Preventing Injuries While Getting in Shape for the Summer
By Andre Heletsi, DPT
Beginning
a sporting activity has been shown to be beneficial
in improving an individual’s cardiovascular
conditioning, increasing overall fitness, reducing
obesity, reducing risk for cardiovascular disease
and reducing other chronic health problems.
During the spring and summer
months we often see an influx of individuals trying
to take charge of their health and fitness with the
goals of preventing disease and getting their bodies
ready for the beach. The most popular of all activities
seems to be running or jogging.
Running is a activity that
can be quickly implemented into a busy schedule and
it has the benefit of improving overall physical conditioning.
However, running has been shown to be the cause of
many injuries; some research studies report the rate
of injuries to be as high as 19.4% to 79.3% (van Gent,
Siem, van Middelkoop, et al) involving the lower extremities.
The lower extremity that is
most frequently injured is the knee so the goal of
this article is to give the reader some guidelines
that will help prevent injuries to novice and elite
runners and athletes.
When initiating running, having
the correct footwear is important in preventing injuries
to the lower extremities. It is often seen in clinical
practice that improper footwear can be related to
injuries of the ankles, knees and hips. Choosing the
right shoe for the unique make of your foot is important.
For example, a neutral shoe would be good for an individual
who does not overpronate (flat feet). This shoe typically
has a higher arch and provides cushioning and shock
absorption. An individual who overpronates will likely
benefit from a stability shoe that will support and
stabilize the arch of the foot.
Your local running store should
be able to advise you accordingly if you have no idea
on the type of foot you have and/or the type of shoe
you need.
If you have a history of foot
related pain prior to running it is advisable that
you consult with a health professional such as a Physical
Therapist or Podiatrist in the case that special orthotics
may be required.
How far do I run? Another frequent
question asked.
It has been shown in research
that running greater that 64km per week leads to increased
risk for lower extremity injury (van Gent, Siem, van
Middelkoop, et al). Again, running stores and magazines
such as Runner’s World give training schedules
with the focus on preventing injury while improving
performance.
It is important to make incremental
steps in the progression to your running program.
For example, running one minute and walking 1-2 minutes
maintaining a moderate workload. Your workload can
be calculated by monitoring your heart rate using
the equation (220 – your age x percentage of
workload targeted). For example if you are 30 years
old targeting 70 percent of your max heart rate your
equation will be (220 – 30 x 70) which will
give you a target heart rate of 133 beats per minute.
Generally working between 60-80 percent of your maximal
heart rate ensures that you are working to maximize
your cardiovascular fitness.
Stretching has limiting evidence
that it may assist in the prevention of lower extremity
injury. It has been shown in research that dynamic
stretching (uses speed of movement, momentum and active
muscular effort to bring about a stretch) prior to
activity improves performance especially in those
sports that require quick movements such as soccer
and basketball. Static stretching (passive stretching
of muscle) has been shown to be useful after exercise
when the muscles are warmed up; this provides increased
muscle length providing muscle balance and reducing
joint compression. Static stretching should be held
for at least 30 seconds. The muscles that should be
stretched are those that are going to be used for
your workout and those that have been used during
your work out. For runners, the quadriceps, hamstrings,
hip flexors, calf muscles and glut muscles should
be the muscles of focus.
Another valuable factor that
needs to be taken into consideration when running
is the importance of taking breaks from running to
avoid overuse injuries. Run every other day instead
of everyday. Furthermore, cross training should be
implemented in order to gain strength and utilize
other musculature. Cross training can include the
elliptical, weight lifting, swimming and interval
training at the track. Cross training is not limited
to this list; other types of sporting activities can
be included in order to improve performance.
This article has mostly addressed
running, due to its prevalence; but a lot of the guidelines
here can be used in other sports as well. When performing
any sport you want to make sure you have the right
equipment, monitor your frequency, include cross training
and stretching. It is important also for those sports
that require ballistic movements that a warm-up and
dynamic stretching be performed in order to avoid
injuries. For those individuals who have not participated
in sporting activities in a while it is especially
important that these guidelines be followed in order
to avoid injuries of the lower extremities.
