Running is an excellent choice for physical and mental development, as it keeps one healthy, relieves stress, and is a strong booster of self-esteem. If you’re a runner, you know your body can bear a heavy toll.
From runner’s knee to shin splints, an injury can ruin your workout or worse— it can knock you out during the first leg of a match you’ve spent months practicing for. But you can help stack the odds for your favor.
Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, more than half of all runners have sustained at least one injury per year. Really there is no good reason for this phenomenon. Injuries happen when the physical stress is too much to bear at that moment for your body. The human body is great in responding to stress but only when the stress is delivered in small doses.
Runners drive themselves, yet just because you’re pushing your body hard, it doesn’t mean injuries are an unavoidable hurdle to overcome. You can avoid most running accidents with proper care and diligence.
Precautions you can take to prevent injuries
Running is great. If you start your day with a small jog or run, it is sure to make you more productive throughout the day. Running offers you peace of mind and enables you to leave your worries behind. But like all other forms of exercise, running can cause injuries. So, here are some precautionary steps you should take to make your daily runs more enjoyable.
Carefully choose your running shoes:
Your shoes are definitely your best running buddies. People who have done their research about this know how important your running shoes can be and how different types of shoes serve different purposes. Running can be your morning run in the park or an extremely competitive sport, which is why there are so many varieties of it
There are shoes for running on pavement, for rough terrain, and for trail running. Then there are shoes that better support flat feet, cushioned shoes, lightweight shoes, and so many more variations.
It is best to take your time and do your research for your perfect pair, and you should also always try it on and see how it fits. Having the right fit for the right terrain offers you better balance and pace in return for decreasing your chances of unwanted injuries
Put on socks to keep moving:
When toes are exposed to prolonged moisture, there is a chance for foot fungus to develop. Foot fungus grows in places that can be warm, dark, and moist, which is exactly what the environment inside of your shoe can become. One of the very best approaches to prevent foot fungus is to wear socks whenever you wear shoes. This will assist in keeping your feet dry.
Keeping the feet smooth will also help because it will dispose of any microorganisms and dead skin, which can potentially lead to an infection. Infections can later become injuries. So taking care of your toes is a must.
Warming up:
Warming up prevents injuries. It helps you loosen up your joints and enhances blood flow for our muscular tissues, making our muscular tissues less prone to getting ripped, torn, or twisted in a harmful manner.
Stretching additionally helps put together our muscular tissues for the physical sports we are about to perform. We can prevent sudden and unwanted injuries by warming ourselves up before running.
The warming up session can include high kicks, squats, shoulder roll, hip rotations, and some stretching. This helps you in loosening your joints and muscles.
If they are too stiff while running you won’t be able to run properly. Freeing and loosening your joints can help you run better and prevent injuries as well.
Start slowly and build up the pace:
Running is an amazing exercise. It is a good way to stay in shape and also increase endurance, stamina, strength, and even muscle, but you will not achieve all that just by running one or two days. It will take time. You cannot rush the process. If you are completely new, then start slowly.
Don’t go overboard, completely exhaust yourself, go ballistic, and try to run faster than you have ever before on your first tries. That does not help at all and on the downside makes you prone to injuries as well. Make a routine or target you want to achieve.
For example, for week one, run a total of eight miles. Then for week two, run ten miles, and for the next week increase it a bit more.
So start slow and build your way up. Start at a slow pace and gradually increase your speed.
Take some time off:
Pay attention to what your body tries to say to you. This is a very important part. Taking proper rest is essential as it helps your body stabilize after a hard physical workout. Running too much without rest can give you cramps. Sometimes your lower body parts may hurt, including your calves and glutes. If you continue to run regularly instead of listening to your body then, that might just cause more trouble for you and cause injuries.
So it’s okay to take proper rest and take rest even in between runs. It actually helps in increasing your stamina instead of burning you out.
Maintain a routine:
We have mentioned the importance of proper rest, taking a break in between runs or even taking a day or two off to relax your muscles. But prolonged waiting can also do harm for you. For instance, suppose you can run 4-5 miles at a stretch and you have become accustomed to it.
Suddenly you let your routine go and take it easy for weeks. The next time you decide to run your previous record, not only will it be hard, but you might get cramps or worse, trip from exhaustion and get bruised.
Most of the exercises have similar patterns. Don’t go overboard with your routine; listen to your body’s needs and stay focused. While running is fun and extremely beneficial, not being careful can also leave you with a nasty bruise. Follow the precautionary steps we have mentioned, enjoy the best form of exercise, and run to your heart’s content.