Nicole Coffey, one of the owners of Ladner Village Physiotherapy, is a life long runner with several half marathons under her belt. This blog is the final instalment in a three part series on common running injuries and how to prevent them. Enjoy!
The sun is shining, the grass is green, and it’s a great day for a run!
The gyms are closed and options for exercise are more limited these days. As a result, more and more people have been lacing up and pounding the pavement, which is awesome if you ask me. But (and there is always a but) the cold hard truth is that running comes with a 50% injury rate. My last few blogs (Part 1 and Part 2) have covered some common misconceptions people have about preventing running injuries as well as some of the most common training errors I see in my clients who are injured (see below for a quick review). Let’s now focus on what you CAN do to prevent running injuries.
Do you remember being in high school and the teacher would say “this will be on the test- if you only remember one thing, remember this.” Well, dear reader, this is the take home message. There IS something you can do. It’s not a nutritional supplement that magically makes you bigger/faster/stronger (but if you ever find one of those let me know okay?). It’s not stretching for 20 minutes per day (even though you’ll be extra flexible), and it’s not buying a fancy new treadmill or a new running outfit (although those do sound snazzy).
The answer is strength training!
Many runners I know avoid the gym at all costs. They worry they’ll get too bulky and heavy and it will slow them down, or they think if they go into the gym they will hurt themselves and it will negatively impact their running. But this is not what the research shows. The research shows that strength training is one of the best things you can do to increase running performance and decrease running injuries. For maximum benefit and impact on running strength training should account for 20% of your training.
Strength training has several benefits for runners:
Increased running economy
Increased running power output
Prolonged point of exhaustion
Reduced risk of overuse injuries
What kind of strengthening should you be doing?
Lift heavy weights. That means doing exercises such as squats, calf raises, farmer’s carry and deadlifts at 60-80% of your maximum effort will give you more benefit than doing more reps at lower weights.
Plyometrics and other explosive exercises such as lunges, jumping and hopping.
How often should you strength train?
One or twice per week is good. Because the strength training is done at such high load and intensity you only need to do it twice per week during your “off season” or “training season.” When in “race season” strength can be well maintained with only one session per week as long as the intensity is correct (in addition to your running of course).
What else do I need to know?
Don’t go nuts. Technique here is still critically important. If you have never done weighted resistance exercise before you need to learn proper technique before you start loading up the barbells. If you don’t know how to do these exercises get someone who is qualified to teach you. Youtube is not your friend here.
Be ready. This is also assuming you don’t already have a pre-existing injury. If you do, get help with it and rehab correctly before implementing new aspects to your training program.
Lifting heavy loads and doing explosive exercises can help increase muscular strength, making you a stronger and more efficient runner with less chance of overuse injury.
“Uhhhhh You’re forgetting something Nicole, I can’t go to the gym right now because of a little thing called COVID-19.”
I know that right now you don’t have access to a full gym and weight rack right now, BUT exercises like:
single leg jumping
hopping
lunges
require no extra equipment and can definitely be incorporated into your routine at home right now. Once restrictions have been lifted we can all get back to the gym.
Looking for the other instalments? Check out Part 1 - Running Volume and Part 2 - Footstrike! Here’s what we have learned so far:
Common Mistakes:
Increasing volume too quickly, resulting in overuse injury
Putting too much emphasis on stretching, which does not reduce overuse injury rates
Trying to make yourself a “mid-foot striker” when you are naturally a “heel-striker”
What Can You Do To Decrease Injury:
Increase volume by no more than 10% per week (includes distance AND intensity)
Increase cadence by no more than 10% (aim for 160-180 steps per minute)
Re-allocate some of the time you spend stretching and focus on strengthening instead.
Happy running everybody - enjoy the sunshine!
As always, if you have an injury that you would like assessed or if you need assistance with technique please call our clinic at (778) 630-8800 and we will be happy to help!
References:
Beattie, K., Kenny, I. C., Lyons, M., & Carson, B. P. (2014). The effect of strength training on performance in endurance athletes. Sports Medicine, 44(6), 845-865
Berryman, N., Mujika, I. Strength Training for Middle – and Long-distance Performance: A Meta-Analysis in International Journal of Sports Physiologiy and Performance. 2017:13: 57-64
Blagrove RC, Howatson G, Hayes PR Effects of Strength Training on the Physiological Determinants of Middle- and Long-Distance Running Performance: A Systematic Review. Sports Med. 2018 May;48(5):1117-1149. doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0835-7.
Lauersen J, Bertelsen DM, Andersen LB (2014) The effectiveness of exercise interventions to prevent sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials British Journal of Sports Medicine 2014;48:871-877
Mikkola J, Vesterinen V, Taipale R, Capostagno B, Häkkinen K, Nummela A (2011) Effect of resistance training regimens on treadmill running and neuromuscular performance in recreational endurance runners, Journal of Sports Sciences, 29:13, 1359-1371