How to run correctly - without pain in joints and tendons

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Don't go to extremes and learn to listen to your body.

Many runners, especially beginners and those returning to training after a long break, experience pain in their knees, hips and feet. The most common discomfort comes from overloading, and they can be easily avoided by choosing the right running volume and exercise intensity.

Below we will tell you how to do this in order to get only pleasure from training.

Find your adaptation zone and stay in it

Running Clinic, an organization that specializes in running injuries, told Mechanical Stress Quantification / The Running Clinic that the main cause of injury is lack of time to adapt.

When you run, bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments, cartilage and connective tissue undergo stress and adapt to it.

If the load is too much, pain appears during and after training, stiffness in the morning. If the stress isn't enough, the body doesn't need to adapt and it becomes weaker.

Adaptation: The Secret To Running Injury Prevention and Treatment / Matthew Boyd Physio explained this concept perfectly to a runner with kneecap pain. The last three weeks (let's call him Dima) was on vacation and almost did not run. His knees were not stressed and were getting weaker.

When the weekend was over, Dima remembered that he would soon have a marathon race, decided to catch up and ran 20 km. After that, his knee hurt.

The pain came because the 20km running put too much stress on his kneecap - more than it could handle. He endured a couple of days, and then went to the doctor.

The doctor explained to Dima that he needed to reduce the running volume, but not stop training. Because complete rest will further weaken the structures of the knee, and the right load will help you adapt to stress and become stronger.

Over the next few weeks, Dima ran four times a week and learned to listen to his body. The doctor advised him to stop running only if the pain gets worse during activity or gets worse the next day.

Thus, Dima found his own adaptive zone - activity that allowed his body to get used to stress, become stronger and more resistant to mechanical stress.

Gradually, the threshold of the adaptive zone increased, and Dima's patella could withstand more load than before.

After several weeks, Dima was already running 30 km and did not experience any discomfort in his knees.

Thus, your main task is not to fall out of your adaptive zone. Here are some tips on how to do it:

1. If you haven't run for a long time, moderate your ambition and alternate between walking and running. Here's a good plan for getting started.
2. Do not increase your training volume by more than 10% per week. For example, if this week you have run a total of 15 km, the next week you will be able to painlessly master 16.5 km.
3. Run regularly - 3-4 times a week. This amount of activity will allow your body to both adapt and repair.
4. Listen to your body and watch out for warning signs. If the pain in the joint is sharp and throbbing, does not go away within 2-3 days and is accompanied by fever and swelling, stop exercising and go to the doctor.

It should also be borne in mind that not all doctors are familiar with sports injuries and modern rehabilitation methods. Of course, this does not mean that you have to go for a run, ignoring the instructions. But if the surgeon in the clinic has forbidden you any physical activity, you should look for a sports physician-rehabilitation therapist and ask his opinion on this matter.

Don't change your running technique

Articles on proper running technique often advise placing your feet on the front rather than on the heel. Moreover, heel landings are called dangerous and unnatural. After reading this, you can rush to change your technique. And in the end, not only will you not get the benefits, but you will also earn a running injury.

One of the popularizers of ball landing was the famous British runner Gordon Peary, Olympic silver medalist and holder of five world records. He considered G. Peary. Run fast and without injury so that landing on your heel dissipates the energy and creates a strong shock wave that travels up the bones and ultimately leads to injury.

This opinion is supported by many runners, but not all. For example, the famous trainer Arthur Lydyard considered Garth Gilmore, Arthur Lydyard. Running with Lydyard. that landing on a pad overloads the muscles of the lower leg, and advised to descend to the outside of the heel with a gentle roll over the entire foot.

Landing on the forefoot is often favored by the fact that this is how barefoot people run. This means that our legs are "sharpened" for this. However, a study by Kevin G. Hatala, Heather L. Dingwall, Roshna E. Wunderlic. Variation in Foot Strike Patterns during Running among Habitually Barefoot Populations / PLoS One, Kenyan runners noticed that when moving at a comfortable pace, 72% of barefoot runners put their feet on the heel, and only 24% on the midfoot.

In 2020, a review was released by Laura M. Anderson, Daniel R. Bonanno, Harvi F. Hart. What are the Benefits and Risks Associated with Changing Foot Strike Pattern During Running? A Systematic Review and Meta ‑ analysis of Injury, Running Economy, and Biomechanics / Sports Medicine has 53 scientific papers on the topic, and scientists have not seen the benefits of landing on the forefoot for those accustomed to running from the heel. It didn’t increase the efficiency of running at any speed, and the risk of injury didn’t decrease.

Another meta-analysis noted Yilin Xu, Peng Yuan, Ran Wang. Effects of Foot Strike Techniques on Running Biomechanics: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis / Sports health that landing on the heel puts more stress on the knees, and on the ball of the ankle and Achilles tendon.

Thus, changing your running technique (especially without reducing your running volume) can overload muscles, ligaments and tendons that are not used to the new way of positioning the foot. And this can result in overload and injury.

Learn to identify your stress level

Your body's ability to adapt to stress depends not only on the amount of running training, but also on many different factors in everyday life:

• the quantity and quality of sleep;
• quality of food;
• the level of psychological stress;
• mood.

In an ideal world, you will always sleep 8 hours a day, eat healthy foods with the right percentage of macronutrients and vitamins, and beat stress through breathing and meditation.

But in life, you can get upset and offended, sleep four hours a night because of the heat or anxiety, dine on fast food or forget to eat, get depressed and hate your life.

The same Gordon Peary mentioned in his book that athletes and coaches must adjust the training process to the factors of everyday life.

If an athlete has a hard day at work or at school, the coach must reduce the amount of stress … Strict adherence to the planned program can throw the preparation back a week.

Gordon Peary Excerpt from the book "Run Fast and Without Injury"

By training "on paper", you run the risk of overestimating your ability to adapt and get injured. Therefore, go according to your program, but do not be afraid to make adjustments to it based on how you feel.

If you haven't gotten enough sleep today, are nervous, or haven't eaten anything since the morning, lower your running volume, or at least don't increase it until you recover.