein recovery powder and a carb drink that contain CBD. (That’s Floyd as in Floyd Landis, the former professional cyclist who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for failing a drug test and who helped to expose Lance Armstrong’s doping.) Another athlete-focused company, PurePower Botanicals, offers capsules that combine CBD with herbs and other purported medicinals, such as turmeric. PurePower says that the non-hemp-derived ingredients increase the effectiveness of the products’ CBD.

What Claims Are Made About CBD?

Advocates say it helps with a wide variety of conditions, from anxiety and insomnia to inflammation and nausea. Because of the workings of the endocannabinoid system, there’s at least a theoretical basis for these claims.

“The endocannabinoid system is found in every organ throughout the body and controls many physiological processes, including food intake and energy balance, learning and memory, and pain processing, to name a few,” says DiPatrizio.

“It can affect everything from emotion to pain to appetite to energy metabolism to brain function to even the immune system and inflammation,” says Hector Lopez, M.D., a consultant to PlusCBD Oil. “When you have a system that crosstalks with all those pathways, then there are very few things the endocannabinoid system does not influence.”

So far, though, there’s scant clinical evidence for the claimed benefits of CBD. In June 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first CBD drug, Epidiolex, for treating seizures associated with two rare forms of epilepsy. Otherwise, the FDA doesn’t consider CBD products to be dietary supplements—manufacturers can’t claim the products will diagnose, treat, or cure any diseases. Instead, CBD product literature contains phrases like “restore vitality,” “relax and recover,” and “may keep healthy people healthy.”

DiPatrizio says, “There may be some benefits outside of improving epilepsy outcomes, but a lot more research is required.” Any research on athletic claims would almost certainly come from the industry; there are more urgent public health CBD topics to investigate than whether it reduces runners’ knee pain. For the foreseeable future, runners interested in CBD’s effectiveness will have to rely on anecdotal, subjective reports.

What Are Athletes’ Experiences With CBD?

Some of those anecdotal reports are impressive. One of my training partners, Erin Dawson-Chalat, M.D., of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, says that her persistent plantar fascia pain went away within a few days of applying topical CBD balm to the area.

RELATED: Plantar Fasciitis: Symptoms, Treatment & Exercises

Like many athletes I’ve spoken with, Dawson-Chalat appreciates that CBD is a natural product.

Dr. Boxall’s Sceletium, Moringa & Hemp Seed Powder

R215

BUY NOW

Talansky says that his sleep improved almost immediately when he started taking CBD daily. Soon after, he was also less anxious about transitioning from pro cycling to his new sport, felt that he recovered more quickly from hard training, and had fewer flare-ups of his old cycling injuries. Now he encourages other athletes to try CBD, in part “to get rid of the association with smoking weed,” he says. “It’s completely different.”

Elite ultramarathoner Avery Collins doesn’t mind any associations with marijuana; his Instagram handle is @runninhigh. But he also takes CBD daily, despite some of its claimed benefits overlapping with those attributed to marijuana.1

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Now that were a couple days withdrawn from the race and my season has come to a bittersweet end I want to give a huge thanks to my sponsors.. If you haven’t heard of them or used their products I am a true believer in every last one of them: @inov_8 for the countless amounts of shoes I have destroyed @orangemud for running packs that are absolutely invincible in the mountains @purepowerlife for the CBD supplements that allowed me to push through some massive training blocks this summer @thefarmdispensary for a non stop flow of all wonderful things thc has to offer! @iloveincrediblestoo for the countless amount of delicious “night night” bars I have ate @honeystinger for fueling the way with delicious waffles @crankednaturals for the protein shakes and hydration mix I use in training as well as in competition Pc: @horizonsportstv

A post shared by Avery Collins (@runninhigh) on Sep 15, 2018 at 5:15am PDT

“THC products are more for the psychoactive effect, which may not be for everyone,” the Steamboat Springs, Colorado, resident says. “CBD use is for more health-minded people.” Collins says CBD products “are a big part of my daily routine,” and credits them with boosting his energy levels, speeding his recovery from long trail runs, and improving his sleep.

My Trial With CBD

Given reports like these, I decided to conduct an (admittedly flawed) experiment of one: For one month, I would take CBD daily while changing nothing else—mileage, intensity, strength training, other aspects of self-care—in my routine.

BioMedCan CBD SLEEP Capsules

R549

BUY NOW

Most acutely, the discomfort and stiffness I’d felt for months from a meniscus tear (confirmed by MRI) went away. The occasional twinges I had been getting on runs stopped. More significantly, what had been the tear’s near-constant presence in daily life, such as when getting up from sitting, has disappeared. For now, I’ve postponed surgery on the tear. It’s impossible to know if CBD was the key factor in any of these changes. Still, at the end of the month, I decided to keep taking CBD daily.

All that said, CBD isn’t an athletic cure-all. After my initial month-long experiment, I wrenched my lower back while lifting weights. Increasing my CBD intake, primarily through frequent self-massage with salves and creams, didn’t seem to help. Rest and prescription muscle relaxants were the keys to resuming normal activities, including running.

RELATED: What’s The Difference Between Rest & Active Recovery?

My experience meshes with how some health professionals who work with athletes view CBD.

Dan Frey, a physical therapist in Portland, Maine, says that his patients report the most success using CBD to treat long-term trouble spots rather than acute injury sites. Frey, who doesn’t prescribe medication or supplements, says his conversations about CBD are initiated by patients. Many also tell Frey they find it helps with pain management, especially when used in conjunction with other treatments such as massage and a targeted strengthening and mobility programme.

“CBD coupled with stretching, icing, and foam rolling is a common treatment plan for tendonitis injuries about the knee, such as iliotibial band syndrome,” says Charles Bush-Joseph, M.D., a professor of orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “Many patients like the fact that CBD is a natural substance. While specific research on the use of CBD in this instance is lacking, many believe that it helps prevent muscle and collagen breakdown.”

RELATED: The Foolproof 3-Step Plan For Treating ITB!

How Should You Take CBD?

In addition to how to take CBD—tincture, gel, topical cream, drink powder—there are the matters of how much and when.

“One of the intricacies of CBD is that effective dosing can be much different between two people,” Lopez says. “There’s no way to know what dose is right for you until you try it, but in general, if you’re someone who is sensitive to most medications, start at the lower end of typical doses.” By that, he means a daily dose of 5 to 15 milligrams—a few drops of a tincture, depending on a product’s strength. “If you’re feeling no effects, adverse or beneficial, after three to five days, add another serving of the same amount.”

Runners pushing themselves daily might want to try more. Floyd’s of Leadville owner Bob Bell says that the company’s 50-milligram soft gels are its top seller. Talansky says his baseline is a 25-milligram gel, plus applying a strong topical cream three to five times a day if a specific body part is bothering him. He takes more on his hardest training days to speed recovery.

How much is too much? Lopez says no significant adverse reactions have been reported for the more than 1 million doses that have been sold in the United States. There is, however, a personal threshold at which the products stop being effective, and maybe even become less effective.

I found I was too groggy during work hours if, on a typical day, I took CBD in the morning and at night. A dose of 25 milligrams an hour before going to bed, plus occasional topical use, has become my norm. The main exception is after an especially long or hard weekend run when I have an additional 25 milligrams if I’m planning to mostly lounge about the house.

Lopez recommends that most people start with a pre-bed dose. Capsules allow you to know exactly how much you’re taking at once. Tinctures, which are the industry’s sales leaders, allow you to customize a day’s dosage.

What Should You Look for When Buying CBD Products?

Knowing how much CBD you’re taking can take a little math. Again, capsules are straightforward—the bottle will say how much CBD each one contains. For tinctures, you need to know the total amount of CBD in the container and the container’s size to calculate how much CBD is in each serving. I found 1-ounce tincture bottles, which contain roughly 30 servings, that ranged from containing 100 milligrams of CBD to 1,000.

Sereen CBD Broad Spectrum Softgels 300mg

R650

BUY NOW

High-quality products will list their ingredients on the label. Reputable brands pay for third-party testing to ensure products contain the claimed amount of CBD. You should be able to find test results on a brand’s website.

Products that meet these criteria are more likely to be on the expensive end of the industry spectrum. Less expensive products are more likely to contain fillers, such as olive oil in tinctures.

What Is the Future Of CBD?

One of the biggest stumbling blocks to widespread use of CBD is price. High-quality tinctures are expensive.

Landis expects prices to come down 10 to 20 percent over the next few years. The biggest reason is that, thanks to legalisation, hemp cultivation is likely to dramatically increase. CBD manufacturers’ raw material expenses will drop significantly once enough farmers figure out how to profitably grow hemp, says PurePower CEO Don McLaughlin.

Because of legalisation, McLaughlin expects national chains to start offering CBD. Clicks, Dis-Chem and Medrite (Checker’s Pharmacy) are already stocking CBD products.

McLaughlin and other current CBD entrepreneurs think there’s room for small and large brands. Prevail CEO Brock Cannon says, “I don’t think there’s an advantage in trying to be everything to everyone. We’re going to make products we would want as runners. Like it would be cool to have a CBD shot block to take on the trail.”

Runners may soon find such products as normal as energy gels.

This article originally appeared on runnersworld.com.

Runner’s World participates in various affiliate marketing programmes, which means we may get commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

The post Can CBD Improve Your Performance and Recovery? appeared first on Runner's World.

“It’s important to pay attention to mechanics, even if you’re not an elite or professional runner,” says Adidas high-performance coach Terrence Mahon.“We’re trying to do two things: One is not get hurt so that we can keep doing the thing we love to do, and two, we’re trying to do it with less effort and more efficiency.”

In other words, the better your running form, the easier running feels—especially when you start to get fatigued. While everyone’s natural mechanics are different, here’s what you should be doing to ensure proper running form, from your head to your toes.

RELATED: Is There Really Such A Thing As Perfect Running Form?

Your Head

You might think running is all about your lower body, but your run technique needs to be dialed in from the top down. That said, don’t look at your feet. “Be sure to gaze directly in front of you,” says Kelli Fierras, USATF-certified running coach and Asics Studio trainer. “Don’t tilt your chin up or down, which happens when people get tired,” she adds.

Really, your eyes can look anywhere, but a focused gaze helps maintain proper posture, which keeps your neck in proper alignment with your spine. “The classic thing I’ll see is a person starting their run with their head, meaning their head is always in front of their body,” says Mahon. “You want to have your ears in line with your shoulders.”

Your Shoulders

We spend so much time hunched over at our desks and on our phones, but it’s crucial to open up your shoulders while you run, says Amanda Nurse, an elite marathoner, running coach, and certified yoga instructor in Boston. “You should pull them back, almost like you’re squeezing a pencil between your shoulder blades,” she says. “If you’re starting to hunch over, it’s going to affect your speed or endurance.”

Ideally, your shoulders are moving independently of your torso and opposite of one another, says Mahon. “So when you take a right step forward, your left shoulder is also forward, and therefore your right shoulder is back as your left leg is back,” he explains. “They should operate in that X pattern.” As the run goes on, it is common to get tight and tense in your shoulder area, almost like you’re shrugging. But this will cost your body valuable energy so it’s important to stay relaxed. Shake out your arms, shrug your shoulders, and focus on loosening up, especially as you get fatigued.

RELATED: 7 Lat Exercises That Will Help You Tap Into More Running Power

Your Arms

The way you move your arms can help you move faster or slow you down. “Your arms should be at a 90-degree angle,” says Nurse. Your palms or fists move from chin to hip. That’s going to help you propel your body forward. Keep your elbows close to your sides.

“If your elbows point outwards, that means your arms are crossing your body, which actually slows you down—you won’t be able to get the momentum you need,” says Fierras. Try pointing your thumbs to the ceiling to keep your arms in line or imagining an invisible line that runs down the center of your body—don’t let your hands cross over that line.

Your Hands

This sounds like such a minor thing in the bigger running picture, but don’t forget to keep your hands relaxed. “I always think about pretending you have a potato chip between your index finger or your middle finger and your thumb so that your hands are really relaxed,” says Nurse “The more you squeeze your hands, the more energy that you’re getting rid of through your hands—but you want all that energy to go into your actual running.”

Your Torso

In most forms of fitness, your core—which includes your back—is really where all your power comes from, and it’s also your centre of gravity while running. So that’s an area you want to make sure you’re always training. “We’re always trying to teach people that long, tall spine so that you’re not crunched down, because if you’re crunched down, you can’t use any of that elastic energy that comes from the ground up,” Mahon says.

RELATED: 7 Pilates Moves To Build A Stronger Core

“You always want to keep a tight core while running—it’ll prevent you from going too far forward or too far backwards,” says Fierras. But that doesn’t mean your core shouldn’t move or react at all. “When you take a left step forward, I actually want to see a torque shift over toward the left side so you have most of the weight over that left leg and so that power gets generated through and stays through the torso,” Mahon says. “If the torso is stuck right in the middle, then you don’t get any use of that energy.”

Your Hips

When you’re running, you want your running form to lean slightly into the run versus running completely upright. “That lean should come from your hips, not from rolling your shoulders forward,” says Fierras. The National Academy of Sports Medicine, backs this recommendation up, saying that your lumbo-pelvic-hip complex should have a “slight lean during acceleration.”

That means your torso will be slightly forward of your hips. “If not, you can’t use your hip base or your gluteus maximus to derive the most power you can get out of your stride,” Mahon says. “Most people, when they think about leaning forward, that’s actually the concept of using your glutes efficiently.”

RELATED: This 6-Step Routine Will Get Your Glutes in Gear

Your Knees

Your knee should be in line with the middle of your foot so that when your foot strikes the ground, it’s right under your knee. “You don’t want to lift your knee up to a 90-degree angle if you’re on a flat road; you want to keep it down low so you’re not wasting that energy on the knee drive,” says Fierras.

RELATED: 5 Ways To Save Your Knees And Joints!

Lots of runners, especially when they’re fatigued, struggle with the runner shuffle, where they’re barely picking their feet up off the ground. If that’s the case, you can try lifting your knees a little higher so you have a little more time in the air for your foot to get in the right position. “And you really want to focus of keeping that knee directly in front of your hips versus turning in or bowing out, which is very hard for people to train themselves to do,” she says.

Your Legs

Everyone’s stride and gait is a little bit different, and that’s okay. “But the easiest way to think about your lower body is to think about your shin being as close to perpendicular as possible when the foot hits the ground,” Mahon says.

If a person is a heavy heel striker, their angle is too big; if they’re a forefoot striker, their angle is too small. Either way, it’s a negative position to be in because you’re opening yourself up to injuries in the other foot or knee. “You also won’t be using all the joints you have properly in the right timing sequence,” he says. “If you land at that 90-degree angle, then you get to use your ankle, your knee joint, and the hip joint all at the same time to both absorb shock and then create energy.”

Your Feet

There’s no right or wrong way for your feet to hit the ground, as long as you’re actually using them to push off (instead of just lifting them). That said, the idea is to aim to hit the road with the ball of your foot, Fierras says. “That’s going to help you propel forward better, and your stride won’t come out too far in front of you.”

Running on your toes or striking with your heel are both more likely to set you up for injury. If that’s how you run naturally, though, “rather than focusing on changing your stride, talk to an expert about getting into a proper shoe—maybe one with more cushioning—that will help you stay injury-free,” Nurse says. Everyone’s natural footstrike and gait is different, so you want to make sure you’re optimizing yours best for your body.

What About Hills?

When the grade of the road change, so will your running form. On an uphill, “you’ll want to press your hip bones forward to give yourself more power and help you avoid hunching over,” Nurse says. Shortening your stride and running more on your toes will also help make it feel easier. “Lifting your knees higher and pumping your arms a little bit more will make it so your legs aren’t doing all the work,” says Fierras. Set your gaze six to 10 feet ahead. “It makes your body feel like you’re more on a flat surface than if you were looking to the top of the hill and realizing how much farther you have to go,” Nurse says.

On the downhill, “let gravity take you instead of putting the brakes on, which puts a lot of pressure on the knees,” says Nurse—think about keeping your nose over your toes. Don’t let your shoulders pull forward, either, says Fierras. That lean should still come from the hips.

RELATED: 6 Hill-Training Secrets All Runners Should Know

This article originally appeared on runnersworld.com

The post How To Finally Nail The Proper Running Form appeared first on Runner's World.

RELATED: Where Should Your Feet Land While Running?

“Running is a high-impact exercise, and your feet are the first point of contact every time you hit the ground,” says Corinne Fitzgerald, head coach of Mile High Run Club in New York City and competitive runner. “Taking care of our feet is just as important as the big muscle groups that move us to run.”

When Fitzgerald talks about caring for our feet, she’s not talking about foot massages or pedicures, but rather strengthening exercises and mobility work.

“The feet are often overlooked when we talk about strength work,” she says. “When we run, we land on one foot at a time with anywhere from two to three times our body weight as distance runners. Working on foot strength will help improve your natural elasticity, and you will react quicker. Strengthening the muscles that stabilize the feet can also help us prevent our arches from caving in toward the ground or our ankles to roll outward.”

In other words, strong feet are stable feet, and stable feet are less likely to experience an unhealthy level of pronation or supination. Stability and mobility in our feet also play an important role in optimizing performance, and a lack of stability that starts in the foot can travel up the leg.

RELATED: Help! My Feet Go Numb When I Run

“Having adequate foot strength and mobility to tolerate the demands of running is important for efficient running,” adds Christopher Herbs, P.T., D.P.T., C.S.C.S. “A lack of mobility—especially a lack of extension at the great toe or dorsiflexion at the ankle—could lead to compensations, particularly at the knee or hip.”

On the more extreme end of the spectrum, neglecting the strength and mobility of your feet could potentially play a roll in causing more painful injuries. “Common issues that can occur in people with weak feet are inflammation, plantar fasciitis, bunions, neuromas, and even stress fractures in the feet or shins,” Fitzgerald says.

RELATED: 4 Reasons You Feel Pain On The Top Of Your Foot

We’ve rounded up three key moves that specifically target the strength and mobility of your feet, the foundation of your run.

How to use this list: Perform each move below before and/or after every run or every day. The more you do them, the stronger your feet will become!

Each exercise is demonstrated by Fitzgerald herself so you can learn the proper form.

You just need a small ball such as a tennis ball, an Acumobility ball which is flat on one side, or a foot massage ball like the one in the left which has an ankle strap, making it easier to roll the foot over without the ball rolling away.

1. Bear Squat to Downward Dog Dynamic Stretch

How to do it: Kneel down on the floor with your toes curled under and sit back on your heels. Rock side to side on your curled toes to stretch the foot, stretching all aspects of the foot, calf muscles, and tendons. Then come forward onto all fours into a tabletop position while keeping your toes curled under, and press your hips up and back into a down-dog posture while you drive your heels into the ground. Hold for one to two seconds, then drop back down to your hands and knees and begin the sequence again. Repeat for 5 reps.

Why do it: “[This exercise is] a great activity to help facilitate ankle dorsiflexion and great toe extension, which is important for runners. We use this with some of our patients,” says Herbs.

This move is beneficial because it not only stretches out the arches of your feet, but it also helps lengthen the muscles and tendons in your calves, adds Fitzgerald. “These muscles and tendons help to move the foot and also play a role in how your foot hits the ground.”

2. Trigger Point Release for Feet

The post 3 Essential Foot Exercises That Strengthen Your Feet for Running appeared first on Runner's World.

RELATED: 7 Mistakes Every Runner Makes When Stretching

Sure looks that way, according to a study published in the Journal of Human Kinetics. Researchers split a group of 36 athletes into three groups: those who did a 20-minute bicycling warm-up before performing weighted lunges, those who only did a cool-down, and those who did neither. Everyone was given a pain threshold test on the two days following to determine muscle soreness, and guess what? The group who warmed up had the highest pain threshold and reported relatively ache-free muscles.

There’s a big difference between that bicycling warm-up and simply taking it slow the first km into your run, too, says Katie Dundas, a doctor of physical therapy at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota. “Both cycling and running keep blood moving to bigger muscles in the legs, which is important in a warm-up, but the cycling also provides a dynamic stretch to the hamstrings and quadriceps,” she says. “A light jog doesn’t offer that same stretch and response movement.”

So if there’s no question that a warm-up gives you bonus benefits, the real Q becomes: “How long do I need to actually do it for?” And it’s a good-news answer: Warming up for just 10 minutes may work as well as a session lasting 20 minutes or more, so long as that time is spent on focused, dynamic movement. A recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that when scientists analyzed velocity, heart rate, oxygen intake, and rate of perceived exertion in endurance runners, they noted no significant differences in most categories between the two protocols.

RELATED: Why You Should Warm Up Before A Run

In fact, Dundas says, you can halve that quota if really necessary. “An abbreviated version of five minutes of dynamic stretching still provides what you need to help prevent injury.”

That may be the most important reason to warm up. As we age, muscle elasticity decreases, and Dundas says warming up properly expands your range of motion to help counteract those deficits. So here’s a super quick and easy five-minute pre-run warm-up you can use before every run.

How to use this list: These six dynamic moves from Dundas are demonstrated by Jess Movold, Runner’s World Run Coach, so you can learn the proper form. Perform each for 30 seconds to one minute at the start of every run. Then consider your running engine officially revved.

Quad + Piriformis Walk

Targets: Quads, glutes, piriformis

Start standing then draw left foot up behind you, pulling toward your butt for a quad stretch. Release and step forward; switch legs. After 30 seconds, cradle right leg at ankle and knee, pulling up to chest. Release and step forward; switch legs. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Hip Opener

Targets: Deep hip external rotators

From standing, bend right knee and lift knee to hip level, then rotate the knee out to 90 degrees. (Place hand over knee to stabilize and guide if needed.) Bring leg back to front; lower foot, and switch sides. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Arm Circles

Targets: Chest, deltoids, upper back

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and lift arms out to shoulder height, palms down. Make small circles; after 30 seconds, switch direction. Continue for another 30 seconds.

Frankenstein Walk

Targets: Hamstrings

Start standing with feet together. Extend right leg straight out in front of you as you bring left hand to tap right toes. Lower leg and step forward; repeat on opposite side. Continue for 30 seconds.

Leg Crossover + Scorpion

The post The 5-Minute Pre-run Warm-up That Helps Ease Soreness appeared first on Runner's World.

RELATED: 7 Mistakes Every Runner Makes When Stretching

“When we sleep, our bodies often tighten up and—depending on our sleeping position—our muscles reduce in length and remain shortened for an extended period of time,” explains Runner’s World Coach Jess Movold. Obviously, after a workout, “sleep and rest help with recovery, but they can also create some very tight muscles that need to be gradually loosened and lengthened before jumping into a busy day,” she adds.

RELATED: 9 Tried-and-True Approaches To Recovery

Not taking the time to stretch after your body has been tight and still for (hopefully!) seven or eight hours can set you up for discomfort and disappointing workouts. “Immediately applying weight to your muscles, when your body isn’t warmed up, can actually cause muscle injury if you move too quickly,” says Movold.

Doing the stretches below first thing in the a.m. will not only wake up your muscles and stimulate blood flow, it’ll reset your posture, improve your flexibility, and increase your mobility. “Just a few easy stretches can help prepare your body to move in the right patterns with strong posture,” says Movold—which will help you run stronger and feel better all day long, especially if you plan to run first thing.

RELATED: 8 Easy Ways To Become A Morning Runner

How to do it: Think of this list of moves like a yin yoga flow—there’s movement, but it’s performed at a slow and smooth pace. “Hold the deepest part of the stretch (or the place where you really feel the stretch) for five seconds,” says Movold, but, otherwise, you should be in constant, gradual motion. “Try to set aside 20 minutes and go through all of these stretches at least two times, completing 8 to 10 reps each and changing directions.”

Each stretch is demonstrated by Movold herself so you can learn how to do it correctly.

1. Neck Circle

The post 6 Morning Stretches Every Runner Should Do As Soon As They Wake Up appeared first on Runner's World.

“Proposed benefits of stretching include faster recovery, decreased injury rates, and improved flexibility,” explains Doug Perkins, a physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist based in Boulder, Colorado. “Unfortunately, current research is not very supportive of these benefits at this point.”

Anthony Carroll, a full time physical therapist in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Delaware, agrees. “At this point, there is no clear evidence to say you should, or shouldn’t, stretch,” he explains. “But since there’s minimal data to suggest it will hurt you in any way, it’s probably best to still warm up before physical activity and utilise static stretching afterwards as needed.”

What is clear: if you do choose to stretch, it’s important to do so smartly – and safely. Here, Perkins and Carroll share their top stretching no-no’s, along with advice for how to do it right.

1. Don’t: Do Static Stretches Before a Run

Why it’s bad: While Carroll notes that the literature is currently mixed on the harmful effects of pre-workout static stretching (i.e. holding a stretch in a certain position for a period of time), his general rule of thumb is to shy away from it. A 2011 study finds evidence that it may reduce your running economy – that is, your ability to stride with minimal effort.

What to do instead: Warm up your muscles with dynamic stretching, i.e. short duration stretching performed through a movement. Carroll recommends between 5 and 10 minutes of multi-directional movements. And, if you have known problem areas, “take some time to focus on dynamic warm ups targeting those areas,” he adds.

RELATED: The 5 Worst Things to Do Before a Run

Watch this dynamic warmup routine for runners:

This routine is designed to warm up the specific muscles used for running. Perform the moves before your run to loosen up muscles, improve range of motion, and increase your circulation.

2. Don’t: Only Stretch Before or After Your Run

Why it’s bad: If you have chronically tight problem areas, stretching only pre and post-workout may not be enough to alleviate your issues.

What to do instead: “I typically also suggest my clients target problem areas again at night before bed if they are experiencing any cramping,” says Carroll.

3. Don’t: Hold a Stretch for More Than a Minute

Why it’s bad: Simply put, “static stretches that are held for greater than 60 seconds negatively affect performance,” explains Perkins.

What to do instead: Limit static stretches to 30 seconds or less, says Perkins. Carroll’s recommendation: hold each stretch for 10 to 30 seconds, and conduct between two to four rounds of stretching.

RELATED: 7 Ways to Fix Your Post-Run Recovery

4. Don’t: Try Ballistic Stretching

Why it’s bad: Ballistic stretching uses bouncing movements to push your body beyond its natural range of motion. Performing this type of stretch puts you at risk for pushing a muscle or tendon beyond its current capacity and inducing injury. “I can’t think of a particular reason for a general distance runner to perform ballistic stretching,” says Perkins, adding, “there might be some instances where a sprinter might want to perform ballistic stretches, but dynamic stretching will likely suffice in most cases.”

What to do instead: Keep your stretching routine limited to a mix of dynamic warm ups and post-run static stretches. (Try these dynamic warm-up exercises to help you run better.)

5. Don’t: Stretch Through Pain

Why it’s bad: If a stretch is causing pain (beyond the typical discomfort associated with stretching), there may be an underlying issue that’s festering. Continuing to stretch may only worsen it.

What to do instead: Stop stretching that area and seek input from a medical professional.

6. Don’t: Expect Stretching to Completely Protect You From Injury

Why it’s bad: The jury is definitely still out on how effective stretching is at preventing injury. At this time,“there is little data to suggest stretching will reduce injury risk,” says Carroll. “However, there isn’t much data to say it won’t either.” This inconclusiveness means that runners should not rely on stretching as a surefire way to stay injury-free.

What to do instead: Pay attention to your body, and if you experience unusual pain during or after your runs, seek a doc – rather than your stretching mat – for support.

7. Don’t: Stretch an Area Just Because It “Feels Tight”

Why it’s bad: “Not all tissue needs stretching,” explains Perkins. There might be an underlying issue – say, a muscle is being overstressed due to poor running form – that is causing impaired or dysfunctional movement. In some cases, the tightness may be a nervous system phenomenon that is maintaining a muscle position for protection (think: a lower back locking or seizing up, or a stiff neck after a whiplash injury.) “The treatment in this case isn’t always stretching,” advises Perkins. “In fact, stretching might actually result in a feedback loop that maintains the tightness.”

What to do instead: If you experience recurring tightness, opt for another form of treatment, like altering your running form or strengthening that muscle, says Perkins. If there is still continued and unexplained tightness, he recommends seeking professional advice.

The post 7 Mistakes Every Runner Makes When Stretching appeared first on Runner's World.

What is the best way to prevent delayed shin splints and ankle pain?

Shin splints are a repetitive, over-use injury. To prevent and treat them, Dr. Carter says to think about variety. Are you running the same course, or in the same shoes? What can you change up a little bit? Shin splints should improve with time. If they last for longer than a week, and especially if you have a limp, it could mean you’ve developed a stress fracture. That’s when it’s time to see a doctor. However, to prevent it from getting to that point, start by taking a full day or two off and replace your run with cross training.

RELATED: The Best Ways To Treat & Prevent Shin Splints

Do you have any tips for preventing and dealing with hamstring tightness?

The running injury that starts with a gradual achy soreness can be prevented through core and peripelvic strengthening programmes–monster walks, donkey kicks, and squat jumps.

RELATED: 4 Hamstring Exercises To Strengthen Muscles & Boost Flexibility

How do I recover from and prevent stress fractures?

If you think you have a stress fracture, visit a doctor who will assess if you need additional treatment—typically that involves rest strengthening exercises. Stress fractures most often occur because you are doing too much, too soon.

Should I adjust my form to deal with an IT band injury?

Make sure you are strengthening your core and leg muscles. This will improve your form naturally so that you don’t have to think about how you’re moving at all. If you’re still concerned, go to a sports performance centre, and have your running gait analyzed. Tweaks can then be made that are data driven. Remember: when you’re tired, your form falls apart, and that’s what you’re most at risk for this kind of injury.

RELATED: 7 ITB Stretches To Alleviate Hip and Knee Pain

How can you tell the difference between normal soreness and an actual injury?

As Dr. Carter says, “This is the toughest question: when is it ok to keep going and when is it not?” When the pain doesn’t go away with a little bit of rest, this could be a sign of a more serious injury. The new bone formations caused by stress fractures don’t show up for at least a few weeks on X-rays, so it’s important to have an MRI which can detect a micro fracture. The largest area for concern? The hip. Visit your doctor if this area is bothering you.

Are squats and lunges bad for you if you have knee pain issues?

You might still be able to do squats and lunges in a modified way, with a single leg lunge, leg press, or simply not going as deep. Strengthening is your best friend and you will get stronger and be able to do more exercises if you make this part of your daily routine. Squats and lunges are the hallmark for treating runner’s knee and many other common running issues.

RELATED: Why All Runners Should Be Doing Squats!

How do I stop getting injured?

Yoga is a great way to work on flexibility and strengthening. When you sense a running injury, be OK with cutting a run short so you can run again that week. Sometimes it’s not the joints that wear down, it can be the tendons, and you have to make shifts in the amount of running you do so that we can continue to run!

RELATED: 8 Essential Yoga Poses For Runners

The post Your Most Pressing Running Injury Questions — Answered by a Top Sports Doctor appeared first on Runner's World.

Ricardo Rose, a 31-year-old trainer based in New York City, describes the labral tear in his hip as a “dull, burning sensation that wouldn’t go away.” So even though overuse (running,  HIIT classes, lifting) was the problem, his hip pain wasn’t enough to make him lay off. “I pushed it too much, and it got so bad, I couldn’t run for a year.”

RELATED:  Everything You Need To Know About Hip Pain!

How’s that for some words of warning? But the good news is, Rose eventually rehabbed his labrum, switched up his fitness routine, and started running again.

“This injury really made me slow down and focus on things I normally wouldn’t, like the smaller muscle groups around my hip joints, along with my lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and core,” he says. “Once I switched my focus, I started to feel less discomfort over time.”

Here’s how you can do the same—and ideally, avoid a hip problem in the first place.

Symptoms of an Inflamed Hip Labrum or Hip Labral Tear

First off, the labrum is a ring of cartilage that stabilizes the hip joint. “It also helps distribute pressure, allows for more shock absorption, and improves joint articulation,” says Cameron Yuen, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., a senior physical therapist at BESPOKE Treatments in New York City.

And like Rose mentioned, a labral tear isn’t as obvious as you’d think. “You could have a labral tear and not even know it,” Yuen says. But pain in the front of your hip, or deep in your groin, should clue you in. “It’s a fairly constant ache with clicking or clunking as you move your hip.”

The sensation and of course, the location, is similar if you’re dealing with inflammation, not a full-fledged tear. “Both create similar signs and symptoms, but labral tears don’t heal on their own and often have mechanical symptoms—such as that clicking or clunking,” Yuen says. So, if the pain subsides and you don’t notice any strange sounds, it’s probably not a tear. If you want to be sure, you’ll need an MRA, a magnetic resonance angiogram, which is a type of MRI that can show blood vessels and blood.

RELATED: 7 ITB Stretches To Alleviate Hip and Knee Pain

What Causes Labrum Problems?

The same stuff that causes most running injuries, really: overdoing the running and underdoing the strength training. “You want the muscles surrounding your hip to absorb the forces of running,” Yuen says. That means your glutes, quads, abs, and hamstrings need to be strong. “If you don’t have the strength, endurance, or motor control at your legs, hips, and core, you’ll shift additional ground reaction forces to the labrum and the rest of the joint.” This is where the risk of injury increases.

How to Prevent Labrum Problems

“Running itself isn’t dangerous or unhealthy for the labrum, but if you’re subjecting your hips to repetitive high forces, you need to make sure the muscles and tendons are absorbing the majority of the impact, not the joint,” Yuen says.

Again, that means you need to strength train, with a specific focus on your glutes, hip rotators, quads, and hamstrings. “Control of the pelvis and core is also extremely important, because pelvic positioning can shift stresses to different parts of the hip joint and place additional stress on the labrum.” (Exercises below.)

RELATED: 10 Essential Strength Training Exercises For Runners!

How to Treat a Torn or Inflamed Labrum

First, take a few weeks off of running to give the joint a break. Sadly, your loyal cross-training friend, cycling, is off-limits, too. “The most aggravating position for the hip labrum is hip flexion combined with other movements,” Yuen says. This is basically cycling, so the elliptical or pool are safer cardio options while you’re recovering.

Surprisingly, stretching your hips isn’t so great, either. “If you don’t have adequate hip range of motion, you’ll want to work on your hip mobility, but otherwise, stretching has little benefit for a labral tear,” Yuen says. In fact, stretching too hard and too far can make the pain worse, he says, noting that dynamic stretches are generally better than static stretches in this case. “Oftentimes, people will static stretch into positions that worsen their pain.”

So, what should you do? “Perform low-intensity exercises that activate muscles of the hip and core, foam roll, and try to stay active with workouts that don’t cause pain,” Yuen says. (Rose relied on lateral steps with a mini-band, monster walks with a mini-band, and tons of core work.)

“As the pain decreases, increase the intensity of exercises for the hips and core and work on improving your hip range of motion.” Then, you can slowly (and carefully), start running again, taking note of any pain.

RELATED: 5 Stretches To Loosen Up Tight Hips

Some expert-approved exercises to try:

Monster Walk (Forward and Lateral)

Benefit: Opens up your hips and builds endurance
Place a resistance band just above your ankles and send hips back to come into a mini squat position. Staying low in squat position, walk forward for 15 to 20 reps. Rest for 30 seconds, then walk laterally for 15 to 20 reps. Rest for 30 seconds, then repeat on the other side.

Single-Leg Deadlift

Benefit: Strengthens your hips and improves coordination
Standing with feet hip-width apart, grab a kettlebell with one hand and lift the same-side leg slightly behind you. Hinge from the hips so your chest approaches the floor and your leg lifts higher behind you until it’s parallel to the floor. Pause, then return to start. Do 10 reps on each side. You can master this move without a weight first (as shown above), then add the kettlebell. (More: 6 Deadlifts That Will Make You a Better Athlete)

Dead Bug

Benefit: Strengthens your core without tilting your pelvis
Lie faceup with knees bent at a 90-degree angle, feet in air, and arms extended straight up so wrists are over shoulders. Engage core, then slowly straighten and lower right leg to the ground as you reach left arm back overhead. Return to starting position, switch legs and repeat.

This article originally appeared on runnersworld.com

The post How to Deal With an Inflamed Labrum or Hip Labral Tear appeared first on Runner's World.

Effective relief for back pain

Thanks to Elastoplast Spiral Heat patches, your back pain is about to become a thing of the past! Elastoplast’s Spiral Heat patches offer 12 hours of effective heat therapy for targeted pain relief. What’s great about it, is that the patch is super flexible and made to fully adapt to your body, so it moves with you – silencing your pain while you carry on with your training.

Why it works

• Elastoplast’s Spiral Heat patches provide you with 12 hours of long lasting warmth to soothe pain
• The innovative SpiroTherm technology offers a targeted pain solution, so you get relief where it counts
• The patch offers maximum flexibility due to its unique spiral heat cells, so it works even when you’re on the move
• The soft touch fleece and discreet design makes it perfect to wear all day
• Designed according to your body’s contours to stay in place and adapt to your movements
• The patches are ideal for back, hip, neck, and shoulder pain

Elastoplast Spiral Heat patches are available at takealot.com and other major retailers. For more information visit Elastoplast.co.za

Note: this is not a solution to chronic back problems or major injury. It is always advisable to consult your health practitioner first.

The post Ease Lower Back Pain With Elastoplast appeared first on Runner's World.

Much like running itself, hydrating is one of those things that should be simple. (It’s the most natural thing in the world! You’ve been doing it for years! Your body craves it!) But, unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy.

“By the time you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated,” says Craig Horswill, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “But that doesn’t mean you should drink random, ungodly amounts of water. In fact, it’s probably better to be a little under-hydrated than over-hydrated.”

That’s because the consequences of over-hydration are severe (read: death), and it’s important to note that everyone requires different amounts of water based on their personal physiology, and even the time of year/day that they’re running. (Here, Horswill explains how to determine the right amount of water for your needs.)

RELATED: 5 Ways To Stay Hydrated During Long Runs

Still, dehydration is not exactly ideal, either. You’re looking at compromised performance, feelings of fatigue, and a generally crappy run.

Greg Grosicki, Ph.D., an assistant professor and director of the exercise physiology laboratory at Georgia Southern University notes that severe dehydration can have major consequences, too, including death in extreme cases (losing 10 to 15 percent of your body weight) and passing out. “Triathlete Sarah True recently passed out at Ironman European Championship in Germany; she was winning and fainted just before crossing the finish line.” (It was 100 degrees that day.)

You might even be dehydrated without knowing it: A European Journal of Sport Science study shows that 91 percent of pro basketball, volleyball, handball, and soccer players start practice dehydrated. (Here’s how to tell when you are dangerously dehydrated.)

So what can you do? Don’t go crazy with the H20 (“You don’t need an aggressive hydration strategy if you’re exercising for less than an hour,” Grosicki says), but do look out for these signs of dehydration (especially when it’s hot out!) to have your best run possible.

Signs of Dehydration:

You have a headache.

“Dehydration seems to provoke a shrinking of cells in the brain, so a headache is a hallmark sign of dehydration,” Grosicki says. That’s likely why you get a dull ache in your head during long, hard efforts on hot days or after a few too many post-race celebration beers. Try drinking some water before popping an Advil, or adding in your favorite hydration mix to help your body replenish fluids.
RELATED: How To Hone Your Hydration

You’re not as sharp as usual.

Dehydration compromises your focus, executive function, and motor coordination, according to a Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise review of 33 studies on the topic. We can only speculate as to why, but Grosicki says this could have something to do with the same shrinking brain cells causing your headache.

Your wee is dark.

You’ve probably heard this one since grade school, but it’s true: “When you’re dehydrated, your kidneys try to reabsorb that water back into your body, resulting in darker, highly concentrated urine with a very low volume of fluid,” Grosicki says.

Your easy run feels hard.

Your usual, steady pace may suddenly feel like a struggle. “A loss in fluid volume alters the concentration of your blood volume, so your heart needs to work harder to provide your muscles with the oxygen and nutrients they need,” Grosicki says.

This means your heart rate will increase in order to keep your usual pace, too, so keep an eye on your fitness tracker if you have one. “You can be running at your usual pace, but your heart rate will be 10 to 15 beats higher,” Horswill says. “Same work, same person, same environment – just lack of fluid in the bloodstream.”

RELATED: 5 Reasons Your Muscles Cramp All The Damn Time

You’re cramping up.

“A loss in fluid changes your body’s concentration of electrolytes, like sodium and potassium, which are responsible for muscle contractions,” Grosicki says. “If you disrupt your body’s electrolyte balance, your muscles may contract and cause cramps.”

You feel tired.

Even mild dehydration can make you want to take a nap. “Core temperature is elevated with dehydration, which can affect the brain and induce fatigue,” Horswill says. “There’s also greater strain on the cardiovascular system (indicated by the elevated heart rate), so if dehydration worsens, the heart will have a reduced ability to deliver oxygen,” which – you guessed it – makes you feel tired.

The post 6 Key Signs of Dehydration You Should Know About appeared first on Runner's World.

That tightness can lead IT band syndrome (ITBS), a condition when you might feel pain along the outside of your thighs, your hips, or your knees. In fact, if you’ve ever experienced knee pain, there’s a chance it’s a tight IT band – and not an issue with your knee itself. You’ll often feel aches during lateral movements or when you’re putting more weight on the affected leg, during running, or other high-impact activities. For that reason, ITBS is common among runners, cyclists, and people who walk for long distances. Therefore you should be doing ITB stretches to try and help loosen the tension.

How to stretch your IT band

To ease the aches, people often do stretches, where they lean side to side to get the band to loosen. But it turns out, these common stretches don’t do much at all. “Studies of the structure of the IT band suggests that it’s highly unlikely it can be stretched because it’s too strong,” says Jeff Gaudette, a certified run coach and owner of RunnersConnect, an online training resource for runners. Along the same lines, foam rolling the area won’t offer much relief either, he adds.

“Those typical stretches might feel good, but they don’t do much because they’re not curing the problem – you’re not getting to why you have IT band pain in the first place,” says Brian Gurney, D.P.T., C.S.C.S., a trainer, board-certified sports clinical specialist, and physical therapist at BeFit Therapy.

A better strategy for easing the pressure on your IT band: stretching the muscles around it.

“People usually come in with IT band syndrome when they lack hip extension, and when you lose that hip extension, it’s a chain reaction of events that happen,” Gurney explains. “It’s harder for your glutes to engage. You start to push more weight to the outside of your leg to compensate. The IT band and calves get tight, and your whole leg mechanics change.”

To target the right muscles that will help fix your mobility and movement patterns, and relieve your IT band pain, give these ITB stretches a go. Hold each one for at least 10 seconds.

1. Glutes stretch

This stretch helps release tension in the glutes, which can lead to IT band issues. On an exercise mat, lie face up with your knees bent and feet flat. Raise left foot to the ceiling and hold the grasp just below the knee to hold it up. Then, pull the foot toward your chest, turning the shin to the side so it’s almost perpendicular to your body. Hold the stretch, then repeat on opposite leg. For a deeper stretch, keep non-stretching leg extended on the floor as you stretch.

2. Abductor stretch

If your IT band is being overused, it’s normal to feel pain in the outer thighs, since it’s what connects them to your knees and glutes. Sit on an exercise mat with your knees bent and the soles of your feet pressed together on the floor in front of you. Place your hands on the floor behind you for balance. Sit up straight, tilting your pelvis forward and leaning into the hands, as you let the legs sink toward the floor, then relax and let knees come up slightly.

3. Deep lumbar rotation

Lie face up on an exercise mat with a yoga strap or resistance band wrapped outside your left ankle. Holding both ends of the band in your right hand, pull up to raise your left leg so the foot is pointing toward ceiling. Keeping leg straight, pull the band to the right to extend your left leg across your body, keeping the left hip on floor. Hold, then repeat on opposite side.

4. Quad Stretch

Lie on your left side, curling body into fetal position with legs stacked directly over each other. Hold left leg at shin with left hand and right ankle with right hand. Keeping body in tucked position, pull right leg behind you. (The tucked position helps isolate your quads.) Hold, then repeat on opposite side.

5. Quad and hip wall stretch

Kneel in front of a wall, facing away from it. Keeping your left knee on floor, raise your left foot behind you and let rest it against the wall. Step your right leg out with the foot flat on the floor and the knee bent, thigh parallel to floor. Hold, then repeat on opposite side.

6. Quad stretch with yoga strap

Stand to the right of a bench. Keeping your right foot on floor, rest left knee on the bench. Lift your left foot behind you and wrap a long yoga strap or resistance band around it. Bend the right knee and lean forward until you feel the stretch in your left quads and hip flexors. Hold for 30 seconds, then repeat on opposite side. If you don’t have access to a bench, you can also do this stretch on the floor.

7. Spinal rotation

Sit on floor with your knees bent and feet flat on floor. Twist your torso to the right, pressing against the outside of your left knee with your left arm and looking behind you. Hold, then repeat on opposite side.

The post 7 ITB Stretches To Alleviate Hip and Knee Pain appeared first on Runner's World.

A better recovery plan is to immediately hydrate and refuel and then perform some post-run stretches to increase elasticity and reduce stiffness, so we worked with Ramsey to create a quick, five-move routine that you can perform standing up, immediately following your run or race.

How to use this list: Each of the post-run stretches below (except Chest Stretch) is demonstrated by Jess Movold, Runner’s World+ run coach. Ramsey recommends doing each in a dynamic manner: Hold for one to two seconds (to the point of slight tension); release momentarily; then stretch again. Do a total of 20 reps.

Hamstring Stretch

Stand tall with arms by your side. Lift right leg straight up and reach for toes with left fingers. Repeat with left leg reaching for left toes with right fingers. You should feel a stretch along the backs of legs. Continue to alternate.

Calf Stretch

Stand facing a wall, tree, or some similar structure for support with left foot forward and both hands flat against a wall, arms fully extended. Keeping both heels on ground, lean forward with left knee tracking over left toes. Make sure both feet are facing forward. Hold for one to two counts, then repeat. After 20 reps, repeat on left leg.

Glute and Piriformis Stretch

From standing, cross your right ankle just above your left knee. Keep a micro-bend in left knee and send hips back to increase the stretch. Hold onto a friend or a tree for balance if necessary. If comfortable, gently push down on your right knee. Repeat on other leg.

Chest Stretch

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lace your fingers together behind your head above your neck. Squeeze your shoulder blades together while trying to extend your elbows out to the sides and slightly back to open your chest. Release, then repeat.

Quad Stretch

While standing, shift weight to right leg, bring your left heel back, and grab your left foot or ankle with your left hand. Gently pull your foot toward your tailbone. Keep your knees aligned, and pelvis tucked; don’t arch your back. Repeat on other side.

All GIFs: Julia Hembree Smith

The post 5 Post-Run Stretches You Can Do Standing Up appeared first on Runner's World.

“Muscle cramping is basically an over-activation or contraction of a muscle,” says Houman Danesh, M.D. and director of Mount Sinai’s Integrative Pain Management. “And although it can happen anywhere, it usually occurs in the calf since that muscle uses the most energy in the body.”

But while it’s easy to know when you’re having a muscle cramp, it can be harder to figure out why you’re experiencing one. We talked to Danesh about the surprising reasons why you might be cramping.

“The way muscles are activated involves a balance of electric signals and ions,” Danesh explains. “Dehydration changes the pool of signals. So changing that signal, the body doesn’t know if the signal is coming from the brain or just because there’s an electrical imbalance around the cell.” With all this confusion, your muscles have difficulty processing the right signals. And that overactivity results in pain. Luckily getting rid of this cramp doesn’t have to cramp your style. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

There’s nothing more annoying than having a crooked piece of art hanging in your home. Well, maybe except for that arm or back cramp you got while trying to hang it just right for an hour. According to Danesh, it’s common to get a muscle strain after holding a position for a prolonged period of time. “Doing something your body isn’t trained to do constantly activates a muscle and breaks it down a little bit,” he says. “That breakdown usually causes a buildup of lactic acid which can trigger to muscle to go into spasms.” Luckily, this kind of cramp typically goes away with time. Give it a few hours, but if it’s interfering to the extent that it won’t let you sleep through the night, you should probably talk to a doctor.

Some also refer to this unpleasant phenomenon as a “pinched nerve.” There’s a series of nerves going all the way from your brain down your spinal cord, and according to Danesh, “anything can cause a nerve to be pinched from a herniated disk to arthritis to putting yourself in a weird position, which will irritate the nerve.” (Don’t push those yoga poses if your body says no!) “Thankfully the body is a miraculous healing system,” he says. Usually a regular dose of anti-inflammatories will relieve the pain. But again, if that first line of defense doesn’t get the job done in a few days, to the doctor you go.

“Pregnancy causes a whole slew of changes throughout the body,” says Danesh. And the hormonal shifts can lead to muscle cramps. According to the Mayo Clinic, these cramps usually occur in the calf or foot region, typically flaring up at night during the second and third trimester. It isn’t always clear why this is happening, but you can try to curb the pain by drinking water, stretching, and taking magnesium supplements (just get the go ahead from your doc first).

Another possible reason for muscle cramps is an inadequate blood supply—which literally means you aren’t getting enough blood flow to your legs or arms. “That’s usually due to a buildup of cholesterol in your blood, but it could also be due to a pinched artery by an ovarian mass or tumor,” Danesh says, although he continues that this more serious cramping would probably be noticeable (a.k.a. not just your average cramp). You should be on the lookout if you have high cholesterol and chat with a doctor. Danesh also says that if a runner notices she’s getting a muscle cramp consistently at the same mile marker during training, that could also be a sign of compartment syndrome—which impedes blood flow—and she should see a doctor ASAP.

The post 5 Reasons Your Muscles Cramp All The Damn Time appeared first on Runner's World.

Experiencing ankle pain when running is common, but it’s not always enough to stop a determined runner in their tracks. There can be many causes of ankle pain, so it’s important to understand what is causing the pain and when it is enough to warrant a pause or modification to your running routine.

Common Causes of Ankle Pain

Your ankles form the connection between your body and the ground. You may never have thought of it this way, but running is technically a one-legged sport; you need both your legs to run, but with each stride of the gait cycle, you leap and land on one leg at a time, loading the foot and ankle with your entire body weight as well as the added force of gravity.

RELATED: Boost Your VO2 Max & Get Faster!

What’s happening in your foot and ankle with each step can affect your entire body. While much of your single-leg stability comes from the hip – in particular, the gluteus medius muscle – weakness anywhere up and down the kinetic chain (above or below the hip) can cause instability and vulnerability at the ankle. Running causes you to repetitively load your joints. If there is a problem with your gait mechanics, chances are you’re going to feel it during or after a run.

Common Symptoms of Ankle Pain

Ankle pain can come in many different forms, but first let’s do a quick refresher on the anatomy of your ankles.

The ankle joint is made up of the tibia, which forms the inner ankle bone (medial malleolus), the fibula, which forms the outer ankle bone (lateral malleolus), and the talus, an irregularly shaped bone between the two that helps form a “mortise and tenon” joint that allows you to rotate your foot up, down and side to side.

This ankle joint that is formed is called the talocrural joint, and it is critical that it is both mobile and stabile for a healthy ankle. Muscles, tendons and ligaments help to reinforce stability and create power and movement through the joint. When it’s hypomobile or stiff, you might feel tightness in your achilles or calf muscles, or even pain at the front or sides of your ankle. If you overpronate and your midfoot arch collapses with each step of the gait cycle you might feel sharp pain or a constant ache along either side of your ankle due to repetitive straining of the peroneals or posterior tibialis muscle.

Most ankle injuries are either a repetitive-use injury such as a tendinopathy caused by repeatedly loading the joint with bad body mechanics or footwear, or they can be a more acute injury such as an ankle sprain caused by rolling the ankle, usually inward, leading to partially or fully torn ligaments.

RELATED: Strong Ankles Can Keep You From Slowing Down

You’ll come to realise that the ankle is actually pretty amazing. It is both capable of adapting to uneven surfaces by having a certain amount of mobility in the joints, but it is also good at stabilising – activating multiple muscles around the joint to help prevent movement when you need a sturdy support over which to pivot. Muscles in and around the ankle help it move and store energy to propel your body forward when you run. When you increase your speed, the forces on the ankle joint increase, making it more vulnerable to injury.

Treatment for Ankle Pain

If you have ankle pain and you’re not sure what it means, it’s always good to seek medical care from an orthopedist or doctor of physical therapy, both of whom can assess and diagnose your injury for the proper treatment plan. As a general rule, if your pain has developed gradually, you may have an overuse injury best addressed with rest, ice and modification to your exercise routine.

As a Doctor of Physical Therapy, my concern is always “why?” Why did you develop pain? What deficits in mobility or strength led to the overuse injury? For each person it can be different, but usually “overuse” injuries are the result of too much too soon, or dormant weakness that only comes out when the joint is put through more stress.

RELATED: How To Get Your Mileage To The Double Digits

Maybe you have increased your mileage or frequency of running suddenly and your body was not prepared for the increased workload. Maybe your body didn’t have a chance to recover between workouts. Maybe you’re not strengthening other important muscles such as the glutes and the core for improved gait mechanics. Maybe your sneakers are not the right fit for your gait mechanics. Whatever the cause, it’s important to temporarily reduced the stress on your joints and allow your body to heal. If your pain persists more than three days or limits your tolerance of returning to running after a week of rest, it’s best to see a medical practitioner for more specific guidance.

If you develop swelling, sharp pain with weight bearing, or any type of throbbing constant pain that does not reduce with rest, ice, and elevation and is either getting worse or limiting your tolerance of daily activities such as walking or going up or down stairs, then you might have a more serious injury. But don’t freak out! There is likely a solid treatment plan. Make sure you get the care you need by seeing a physical therapist who can guide you through the healing process and get you back on your feet as soon as possible.

Ankle pain is a bummer, and no runner wants to hit pause on their workout plan. But sometimes it is necessary to take a break for long-term success. The best thing you can do to prevent injury is to pay attention to your body, and build a well rounded exercise routine. No runner should just run – make sure you’re incorporating a good exercise regimen complete with stretching, soft tissue release, and a whole lot of strengthening for the legs, hips, ankles and core.

RELATED: 7 Moves To Fire Up Your Core Before Your Next Run!

If you have “wobbly” ankles or a tendency to roll your ankles, you are more likely to twist an ankle while running. Be proactive by strengthening your ankles with heel raises, single-leg balance exercises, and hip strengthening so that your body has the built in strength and stability to reduce the load on your ankles and improve your overall form and endurance of running.

The post How To Deal With Ankle Pain While Running appeared first on Runner's World.

It used to be that joint replacements were a problem mostly for older people. But today, orthopedic surgeons are seeing people in their 40s, 50s, and even younger. In fact, surgeons at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City say the number of people younger than 60 going under the knife is up at least 15 percent in the last two years. Plus, data from the National Centre for Health Statistics finds the number of hip replacements more than doubled in a 10-year span, skyrocketing by 205 percent in people ages 45 to 54.

Surgeons attribute the rise to people wanting to stay active while they age, says Calin Moucha, chief of adult reconstruction and joint replacement surgery at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Today’s implants also last longer than they once did, sometimes up to 40 years, he says. This means joint replacements are now an option at a younger age, since physicians aren’t as worried about having to replace them.

But while the surgeries are effective, we’d all prefer to skip a trip to the hospital, right? Here, the top mistakes we all make when it comes to our joints – and how to stay out of harm’s way.

You’re Not Cross-Training

Moucha says that many patients seeking joint replacement are in good cardiovascular health, but not necessarily good physical health. Whether you’re running marathons or 5Ks, if that’s all you’re doing, you might have imbalances when it comes to muscle strength and flexibility. And this, paired with repetitive trauma over time, could lead to arthritis, he notes, causing your joints to wear away.

“It’s important to cross-train,” says Moucha. Giving certain muscle groups (like the ones you use on long, slow jogs) a break once or twice a week while activating new muscles (like the ones you might use sprinting) can fend off injury, he notes. (You should consider working these strength-training moves into your exercise program.)

You Get Overweight

When you run, your knee joints carry seven to nine times your body weight, according to Moucha. While your body can handle this – in fact research suggests that runners aren’t at an increased risk for issues like osteoarthritis – it’s important to keep the scale in check.

“From a biomechanical standpoint, increased weight is a lot of stress,” Moucha says. In fact, research out of the UK finds that overweight people are at a 40 percent or higher increased risk of a knee replacement down the line compared to those at normal weights. The link was even stronger in younger people.

You Skip Stretching

The key to joint health? Achieving a good balance between strength and flexibility, says Moucha. “As you get older, you need to spend as much time, if not more time, stretching than strengthening.” Why? Because the more candles on the birthday cake, the less flexible your muscles become, and flexible muscles help keep joints mobile.

You Push Yourself Beyond Your Limits in Yoga

Intense workouts like High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and mud runs aren’t the only way to injure your joints. While yoga and Pilates are great ways to boost flexibility and strength, anything extreme when it comes to range of motion – like reaching for that pose your body’s not quite ready for – can put you at risk for a joint injury, notes Moucha. “When you create range of motion extremes, you can create bony spurs (projections along a bone’s edges) that may predispose you to arthritis,” he says. Your best bet isn’t to skip yoga but rather to stick with the modifications that work for you, and give yourself time before trying anything you might not be ready for.

The article 4 Things You’re Doing That Are Ruining Your Joints originally appeared on Prevention.

The post 4 Ways You May Be Ruining Your Joints appeared first on Runner's World.

The positive MRI, however, meant a hard and fast end to my training. The most activity I would be doing was getting acquainted with crutches, a jarring change from the usual 140 to 160km weeks I was putting in. It meant wiping my training schedule clear and focusing on ‘small wins’ – such as pain-free walking, instead of chasing PBs on the road. Yikes. The competitor in me was paralysed.

Roll out your tense muscles with the Mr P Sport Hard Foam Roller: R299.99

Injury: it’s the dirty little ‘i’ word for all athletes, especially runners, who engage in high-impact activity. We’ve all been there; and if you haven’t, chances are you’ll end up there at some point. While originally I felt devastated, knowing that the fitness and performance gains I’d built in my training block would slowly slip away, this full-stop injury ended up surprising me.

RELATED: Overtraining Syndrome: How To Identify & Recover From It

See, rest is a natural and critical component of any training cycle; if you don’t take it for yourself, your body will eventually force the issue. Though setbacks are never a part of the initial plan, time off is an important part of maintaining long-term health and performance benefits (for proof, see Shalane Flanagan’s 2017 season or Desiree Linden’s 2018 season), as it gives your body time to catch up to the work you’ve been putting in. Injuries also give you an opportunity to gather better information on your body, which allows you to move forward with training more appropriately in the future.

Trust me, I’m not a naturally positive person; but through my own experience, I learned that an injury, while always devastating, can also be a performance enhancement. You don’t have to be a ray of sunshine to glean the good during your time on the sidelines – you just have to be willing to take a step back and take in the whole picture. There were definitely times when I had to search hard for my silver lining, but it was there. Here’s how I did it.

Aid muscle regeneration and target discomfort with the MB5 5.0 Inch Massage Ball: R599

Frame It Constructively

Once my fracture was confirmed, I angled it as the best thing that could have happened for the longevity of my training. It forced me take much-needed rest when I would have continued to forge ahead. It also helped me to shine a light on areas of my running that needed work, like the mental and nutritional aspects. Sure, I lost some fitness – but I was able to restore my entire system and reboot, which was a huge win. Gaining fitness back is possible with consistency and time, but replenishing your body isn’t possible without proper rest.

RELATED: 6 Common Injuries You Should Never Train Through

Lean on Your Support System

The running community is an amazing and compassionate one. Use it! Connect with other runners, find a cross-training friend, and open up to your people. Resist the tempting urge to become a hermit when injured. I extended my support system to include a sports psychologist and nutritionist, to arm myself with a network of experts who could safeguard my return. With these professionals, I tapped into a wealth of training knowledge that I’d overlooked in the past, and that ultimately gave me confidence in
the areas that I could improve upon right away, while regaining total health.

Give Your Mind a Rest

Injury can be surprisingly taxing on your brain. As you rest your body, give your mind a break too. Read more. Have a beer with friends. Stay out late. Meditate. Running is more of a mental game than we realise. If you’re training too hard or recklessly, your body lets you know by shutting down in some way. Taxing your brain without giving it rest will result in burnout. Resting my mind allowed me to return to cross-training and eventual running with more focus and attention to detail than I would have otherwise. It’s important to remind yourself that though running is an important part of who you are, it’s not your whole self.

Roll away your aches with a 75cm Gym Ball: R229.99

Don’t Rush the Return

As your health comes back around, practise patience in ramping back up to full volume, and relish each moment. This patience could be the very skill you need the next time you’re hurling yourself head-first into a training block. The first time I had a walk-run on my schedule, it was a huge moment of triumph. Try to keep perspective fresh, and be easy on yourself as you reintroduce each piece
of training.

In this stage, your worst enemy is your former self. Resuming workouts early in your comeback can feel incredibly daunting, but commit to putting comparisons aside and working to improve your current self.

When you’re – inevitably – faced with frustration about your fitness, practise gratitude for your health. Take the time to reflect on the ‘whys’ of the setback and the ‘hows’ to come back stronger. You’ll find yourself back on a starting line in a better place than before.

I know I did. What initially felt like a huge blow to my running career became a massive boost to my overall health and performance, both on and off the run. Now, I’m feeling faster, stronger, and healthier than I have in years.

Not Injured? Add Prehab!

If you’re lucky enough to be enjoying full running health, keep it that way. Integrating ‘prehab’, or preventative rehab, is a smart way to stay on top of the inevitable niggles that pop up during hard training. If you don’t already, work warm-up and strength exercises into your routine.

Remember: not all strength programmes are created equal, so be sure to implement the right moves from a pro experienced in distance running before going all in.

Must-Have Recovery

1. Pool Starter rehab
Pull Buoy: R119,99

This pool essential will help you maintain fitness with lap swimming and low-impact aqua jogging.

2. Restorative Yoga
Yoga Block & strap: R79,99

With your doctor’s approval, explore other activities – such as yoga, which will keep you mobile, mindful, and lightly active while you heal.

The post How Injuries Can Actually Improve Your Performance! appeared first on Runner's World.

Why? As my friend Ramon, a running coach, says, “Marathon runners typically get hurt because they violate the rule of too’s: too much, too quickly, too intensely.” In other words, these injuries are the result of overtraining. With thousands of runners training for marathons, peak running mileage hits between late summer and mid-autumn. After months of pushing ahead, the body, if not trained properly, starts to break down. There’s a fine line in endurance sports between achieving maximum fitness and going overboard.

As a sports medicine doctor, an endurance athlete, and a fitness professional, I get it! We all want a good result, and we ride the edge to get that result. But when we go overboard, we can end up with overtraining syndrome, a surprisingly common condition characterised by diminished performance. It shows up in three key areas – mental, hormonal, and physical – and the tricky part is: You might not even realise you have it. Let me break it down.

Mental

One of the most common symptoms of overtraining syndrome is burnout. A runner who puts so much stress on his- or herself (think: poor sleep quality, caloric deficiency, and increased anxiety about an upcoming race) will feel spent. Mental fatigue is often overlooked, but it is an important part of training. A tired mind goes hand in hand with a tired body. When the energy is low, breakdown and injuries occur.

To prevent mental burnout from getting the best of you, mind your mind. Get more sleep during long-mileage weeks – resting is when your mind and body have time to heal. Schedule activities that are relaxing, such as getting a massage or taking a “me” day. It’s OK to give yourself license to ease up. Skipping a long run to sleep in is more helpful than pushing yourself and ignoring your body’s cues.

Hormonal

Your body is a finely tuned machine. Hormones, produced by various glands, are responsible for maintaining homeostasis, the body’s delicate balance that controls many of our daily functions, from sleep cycles to hunger cues. When overtraining hits, the hormones get out of whack, some being produced too much and others not enough. This ends up causing problems including decreased immunity and abnormal hunger responses and cravings. It can even cause amenorrhea, the loss of menstruation in women.

If you suspect a hormonal imbalance, it’s time to talk to your doctor and maybe see a sports nutritionist. Your doc can perform blood tests to check for hormonal irregularities and iron levels that give clues for a diagnosis. The most common issues are nutritional – like not taking in enough calories for athletic expenditure – and can be fixed with a smart nutrition plan.

RELATED: When Running Stresses You Out…

Physical

The most obvious component of overtraining is physical injury. Runners limp into my office with injuries that worsen with higher mileage, including aches and pains in the feet, Achilles tendons, shins, knees, and hips. The severity of these injuries range from mild overuse injuries that resolve in weeks to stress fractures that can take several months to heal.

As with mental and hormonal overload, physical overtraining means you’re pushing too hard for your body. Remember that a 16-kilometre run is a different experience for each runner, depending on body type, gait mechanics, and previous injury history. Pain that changes the way you run and alters your gait mechanics needs to be checked out by a doctor. Small aches and pains can quickly turn into more serious problems if they aren’t properly diagnosed.

RELATED: Warning Signs You’re Overtraining

Runners with an injury often freak out about missing days or weeks of training. My advice: Take a deep breath, do some cross training, and relax. It’s rare that an injury happens during a race – more than 90 percent of running injuries happen in the buildup phase of training – so it’s better to be slightly undertrained and healthy when you toe the line than develop or worsen an injury due to overtraining.

In the end, structured training plans, smart nutrition, and reliable gear are all important to runners. But they’ll all mean nothing if you don’t pay careful attention to your body. If the signs of overtraining syndrome are caught early, it’s more likely that I’ll see you on the starting line of the marathon and not in my office.

This article originally appeared on runnersworld.com.

The post Overtraining Syndrome: How To Identify & Recover From It appeared first on Runner's World.

Also known as medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), shin splints are thought to occur when inflammation develops where the muscles insert on the bone, explains Dr Cordelia Carter, director of the Women’s Sports Medicine Centre at New York University. That’s called periostitis, and the resulting inflammation is responsible for the nagging pain you feel.

Properly identifying your pain as shin splints is important. “ ‘Shin splints’ is the very fuzzy term we apply to ‘Ow, my leg hurts,’ ” says Carter. “It’s a catch-all; but the pain is not always caused by shin splints.”

If the pain increases, persists after your workout, or interferes with everyday life, you should see a pro to make sure it’s not serious. But if not, there are DIY treatments that can help.

The Easiest Way to Treat: Stop, Ice, Roll, and Stretch

When you’re dealing with acute pain, take a break from strenuous activity to give the inflammation time to go down. “If you feel a little better, and you try to go back [too soon], you’re setting yourself back to square one,” Carter says.

Icing your leg is the first course of action. Wrap a frozen bag of peas in a dishcloth and place it on the aching area. It conforms to your leg better than an ice pack, and will reduce the inflammation and swelling. Taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can help, too – just make sure you’re not exceeding the prescribed dosage, and take them with food to avoid an upset stomach, Carter says.

While you’re resting from running, take time to foam-roll and stretch, focusing on your Achilles tendon. Try the heel-drop stretch: stand with one foot on the edge of a step and lower your heel down. Return to starting position and then repeat on the other leg.

The Intermediate Investment: Socks and Inserts

Still aching? It’s time to put more effort into healing. Swelling tends to occur along with inflammation, even if you can’t see it. Compression socks can decrease swelling, thus relieving some of the pain.

Another option is over-the-counter shoe inserts, which are usually less stiff than custom orthotics. Inserts are particularly helpful if you have flat feet, since overpronation ends up stressing your muscles and tendons even more, putting you at greater risk of shin splints. “If you can neutralise that alignment problem, then you can potentially balance the forces going through your foot and ankle as you run, which will hopefully decrease your chances of developing an overuse injury such as shin splints,” Carter says.

The Advanced Solution: Kinesiology Tape

If you have a chronic case of shin splints, kinesiology tape may help to relieve the throbbing. According to a study in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, people who wore kinesio tape for just one week experienced a greater reduction in pain than those who used standard orthotics.

“Kinesio tape lifts the superficial tissues, which promotes healing by moving waste products out of the area, and stimulates nerve endings that relax the muscle,” says Cameron Yuen, senior physical therapist at Bespoke Treatments.

Measure the amount you need by sitting with your leg in front of you, foot flexed. Hold the tape 5cm beneath the top of your big toe, and unroll until it hits just below the outside of your knee. Cut the tape there. Without stretching the tape, peel off 5cm of adhesive and stick it just below the outside of your knee.

Then peel off the remaining paper, and stretch the tape to stick just beneath the base of your big toe, with the foot still flexed. Point your toe, and lightly press the tape to your shin until the tape is flat. Cut additional strips the length and width of your shin, and stick them laterally over your pain points.

Prevent ’em

Because there’s no quick cure-all to make shin splints vanish fast, prevention is the most important part of the equation, Carter says. To stop them before they start, it’s key to avoid large jumps in training volume. Alternate between a few pairs of running shoes, and make sure that the kind you choose fits your foot type and biomechanics. If you run on a cambered road, stay on the same side of the road on your way back, and if you run on a track, make it a point to switch directions with each lap. This will vary the stresses on your legs, and help prevent repetitive overuse.

Your Shin Splints Treatment Kit

1. Compression Running Socks
These socks help increase circulation, which can improve bloodflow and decrease swelling.

2. Running Shoe Insoles
The cushy foam and (on some examples) carbon fibre neutralise your alignment when your foot hits the pavement.

3. Kinesio Tape
Most are made with 100 per cent synthetic fibres – both breathable and durable.

Foam Rollers We Love

Four levels of vibration intensity, HyperIce Vyper 2.0 / R3 500

hyperice.co.za

Extra length for less, Just Sports 90cm Foam Roller / R449

takealot.com

Perennial favourite of the pros, TriggerPoint GRID / R599

sportsmanswarehouse.co.za

The post The Best Ways To Treat & Prevent Shin Splints appeared first on Runner's World.

If you’re pushing through pain, you’re putting yourself at a far greater risk of losing those gains than if you were to ease up on your long runs or put your ego aside and talk to a physical therapist, says exercise physiologist, Janet Hamilton.

“Listen to the feedback your body is giving you. If you have to alter your form to protect a sore spot, you can easily take one overuse injury and turn it into six,” Hamilton says, noting that, as a general rule of thumb, if you find yourself altering your exercise form or popping pills to push through pain, the risk of continuing training is not worth any potential reward.

Whether you’re pounding the pavement, plyo boxes, or the weightlifting floor, here are six common exercise injuries that should make you hit the brakes. When you hear your body talking, back off with these expert-approved strategies.

1. Stress Fractures

What they are: Microscopic breaks, these often happen in the feet, pelvis, or in the tibia and fibula, the bones that make up your lower leg, Hamilton says. When they occur in the lower leg, they are often called “shin splints.” Symptoms include pain that worsens when pressing on the area, single-leg hopping, or running.

Why they happen: Stress fractures are a result of putting more stress on your bones than they can handle, typically by ramping up high-impact exercises, including running and plyometrics, too quickly, she says. (Here are 6 Stress Fracture Warning Signs to Keep an Eye On.)

Pump the breaks: Continue stressing the bone and that microscopic fracture can turn into a full-on break, requiring everything from casts, bedrest, or surgery. “If you have had a stress fracture, the likelihood of getting another one is quite high, so it is important to see a sports medicine physician who specializes in stress fractures in order to determine why you got it in the first place,” says Julie Khan, a board-certified specialist in sports physical therapy and advanced clinician. “He or she can perform blood tests to look at hormone, calcium, and vitamin D levels to ensure these blood values are normal.” Until you can run and hop sans pain, focus on low-impact activities such as cycling, swimming, running in the pool, and strength training.

2. Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

What it is: Also called “runner’s knee,” patellofemoral pain syndrome is a condition in which the kneecap (a.k.a. patella) rubs on the thighbone (a.k.a. femur). Pain at the front of the knee is a common symptom, and often accompanies activities such as going down stairs, squatting, and after rigorous exercise, says physical therapist Melanie Strassberg.

Why it happens: Muscle and strength imbalances in the quads and hips, as well as excessive tightness in the connective tissues surround the knee are the usual culprits, Strassberg says, noting that it’s most common in women and young adults.

Pump the breaks: Training through runner’s knee can lead to increased damage to and degradation of the cartilage that sits underneath your kneecap. And once you lose that, it’s gone. Talk to a sports physical therapist to evaluate your symptoms and ID the strength-training exercises that will help get your kneecap in proper alignment. “Some of my favorite exercises are lateral walks, glute bridges, side-plank clams, and front planks,” Khan says. Until you can engage in your regular workout without pain, turn to cycling, swimming, or using the elliptical to help you maintain your cardiovascular fitness.

3. Achilles Tendonitis

What it is: “The Achilles tendon is the strongest and thickest tendon in the body, connecting the calf muscles to the heel bone. It is also frequently injured,” says physiatrist and founder of Weiss Wellness Elise H. Weiss. “Acute injuries can range from mild damage of the tendon to a complete rupture, which requires surgical repair.” The pain is often felt at the heel and back of the ankle (you may notice a bump of scar tissue), which can feel tight or swollen. Discomfort may decrease a bit as the area loosens, making it tempting to continue to work out through the pain.

Why it happens: “Achilles injuries tend to occur when too much demand is put on the tendon, most often in people with tight, weak calf muscles,” Weiss says, noting that they are more prevalent in men than in women.

Pump the breaks: Push through it, and Achilles injuries can progress into chronic degeneration, called Achilles tendinosis, or a complete tear of the tendon, requiring surgical reattachment, she says. Physical therapy is a mainstay of treatment, and often includes eccentric exercises of the ankle, foot, and knee. Weiss advises cross-training with cycling over swimming. “When you first return to running (wait until you have zero pain), reduce your stride length, avoid speed workouts, and stay on flat surfaces,” Weiss says, explaining that landing with your forefoot can place more stress on the Achilles tendon. (You may want to ease into a mid or rearfoot landing pattern until the injury starts to feel better.)

4. Hip Pain

What it is: “There are many causes of hip pain in endurance athletes, from hip impingement, gluteal tendinitis, iliotibial band syndrome, to tendinitis, tears, and stress fractures in the hip,” Khan says.

Why it happens: Hip pain can be the result of decreased core and gluteal stability, increasing exercise intensity and duration before your bones and muscles are strong enough to handle it, or even how your bones sit in their joints.“Seeing your local sports physical therapist can help to determine the source of the pain, and more importantly figure out why you are having the pain in the first place,” Khan says.

Pump the breaks: Your hips are the basis of everything your body does in the gym – it doesn’t matter if you run, swim, squat, or cycle. So any pain can quickly throw off your total-body alignment and introduce new injuries. Plus, the multitude of tendons that hook into your hips receive relatively little blood supply, meaning that they won’t heal quickly – especially if you continue to stress them with exercise, Strassberg says.

Avoid any movements that cause pain and talk to a specialist about training your core and glutes to improve pelvic stability. Exercises such as bridges, lateral walks, pain-free lunges and squats, and single-limb balances are key to promoting core and hip strength, Khan says.

5. Hamstring Strains

What they are: Sudden pain or spasms that occur in at the upper leg or butt, hamstring strains occur when the muscle tears, Weiss says. These tears can range from microscopic to a complete detachment. While tears are relatively uncommon, they require swift doctor intervention and surgery – and are accompanied by intense bruising and swelling.

Why they happen: The cause typically comes down to imbalances between the hamstrings, quads, and glutes, but a weak core and simply not warming up properly before exercise can also contribute, Weiss says. (Also, sitting all day can lead to hamstring tightness.)

Pump the breaks: “Hamstring injuries are notorious for becoming chronic issues,” Weiss says. Until the pain subsides, or unless told otherwise by your PT, stick with cross-training activities that do not stress the legs. Think: upper-body work. Once the pain subsides, you can ease back into things though cycling and aqua jogging.

Before jumping back into your regular workouts, it’s also best to work on strengthening the hamstrings and glutes through squats, Romanian deadlifts, and hip thrusts. Start with light weights and focus on slowing down the (lowering) part of each exercise to fend off future injuries.

6. Lower Back Pain

What it is: A common complaint in athletes and couch potatoes alike, low back pain can be localised to one spot or radiate into the butt and down the leg, Khan says. It can involve muscular strains, slipped vertebral discs, or nerve impingement.

Why it happens: Low back pain is often the result of weak core and glute muscles, improper movement patterns, and overworking the muscles that are in charge of supporting and stabilizing the pelvis and spine, she says.

RELATED: 6 Exercises to Help Lower Back Pain

Pump the breaks: While it can come and go for some, lingering back pain can easily turn into debilitating chronic back pain that impedes not just on your exercise routine, but also your overall quality of life. Talk to a physical therapist or spinal health expert trained in non-surgical interventions such as teaching proper movement patterns, training the core muscles, and keeping you active through pain-free and non-aggravating cross-training. Exactly what those exercises are will depend on the exact cause of your back pain.

The post 6 Common Injuries You Should Never Train Through appeared first on Runner's World.

Iliotibial band syndrome, or ITBS, is one of the main causes of knee pain in runners. The IT band, or ITB, can become so painful that a runner is unable to train at all. ‘You need to address both the cause and the symptoms,’ says Mark Fadil, director of Sports Medicine Institute International (SMI) in California, US.

The ITB is a fibrous structure that assists the stability of the leg during the stance phase of the stride, works with the hip muscles in abduction (outward movement) of the thigh and helps to resist torsional movements around the knee joint. It begins in the hip as the tensor fasciae latae muscle and ends below the knee joint, inserting into the tibia at a bump called Gerdy’s tubercle.

When the ITB becomes stressed through overuse, runners usually feel pain in the outside of the knee, above where the ITB crosses the joint. This is sometimes accompanied by a clicking sensation, caused by the ITB snapping across the joint. The pain usually occurs just after heel contact and gets worse as the run goes on. Downhill and long, slow running tend to worsen the symptoms.

While the ITB will become tighter when it is injured or overstressed, this tightness is not the root of the problem. The ITB is not strong; any weakness in surrounding muscles can lead to injury, and runners are often weak in their hip and core muscles. In 2000, Dr Michael Fredericson, from Stanford University, US discovered that weakness of the hip abductor muscles (mainly the gluteus minimus and gluteus medius) was the leading cause of ITBS. In 2007, research in the journal Clinical Biomechanics found female runners who develop ITBS have an increased hip abduction motion, along with greater knee internal rotation – both probably caused by weakness in the hip abductors.

How to beat ITBS:

Treatment 1: Reduce pain and inflammation

The initial phase focuses on reducing pain and inflammation and increasing mobilisation of the ITB. Rest, ice, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and topical anti-inflammatories are all effective in this initial phase. A corticosteroid injection can help – with the understanding that it is not curing the injury – to reduce the pain and enable the runner to move on to the next phase.

Treatment 2: Massage and stretch

Treatment progresses to deep-tissue massage, before moving on to strengthening. Fadil recommends frequent massage: two or three times per week for recreational runners. If you cannot afford to go to a certified massage therapist, a foam roller can work well for self-massage. Roll from knee to hip. Maintain fitness with cross-training that does not aggravate the condition. After the pain subsides, add stretching (see below) while continuing massage.

Treatment 3: Strengthen

Begin strengthening as soon as the exercises (below) can be performed painlessly. As you get stronger and symptoms subside, test the injured leg with short runs that can be extended once the pain is not causing a limp or compensation. Strides can sometimes be performed early in this phase – shorter, faster running often does not worsen the injury. Recovery time depends on factors such as the length of time you have been injured and biomechanical aspects of your stride. Continue strengthening after you have resumed training.

Stretch

Lengthening stretch

The best ITB lengthening exercise is to stretch it across the hip and outside the leg. Cross the injured leg behind the other leg and lean toward the uninjured side. First stretch with your arms over your head, creating a bow shape from ankle to hand with the injured ITB outside, then bring your arms down to touch the ankle on the inside of the bow.

The runner’s right leg is being stretched here. Hold the pose for 15 seconds and repeat 10 times. Perform three sets a day.

Strengthen

A/ Clamshell

Begin with a clamshell exercise using a resistance band. Lie on your left side, with your knees bent and hips vertical. Activate your side abs and squeeze your glutes. Keep your feet together and slowly raise your right knee. Hold for five seconds, then lower your knee back to the starting position. That’s one rep. Perform the exercise slowly, with emphasis on good form. Build up to three sets of 10 repetitions on each leg.

B/ Side leg lifts

Lying on your side, raise your top leg straight up to around a 45-degree angle, toe pointed down. Then slowly pull the leg back in that plane, move it forward and return it to the starting position. Form is very important – in the starting position, check your body is in a straight line from shoulder to ankle, with the top hip slightly in front. (Don’t let the top hip rotate backward.) Build up to three sets of 10 repetitions on each leg.

C/ Single-leg squats

Balance on one foot, then bend your supporting knee to lower your torso a quarter of the way to the ground. Ensure the knee stays directly over the foot. Once you master this squat, add the challenge of mimicking running form: extend the unsupported leg behind you and bring it through to lift the knee in front of you. Progress to touching the ground in front of your body on the forward lean. While standing on your right foot, move a ball up and down diagonally from lower left to upper right, then side to side in a twisting motion. Repeat on the left foot, moving the ball from lower right to upper left.

D/ Hip hikes

Eccentric strengthening works the hip abductors in the same manner they function during running. Standing on one foot on a step, raise the other foot by lifting your hip on that side, while taking care to stay in an upright position. Slowly lower the hip to the bottom of your range of motion, while staying upright. Perform 10 reps on each leg; build up to three sets.

Photography by Mitch Mandel

The post The Foolproof 3-Step Plan For Treating ITB! appeared first on Runner's World.

Body: Refuel with a high-carb drink containing a small amount of protein. ‘Muscles are most permeable to energy uptake in the 30 minutes following a hard effort,’ says Hart. For the next 23 hours, your priority is muscle repair – and that means protein. Hart recommends frequent snacks that are high in carbs but also contain 25-30g of protein.

Light foam rolling and compression clothing improve blood flow to remove toxins from muscle. Otherwise, it’s generally best to ‘relax – let the body initiate its natural recovery processes,’ says Hart. Many runners literally ‘run around’ recovering, which is counterproductive.

Mind: ‘Celebrate!’ advises sports psychologist Kristin Keim. Many runners have type-A tendencies, always looking for the next big challenge. Keim says pausing to reward yourself and reflect on your accomplishment is important. If you find yourself struggling to sit still, let alone sleep, don’t worry.

According to Michael Joyner, a US physiologist, a number of factors – from gastrointestinal issues to elevated neurochemicals – can interfere with sleep. When you do finally feel drowsy, don’t cut yourself short. Sleep is vital to recovery, so don’t be afraid to hit the snooze button.

24-72 hours afterwards

Body: Now is the time to try light exercise. Active recovery expedites the body’s natural repair process by delivering more oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. Just keep it easy – go for a walk.

Continue to wear compression clothing, and if you get a massage, make sure your therapist goes easy on the pressure. ‘You want to let your muscles heal, and deep-tissue massage can cause muscle damage,’ says Hart.

Popping ibuprofen might be tempting, but unless you sustained an acute injury, many experts advise against it. ‘The inflammatory response is signaling recovery and that’s not something we want to mask,’ says Hart.

Mind: The immediate post-race high is wearing off, but dopamine and serotonin levels are still elevated. ‘Simply moving past the race is tough,’ says Keim. So don’t feel bad about the urge to write a race report and post pictures on social media.

Even after a disappointing race, Doug MacLean, a running and triathlon coach, encourages runners to fully process the event rather than trying to block out negative feelings. ‘It’s not until we internalise what happened at a more subconscious level that we can analyse what went wrong, make adjustments and truly release from the past,’ he says.

3-7 days afterwards

Body: Although you may be getting anxious about not training, fatigue is probably pulling you to the couch. This is especially true for runners who raced longer distances or trained hard for an extended period. Hart calls this ‘central system fatigue’. ‘While training, you are constantly suppressing fatigue – or ignoring it – which can throw your hormonal profile out of whack,’ he says. When your body lets its guard down a few days after the event, all the built-up fatigue sets in. ‘Do not fight this fatigue,’ says Hart. Instead, stick to light active recovery and remember that the priority is to rest so your body can return to hormonal balance.

Mind: Enter, for some, the post-race blues. ‘Stimulating neurochemicals are declining and you are reintegrating into everyday life,’ says Keim. An ensuing rut can be compounded by the fact that most runners’ antidepressant of choice – a hard workout – isn’t an option. Keim urges runners to ‘maintain their identity as athletes’. To do this, analyse your race, think about goals for next year and, perhaps most important, reframe rest as a key part of your training plan. Viewing rest as something you are choosing to do to improve as a runner means you are less likely to feel you’re neglecting the athletic part of yourself.

7-21 days afterwards

Body: Your muscular and hormonal systems are still returning to baseline, so this is a good time to slowly introduce some intensity into workouts. ‘The main thing to remember is that you can’t train if you are injured,’ says Joyner. So err on the side of doing too little rather than too much, and ‘focus on reading your body and backing off if soreness and fatigue don’t improve’.

Joyner and Hart agree that cross-training is a good low-risk approach. Add intensity into other sports (a hard hike or swim). By the end of this period, your central and muscular systems should be in tune and you can ease back into running.

Mind: You probably will feel a healthy urge to start running again. Now is a great time to develop a new set of goals. This might mean running faster, running farther, taking running more seriously or, perhaps, taking running less seriously. But if you are feeling burned out and the thought of running evokes dread, that’s OK, too, says Keim.

There is no rush to get back into things, and if the thought of structured training still does not appeal, you can run casually for general health, stress relief and social fun. ‘You shouldn’t have to search for the motivation to train hard,’ says Keim. ‘You’ll know if and when it comes back.’

The post Your 3-Week Guide To Post-Race Recovery appeared first on Runner's World.

“An ingrown toenail occurs when the corner or border of a toenail – most commonly the big toe – impinges or otherwise irritates the surrounding soft tissue of the toe, resulting in painful inflammation that can puncture the skin and cause acute infection,” says Michael J. Trepal, a podiatrist at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine.

Here’s everything you need to know about why you get ingrown toenails, how to get rid of them, and how to prevent them so you never miss a day of training again.

What Causes Ingrown Toenails?

Although they may seem to come out of nowhere, there are a few things that can spur on an ingrown toenail. “The most common causes include ill-fitting shoes that are too tight on the toe – such as high heels forcing more pressure on the front of your foot and pushing your toes into the end – improper clipping, and history of trauma to the nail,” says podiatrist Christopher R. Hood Jr.

And running automatically ups your risk. “Any activity with repetitive pressure of the nail in the shoe, such as running, biking, or other sports, can put you at risk for an ingrown nail,” adds Ellianne M. Nasser, a podiatrist.

An ingrown nail could also just be caused by the way your foot is shaped. “It can be anatomic,” Hood says. “For example, your toe bone shape dictates nail growth, which can create naturally curved nails, or too large of a nail for a smaller toe that creates a space issue.”

Ingrown Toenail Treatment

There are a few ways to relieve the symptoms at home. “Warm water soaks and gentle massage may provide temporary relief of inflamed tissue,” Trepal says. Adding in Epsom salt helps, too, according to Hood.

You can also try getting rid of an ingrown toenail with a topical treatment. “Over the counter topical medications – such as an antibiotic ointment – work to soften the skin or nail,” Hood says. “And non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs should help with pain relief.”

RELATED: 5 Causes of Black Toenails – Identify The Harmless From The Harmful

But you shouldn’t wait too long to get things checked out if your ingrown nail doesn’t show signs of healing after a couple of days of treating it yourself.

“If the issue is not getting better over a few days, see your foot doctor for professional care,” Hood says. “You should see a physician if there’s any drainage that is thick, yellow, milky, or looks like pus, if there’s bright redness to the skin fold or toe, or if you have symptoms of nausea, fever, or chills.” Your doctor will most likely drain the pus from your nail and prescribe antibiotics, according to Trepal.

Podiatrists also agree that it’s not wise to play “bathroom doctor” and perform your own “surgery” on your ingrown toenail. “‘Bathroom surgery,’ or repetitive digging and cutting of the nail, is highly discouraged and can worsen the ingrown toenail,” Nasser says. If you have a recurring ingrown toenail, you may want to look into a minor procedure that will stop them from happening more permanently.
RELATED: 11 Things Podiatrists Wish You Knew About Your Feet

“A mostly sure-fire way to get rid of them is by having a physician (podiatrist) perform a partial nail avulsion, where medicine is placed under the skin to prevent recurrence by destroying the nail where it grows back ingrown,” Hood says. He compares it to placing a “weed killer” to the root of your nail so it doesn’t grow back.

Ingrown Toenail Prevention

The most important thing you can do to stop ingrown toenails from happening is to wear shoes that fit. “Wear properly-fitted shoes with plenty of width in the toe box and socks that do not overly constrict the toes,” Trepal says.

Trimming your toenails the right way can also help lessen your chance of getting an ingrown nail. “You can make ingrown nails less likely to reoccur by trimming your nails properly,” Nasser says. “Trim your nails straight across, avoiding angles.”

The post Ingrown Toenails: What All Runners Should Know appeared first on Runner's World.

But then a pull in your calf or pain in your hamstring sidelines you. If you’re like many of the runners I see as a physical therapist, you blame your injury on your lack of stretching. But is not stretching really at fault?

Overwhelmingly, the evidence points to overuse as the leading cause of running injuries. Overuse injuries can be viewed as a mismatch between what you’ve done and what you can handle.

That nagging sensation in a muscle may be because of weakness rather than tightness, which is best defined as muscle shortening. Weaker muscles often masquerade as tight muscles, owing to neurological changes within the muscle. If the muscle isn’t strong enough to do everything it needs to do, it can seize up to protect itself, leading to a feeling of tightness.

When this is the case, you’ve probably tried stretching for weeks, but haven’t noticed any long-term relief. These muscles typically measure normal in length. Instead of being too tight, they are too weak to handle the loads to which they’ve been subjected.

So, is your tight feeling truly muscle shortening, or is it weakness? And how do you distinguish between them? Let’s take a look at three muscle groups that often feel tight, and how to tell the difference between muscle shortness and weakness, as well as treatments for both.

Hamstrings

While running, your hamstrings are responsible for slowing the forward motion of your hip as you bring your leg forward and pushing your hip back after you hit the ground. The hamstrings are also the most commonly injured two-joint muscle in running. Many athletes who enter my clinic with a leg injury report hamstring tightness; when tested, however, these muscles are typically normal in length. The discomfort can instead be chalked up to weakness.

How do you know if your hamstrings are inflexible?

Lie on your back on the floor with both legs out straight. Bend the leg you’re testing so that your thigh is perpendicular to the ground. Next, try to straighten your knee. If your lower leg comes within 30 degrees of forming a straight line with your thigh, flexibility isn’t a problem.

Instead, you’re better off strengthening your hamstrings, such as with deadlifts or leg curls. Here are two moves you can do regularly to get your hamstrings stronger.

Deadlift With Flex Band

Hamstring Curl

If you fail the flexibility test, you can stretch your hamstrings by standing, putting the leg you’re stretching on a stool and leaning forward until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings. Hold this stretch for at least 60 seconds after your run.

Calves

The calf is one of the most important muscle groups in running, as the gastrocnemius and soleus propel you forward. Ankle mobility, especially the ability to adequately flex your foot when weight bearing, is crucial in running, and is often lacking after ankle sprains. Many people, however, report feelings of tightness in their calves even when their ankle mobility is adequate.

To test your calf flexibility, place the foot being tested four inches from a wall. Without lifting your heel or letting your lower leg or foot twist, lunge your knee towards the wall. Your knee should be able to easily reach it.

If so, strength may be the issue. A runner should be able to easily perform 25 calf raises on each leg, but even beyond this baseline, calf strengthening is important for all runners. One of the best ways to strengthen the calves may also help stretch them. To do this, perform a single leg heel raise off a step while letting your heel sink below the level of your toes.

If your flexibility is lacking, the calf can be stretched by facing the wall in a staggered stance, and leaning into the wall while keeping your back heel on the ground and without letting your foot cave in. This stretch can be done with the knee bent and straight. Maintain this stretch for at least three sets of 20 seconds or two sets of 30 seconds.

Hip Flexors

The hip flexor group is what drives your leg forward when it’s in the air. It’s yet another muscle group that often feels tight when it’s actually weak.

To test your hip flexor length, sit on the edge of a firm table, hug one leg into your chest, and let the leg you’re testing fall toward the table, as you lie back. Your thigh should hit the table.

Assuming you have adequate hip flexibility, you can strengthen your hip flexors by lying on the ground with a band around your feet, bending your knee, and pulling your leg into your chest against the resistance.

If your hip flexors are indeed short, perform the aptly named runner’s stretch by kneeling in a lunge without arching your back. Hold this stretch for at least 60 seconds.

If after taking these tests, flexibility and strength are both an issue, I recommend both stretching and strengthening, but focusing on strength training. While there is currently a lot of debate in the exercise science world about stretching, there is overwhelming evidence to support strength training as a means to reduce injury risk in runners.

Jasmine Marcus is a doctor of physical therapy, writer, and runner. Before becoming a physical therapist, she was a journalist. She works at an outpatient orthopedic clinic in upstate New York.

The post Are Your Injuries Caused By Tightness Or Weakness? appeared first on Runner's World.

The hip is a basic ball-and-socket joint. The ball is the femoral head – a knob on the top of the thigh bone – and the socket is an indentation in the pelvic bone. There is cartilage lining the joint (called the labrum) and ligaments that attach the pelvic and thigh bones. Numerous muscles attach around the hip, too, moving the joint through the basic motions of flexion (bending), extension (extending the leg behind you), abduction (lifting the leg away from the body), adduction (moving the leg inward), internal rotation, and external rotation.

Identifying Hip Pain Symptoms

Pain in the front of the joint – where the leg attaches to the trunk – is typically caused by hip joint problems. You may also feel pain associated with a hip injury in the lower part of your glutes and the top of the back of your thigh. Other symptoms include the inability to move the leg at the hip, inability to put weight on one leg due to pain at the hip, or swelling around the joint. As runners, you may also experience pain in the hip joint only when running due to a hip injury.
RELATED: 7 Simple Exercises For Powerful Glutes

Common Causes of Hip Pain

The most common culprits of discomfort include hip flexor strains or hip flexor tendinitis, stress fractures, and osteoarthritis. Less commonly, labral (cartilage) tears may cause pain.

Hip flexors are a group of muscles that move the thigh forward and up. Strains (pulls) are often caused by a backward slippage of the foot. This may occur with one big slip or repetitive small slips while running on a slick surface, such as snow.
RELATED: 6 Stress Fracture Warning Signs

Tendinitis – which occurs when your psoas muscle (a deep hip muscle) is overused and pulls on a tendon that attaches it to the iliac bone, causing the tendon to become inflamed – is usually due to increased mileage, speed work, or hill work.

RELATED: Your Guide To Smashing Hills!

Pain on the outside of the hip is most commonly due to greater trochanteric bursitis. The greater trochanter is the protrusion where the thigh bone juts outward at the base of the neck (which connects the ball to the femur and is the site of hip stress fractures). A lubricating sac (or bursa) lies over the boney protrusion so that the surrounding muscles do not rub directly on the bone. The top region of the iliotibial (IT) band, known as the tensor fascia lata, is commonly involved in greater trochanteric bursitis.

Pain along the inside of the hip may be due to tendinitis or strain of the adductor muscles. Adductors (or inner thigh muscles) pull the leg inward as it is moving forward—the faster the movement, the greater the degree of adduction. Since footprints of a runner are almost single file as opposed to the side-by-side footprints of a walker, there is some degree of adduction occurring during running.

Pain in the inner hip and sometimes the front of the joint can be caused by osteitis pubis, sports hernias, infections, pubic stress fractures, or osteoarthritis.

Hip Pain Treatment

Persistent or worsening hip pain warrants a visit to your health care provider and possibly a sports medicine specialist. Some problems, particularly hip stress fractures, are commonly misdiagnosed due to the confusing presentation of symptoms.

A thorough evaluation is necessary and often includes X-rays and other studies, such as an MRI or bone scan. As with all injuries, the absence of pain does not mean that all is well. Strength and flexibility deficits must be addressed to allow a healthy return to running.

Tendinitis treatment includes decreasing training, applying ice, strengthening, and stretching. How much you decrease your training is based on the severity of your symptoms. If there is pain with walking, then cross train in a pool. Cycling, rowing machines, stair steppers, and elliptical trainers may also be used if they do not cause pain. In less severe cases, cut back on mileage by 25 to 50 percent and eliminate speed training and hill work.

Treatment for greater trochanteric bursitis includes stretching and strengthening your IT band, hip abductors, and gluteal muscles, all while avoiding running on banked surfaces. Applying ice to the painful area for 15 minutes, three to four times per day can help, too. A cortisone injection may be beneficial if your injury is severe. Worsening pain should raise suspicion for a stress fracture, in which case you should see your doctor right away.

For strains and tendinitis at the top of the hamstrings, treatment is the same as that used for hip flexor problems. Hamstring stretching and strengthening – such as side lunges, inward leg raises, and backward leg raises – is important. Deep tissue massage may also be beneficial, but in general, this is a difficult problem that usually takes a while to resolve.

Hip Pain Prevention

To prevent any hip injury, strengthening and stretching your hip flexors is key. And while stretching your hip flexors can be difficult, here are two that work well:

Lie on your back on the edge of a table or high bed, and drop your outside leg off the edge.

Lunge with your back leg fully extended. Lifrt arms up overhead and extend slightly backward if possible.

Adding leg lifts into your routine is an easy way to strengthen your hip flexors – you can add in weights or a resistance band to make this exercise harder. To maximize strength throughout the hip, do leg raises in each direction – back, forward, in, and out.

Issues in the hips are often related to weak glutes. Strengthening your gluteal muscles with squats and exercises like bridge pose can help. Finally, foam rolling daily will help keep your hip flexors loose and relaxed and less prone to injury.

This article originally appeared on runnersworld.com.

The post Everything You Need To Know About Hip Pain! appeared first on Runner's World.

RELATED: What Every Runner Needs To Know About Pronation

The truth is, that’s a really tricky question. While you’ve probably heard some tips on proper running form—stand tall with a slight forward lean, arms gliding back and forth as you land softly on your forefoot and take off solid hip extension behind you – everyone’s mechanics vary. So while a few small tricks might be the start of feeling stronger as you stride, there’s a fine line between changing too much, which can lead to new injuries, and finding a few fixes that help you run more powerfully, sans pain. Let’s examine the step-by-step distinction.

How Your Stride Can Lead to Injury (or Not)

On a run, you experience a reactional force every time your foot hits the ground, says Bryan Heiderscheit, P.T., Ph.D., physical therapist and director of the University of Wisconsin Runners Clinic. That force can look different from person to person, depending on performance and mechanics. “When you hit the ground, the body absorbs energy from that force. For instance, your knee bends to help cushion the landing and decelerate the body’s center of mass,” Heiderscheit explains. “In some individuals, you start to see motions that aren’t so helpful to running—the body’s secondary way to absorb energy.” For some, this might include hips dropping to the side, or the trunk leaning side to side, or the knee collapsing inward.

Heiderscheit says we’ve oversimplified what this force reaction looks like in some individuals. People might point out that the impact of a heel striker is much greater than that of a midfoot or forefoot striker. In actuality, it’s just different forces acting on the body, not necessarily greater ones. “If you’re landing on your heel, you’ve lost a lot of ability in the ankle joint to absorb shock, while the ankle is more involved in midfoot or forefoot landing,” Heidersheit says. “That can be a good thing, as another joint absorbs impact, so your knee or hip don’t have to do as much. But it could also be a negative in that if you’re not ready for the ankle to absorb the shock, then the calf muscle and tissues around the ankle get exposed to bigger loads than what they’re ready to take on.” So simply making the switch from heel to forefoot strike doesn’t mean you’ll redistribute the impact. Rather, the adjustment could lead to other problems.

The same thinking applies to pronation. Researchers still debate whether pronation even leads to increased injury risk: One study that looked particularly at shoes helping to control pronation says, yes, those who pronate and run in a shoe that doesn’t control it could have a higher chance of injury. Another says moderate pronation does not increase injury risk, even if wearing a neutral shoe.
RELATED: 5 Signs You Suffer From Under-Pronation (And How To Fix It)

“The challenge is that we don’t know when pronation gets to be too much, and pronation may be a fairly minor component to injury risk,” says Heiderscheit. “I think over the years, it’s gotten its own reputation that we need to think about a lot, and I think that has happened in the absence of science.”

When You Should and Shouldn’t Change Your Stride

The minimalist footwear movement certainly had its moment in the past, and it focused on letting your feet run free – no extra cushioning or stable outsoles to keep your toes or heels from moving on their natural path. While it sounds like solid practice in theory, problems arose because most runners didn’t prep their bodies for the change in mechanics that kick in when you swap your cushioned shoes for a more minimal design.

A lot of shoes have a cushioned heel for more protection as you land, especially for those who heel strike. Take that away, and it can lead to more knee or hip problems. Or switch to a midfoot strike to accommodate the shoe, and you might experience more ankle or calf injuries. “However, as long as people make changes slowly, your body is usually able to adapt to some small modifications in footwear or running gait,” says Brett Toresdahl, M.D., assistant attending physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery and research director for the HSS Primary Care Sports Medicine Service. “But the bigger changes bring on injuries.”

Likewise, you don’t want to focus on too many changes at one time. “If we see someone and they have a lot of things going on – a lot of instability, a lot of running faults – we wouldn’t take an aggressive approach, changing a lot of things in their mechanics at once,” says Rondel King, exercise physiologist at New York University’s Sports Performance Center. “If you toss a lot of drills and mechanics at someone, it’s exhausting both mentally and physically. So what drills would be best suited for them as of right now?” Rondel says they choose one or two to focus on, have the runner practice it, then check out what’s happening a few weeks later when they’ve had time to adjust.
RELATED: Perfect Your Running Form!

While some major changes to a stride (say, changing the foot strike) take some practice and careful viewing, you can easily implement other run cues into your training with little risk of injury, says Colleen Brough, D.P.T., assistant professor of Rehabilitation and Regenerative medicine at Columbia University and director of the Columbia RunLab. Most of these cues require applying your mind to your movement. For example, think about a slight forward lean at the ankles (not a hunched position) to help the glute engage, or literally squeeze the glute on your push-off or engage the core more to keep you stable and upright.

“You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) apply these cues throughout the entire run – try it for maybe 30 seconds at the start or the middle and then on the hills or when you tend to get tired,” says Brough. “Eventually it becomes natural, and you’re better able to engage glute or core muscles.”

If you tend to bounce up and down a lot, which leads to more stress on the joints, Brough suggests another cue: Keep an eye on something in the distance in your line of sight. If you notice it moving up and down a lot, then you need to eliminate some of your vertical bounce. Similarly, paying attention to the noise you make when you land (if you hear a slap slap slap with each footfall) should help you notice whether you need to engage the core more or lean forward slightly to soften the landing.

“The best way to know if [these cues and changes] help is if they alleviate pain on the run. For example, at mile 10 or 15, if you start getting knee pain, and you use the glute push-off cue and the pain goes away,” says Brough. “It also informs you, as the runner, where the likely issue is, and then maybe that’s where you want to start strengthening.” (Keep in mind, all experts mentioned that strengthening your glutes or core alone doesn’t mean they’ll automatically lighten up on the road. You have to think about using them for proper activation—and those are welcome changes to your run form.)

Because keeping your feet underneath your body is also super important to lowering the impact on your joints, Heiderscheit suggests examining your step rate or cadence, another accepted switch in your run mechanics. The exact number varies person to person, but to figure out yours, count the number of steps you take per minute, then increase it by 2 to 5 percent and see how that feels.

Brough does suggest taking a video of yourself running. Analyse what your form looks like compared to someone who makes running 42.2km look like a walk in the park. Maybe you notice a high bounce or that your feet step way out in front of your body. Those few earlier cues just might help fix the problem and make your run more efficient. “If you have to look really hard, though, then there’s probably nothing there,” Brough says.

How Shoes Affect Your Stride

There are plenty of ads that say a shoe will change your run game. And it could be partially true – you need a comfy pair to get you through kilometre after kilometre. But if the shoes don’t feel good, then they won’t protect you from injuries or get you to a finish line faster.

“When it comes to choosing a running shoe – a minimalist or stability shoe – research shows the folks with the least injuries are simply the ones in the most comfortable shoes,” Brough says. “So I’m not going to change the amount of someone’s pronation, but I am going to encourage them to try on different sneakers and find the most comfortable, because that will likely be the best footwear for them.” If you do pronate but a stability shoe just doesn’t feel good, then it’s probably a no-go for you.

RELATED: 4 Easy Hacks To Customise & Perfect Your Shoes

There is also the case for a shoe that makes you feel like you’re running stronger, says Brough. Between feeling comfortable and feeling strong, perception is half the battle when it comes to the right shoe for you.

Heiderscheit mentions that if you do switch shoes and feel pain after a run, it’s time to examine the shoe. Switch back to your old pair to see if the problem pops up again. If not, then it’s probably best to forego the new pair. If yes, then it’s time to examine your mechanics.

The Bottom Line

Whether you adjust your stride or not comes down to your goals and how you feel on the road. If you’re feeling fine, crossing off mega mileage without injury, there’s no reason to start switching things up. (If your stride is not broken, there really is no reason to fix it.)

“I believe that there is no perfect running form; each runner has a signature form,” Brough says. “We can choose to optimise that form to either enhance performance or attempt to prevent injury. But there’s nothing out there in running medical literature that says that if you have this form, you’re definitely going to get injured.”

Brough uses one of her clients as an example – a four-time Olympic trails qualifier who happened to have the worst running mechanics she’s ever seen. “There was no way I was going to change that,” she says. And while that person ran injury-free, another person she might see with the same form could end up with a slew of issues.

Heiderscheit agrees that fixing form just to experiment could lead to more bad reactions than good. “When we do gait recommendations, it’s on people experiencing injury or chronic symptoms. Gait re-training can be beneficial for those who experience a lot of pain in the same area or for several months or years, or even who get reoccurring stress fractures,” he says. “But I don’t recommend people adjust gait in the absence of injury. Occasionally performance might be a reason, for instance, if mechanics aren’t efficient, and a runner experiences a high energy cost, he or she might benefit from changing gait. But changing gait to prevent injury – that’s a very slippery slope.”

“Nobody fits that idea of the perfect running form. I think people get hung up on the subtle variations or deviations that aren’t really deviations,” Heiderscheit adds. “Variability is completely fine, and that’s normal and healthy. I usually try not to let people focus on the subtlety. But if you’re having pain, that’s what changes the game.”

This article originally appeared on runnersworld.com.

The post Is There Really Such A Thing As Perfect Running Form? appeared first on Runner's World.