Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Injuries list

Honestly the major concern I now have for the marathon is the long list of small injuries and pains that are with me already too long.
I think it is the doom from the orthopedic who discouraged me from running saying that my legs were not suited...

A) sore achilles
- root cause: tight calves and too much running on hard surfaces
- not affecting my running at all, so I am not concerned. Sometimes I ice them when I remember about it..
I will strech more in the next 2 weeks.
- risk: very low
B) plantar fascitis, left foot
- likely due to increase in mileage and always running on hard surphaces + poor mobility of the ankle/calf
(Goes together with A) ).
- not many ideas on how to solve it: already got several suggestions here and there. I am a bit lazy about some of them. Anyway is not much paiful, apart sometimes nighttime
- action: massage + using shoes with support
- risk: low to moderate
C) right hip pain
- occured first while trying the new marathon shoes on a long run
- appears usually after 15km and does not go away. Stride is seriously affected.
- cause: the literature say some overuse + weakness in back muscles + inflammation of tissues + tighness in muscles
- action: I now make streching on the area and take Voltaren.
- risk: high... If it happens on race day, I am dead... I am really scared about it. Any suggestion welcome
(General suggestions on Internet and literature are: changing running surface, changing shoes, strenghen back muscles)

1 comment:

RICK'S RUNNING said...

Its hard for anyone to give advise on specific running injuries over the Internet but with over 15 years of running in my legs here are some things i've found useful,
good posture and running style go a long way to reduce and heal old injury problems;
1, run tall, pull yourself upwards from the pelvis so you feel 2 inches taller.
2, land under your center of gravity, on your mid foot with a relaxed foot and calf muscle.
3,lean your whole body slightly forward from the ankles.
4,concentrate on picking your heels off the floor not on landing.
5, use a wobble board at least once a week, work on balancing on one leg at a time [ great for improving strength and flexibility in feet, ankles and lower legs].
6, try and do some core training, a good program will greatly improve muscle balance and inner core strength leading to a good posture.
the hip pain you talk about is interesting as last year i started to get pain in my left hip after trying to change to faster leg speed and a shorter stride, my cure was to go back to my normal stride and the pain went away again!