Injury prevention is an extremely crucial subject, all the more, if you’re training for longer distances, like for a half or a full marathon. There are many reasons as to why runners might get injured. Common reasons include an inadequate warm up or cool down, overheating, inadequate hydration, muscle weakness, training too hard or too soon, inadequate flexibility, advanced age, improper shoes and incorrect biomechanics.
Here are some ways, you can prevent the incidences of injury...
- To warm up or cool down, stretch out well, while doing some limbering and whole body moves.
- As you’ll steadily be depleting your water content, keep replacing the lost fluids regularly. This will go a long way in preventing you from becoming overheated.
- The body needs preparation time to adapt to the training and to really work at it’s peak. Allow it that time and space. Training too much, too soon, and too fast are all common mistakes invariably leading to injury. Be the tortoise; not the hare. Gradually increase your weekly and monthly running capability.
- Work on your overall flexibility via regular stretching which will go a long way in ensuring keeping you injury free.
- Invest in a good pair of running shoes. This is vital.
- Good locomotor skills and the mechanics of movement is important in ensuring ease of motion and in keeping you injury free.
- Listen to your body! It talks to you! Most injuries don’t crop up out of nowhere and take you clean off guard. There are prior signs and symptoms such as aches, pains, soreness and stiffness. Listen and take appropriate action to rectify the same. Don’t try to just ‘run through’ the pain!
- Know your limits. Once you exceed them, you’ll get injured.
- The muscles of your core, hips and legs must be kept strong. Add in some form of strength or resistance training into your pre-marathon training in order to ensure this.
- Be regular. Sporadic spurts of training interspersed with long periods of nothingness won’t do you any favours in the long run (pun intended!).
(The writer has trained, taught and certified in America as a fitness professional by American Council on Exercise and International Dance Exercise Association. She founded Body Art, the Fitness Centre in 1992. For more information, log onto www.bodyart.in)
