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Injury prevention?

RunnerGirl238
RunnerGirl238 Posts: 448 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
So I keep getting this dumb little injuries- tendonitis here, Achilles strain there, yada, yada. I foam roll with a standard roller and I RICE when needed. Now I am trying a whole30 approach to see if I can ward off inflammation. What do you do? Any suggestions pf what you do or use?

Replies

  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    It depends on the specific injury, and the likely cause of it.
    Note that "tendonitis" is often degeneration, not inflammation (reference), so reducing inflammation isn't always warranted. :+1:
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,771 Member
    Interesting - what do you do instead of ice and NSAIDS?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    RunnerGirl238 wrote: »
    So I keep getting this dumb little injuries- tendonitis here, Achilles strain there, yada, yada. I foam roll with a standard roller and I RICE when needed. Now I am trying a whole30 approach to see if I can ward off inflammation. What do you do? Any suggestions pf what you do or use?

    I'd work on training smarter if I was injury prone (which I was last year)
  • ajwcyclist2016
    ajwcyclist2016 Posts: 161 Member
    What sort of exercises are you doing that cause the injury
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    I drink all of this voodoo stuff, as I call it - turmeric, botswalla, cinnamon, ginger, plus over the years I've added fruits and veggie powders like carrot, beet, tart cherry - I add it all to my smoothie.

    I'm not sure what it does for me - truthfully, in the past 4 years, I've ripped ligaments in each ankle at different time, ripped my plantar plate, plus I've fallen several times and hurt my back.

    I guess I'd just be doing worse? Hard to say.

  • Running2Fit
    Running2Fit Posts: 702 Member
    I do a lot of stretching. I stretch when I wake and before bed. Before and after each workout. And I’ve added yoga into my routine.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    The lesson I think I have learned is to incorporate some strength training into your weekly routine. Build up those muscles that support your main running ones that won't get built from running alone.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    What is your exercise? Are you cross training? Are you getting appropriate rest and recovery? These types of things are often a matter of over use, doing too much too soon, and not getting recovery and neglecting cross training.

    I had a whole bunch of nagging stuff a couple of years ago, and fixing it was largely a matter of training smarter.

    I don't think whole 30 is going to do anything...whole 30 is an elimination diet to identify foods which one may have an intolerance for.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    edited January 2019
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    RunnerGirl238 wrote: »
    So I keep getting this dumb little injuries- tendonitis here, Achilles strain there, yada, yada. I foam roll with a standard roller and I RICE when needed. Now I am trying a whole30 approach to see if I can ward off inflammation. What do you do? Any suggestions pf what you do or use?

    I'd work on training smarter if I was injury prone (which I was last year)

    I’d also look at my training plan/schedule and start making adjustments (volume, intensity, cut back weeks, rest, cross training, etc.)
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
    Start slow, start light, progress deliberately, keep good form.
  • MonkeyMel21
    MonkeyMel21 Posts: 2,396 Member
    edited January 2019
    Strength training and more time stretching than I usually want to spend, but it definitely helps and is worth it. It took me a few frustrating years to figure that out :(

    ETA: also, going much slower than I want to when starting with something new. I have to constantly remind myself to not go too hard.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,487 Member
    edited January 2019
    I lived with tendonitis all of last year (90-95% over that now), I stay away from exercises and methods that got me there in the first place. I don't do any specific diet strategies, just working smarter not harder and allowing for recovery. Not resting properly is a recipe for over use and injury.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Cross training (bike, swimming, rowing, strength) and not overdoing it (I usually take lower volume weeks every month or so)
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited January 2019
    There isnt a way to prevent injuries as they occur with all types of training on all levels of athletes.

    There isn't a special foam roller or stretch that would prevent injury by any means.

    What you can do is lower injury "risk" by proper load management. One needs to load the training properly at the appropriate dosage of intensity with enough recovery afterwards to continue training.

    If one wants to stretch to lower injury risk, then doing the movement one is preparing with a lower load (e.g. - soft jog before a 10k run, squat with a empty bar and work up the intensity to the working sets) is a sound and efficient way to stretch and warm up.

    Constantly pushing yourself near your max with sufficient recovery is surely a way to increase injury risk.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    Interesting - what do you do instead of ice and NSAIDS?

    Frequent movement. Tendons have few blood vessels, unlike muscles, so they get their nutrients pumped to them from physical movement.. and the more movement, the better. For the Achilles, for example, you can dorsiflex your foot several times every few minutes, to promote circulation.
    Ice slows circulation, which delays healing, so keep it warm. The Dr. who coined the term "RICE" now regrets it! http://www.drmirkin.com/fitness/why-ice-delays-recovery.html
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    Chieflrg wrote: »
    There isnt a way to prevent injuries as they occur with all types of training on all levels of athletes.

    There isn't a special foam roller or stretch that would prevent injury by any means.

    What you can do is lower injury "risk" by proper load management. One needs to load the training properly at the appropriate dosage of intensity with enough recovery afterwards to continue training.

    If one wants to stretch to lower injury risk, then doing the movement one is preparing with a lower load (e.g. - soft jog before a 10k run, squat with a empty bar and work up the intensity to the working sets) is a sound and efficient way to stretch and warm up.

    Constantly pushing yourself near your max with sufficient recovery is surely a way to increase injury risk.

    ^This. Assuming your achillies injuries have been incurred from running, I also agree with suggestions to do some cross training, as well as regular foam rolling, yoga, massage, etcetera.

    With regard to the bolded, if you are a distance runner, you might consider the concept of "periodization" in your training to provide regular recovery weeks. Most periodization plans build in a week of lower training density (density= volume x frequency) to allow your body to rest and absorb the training gains.
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,289 Member
    Tacklewasher wrote: »
    The lesson I think I have learned is to incorporate some strength training into your weekly routine. Build up those muscles that support your main running ones that won't get built from running alone.

    This. I have a knee that gets very sore when it's fatigued. I also have new knee pain from downhills (trail running and hiking). When I started lifting, my trainer asked what my goals were. One of them is to strengthen my legs to support my knees better. It's been 12 weeks, and this week, I had very no pain after my run (which is getting longer as I get ready for an event), and no pain after lifting. I definitely recommend resistance training. Cross training is helpful too-I swim to keep up endurance, have some resistance, but no impact on my knees or feet.
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