How to Prevent Wear-and-Tear Injuries as a Distance Runner

Exercise is something our bodies need for a variety of reasons, and getting the recommended amount can be a great benefit for your long-term health. We need about 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise on a weekly basis, and getting that amount (or more) can help improve our mood, limit weight gain, build muscle and strengthen bones, boost energy, and reduce the risks of chronic diseases.

Long-distance running is a way to achieve many of these health goals, but not doing it correctly can lead to unnecessary wear-and-tear on your muscles, bones, and joints. To get the exercise your body needs and reduce your risk of injury, let’s examine the common causes of wear-and-tear injuries, the types you will deal with, and what you can do to avoid them.

If you live in the Fort Worth, Texas, area and you’re trying to maximize your health with minimal risk to your joints, Dr. Joseph Daniels and his team at Southwest Orthopedic Associates can help.

Causes of wear-and-tear injuries

Repetitive stress, or repetitive motion disorder, is the general term for injuries that affect the soft tissue in your joints that can over time affect bones and make moving them more difficult. 

We perform the same tasks over and over again doing many different things, but through overexertion, awkward motion, incorrect posture,  and muscle fatigue, those actions can become painful, leading to wear-and-tear. 

This often happens in your neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers, and thumbs, but when running it’s more likely to affect your back, hips, knees, feet, and ankles. And with something as simple as running, it’s easier than you think to repeat the same motions incorrectly over and over, leading to these problems.

Types of wear-and-tear injuries

About 40 million people run on a regular basis to stay in shape, and with that routine also have an increased risks of injuries like:

• Patellofemoral syndrome (runner’s knee): this pain in and around your kneecap (patella) is often dull and can affect both knees, ranging from mild to terribly painful

• Achilles tendinitis: an inflammation of your Achilles tendon can lead to swelling, limited motion, a warm sensation, and dull pain

• Tibial stress syndrome (shin splints): this pain in your tibia (shinbone) can cause swelling, dull pain, and tenderness, and can develop into a stress fracture

• Stress fractures: hairline cracks in bone that form from repetitive stress or impact, causing bruising, swelling, tenderness, and pain that progressively worsens

• Plantar fasciitis: the degeneration of tissue at the bottom of your foot (fascia) that leads to burning sensations and pain after prolonged activity in your heel and midfoot

• Ankle sprain: the straining of the ligaments between the leg and ankle that causes discoloration, pain, bruising, and swelling, and can limit range of motion

Methods of prevention

Here are some basic tips for avoiding the complications of wear-and-tear injuries on your lower body from running:

Get the right footwear

Getting shoes that comfortably fit and support your feet can help with proper posture and avoid putting more strain on feet as you run. Also be sure to change them out regularly, about every six months if possible.

Flex before running

Stretching and flexing on a regular basis helps to keep muscles and tissue loose and limber, making running long distances a smoother experience that does less damage to the joints to reduce injury.

Get in some strength training

This will help your body build endurance, bone density, and muscle tone, which are all vital when running for long periods of time. But this should be done gradually, and you should rest to avoid overexertion.

Consult an expert

If you need answers on how to do things the right way when exercising, talk to people with expertise. With years of experience dealing with sports injuries, physical therapy, and a range of other related issues, we can offer plenty of help making sure you have the tools to exercise with little risk to your body.

Running is great for the body, but you need to know how to do it without wearing down your joints, muscles, and bones. Make an appointment with Dr. Daniels and Southwest Orthopedic Associates today to learn how to take care of yourself when running.