The purpose of this article is primarily to discuss injury prevention, as well as the appropriate management of running injuries, as well as other sports and activities that requires running. Runners, football players, basketball players, frisbee players are notoriously bad when dealing with injuries.



It's funny how most runners seem to take perverse pride in completing that marathon only 1 week after the hip replacement (carrying the crutches just in case), and with pneumonia, and with the left calf still niggling! They thought it is a heroic act.

Over time I hope to develop more articles that provide the necessary information that will hopefully lead to injury-free running. In the meantime, my friends are calling me from time to time asking what is the best advice I could give. As an athletic individual with experiences in various sports already (mostly extreme), I would say that it is still best to bring an ice pack all the time. A medical and emergency kit without an ice pack is like going to war without bullets.

On Applying Ice

Ice therapy (Ice, Compression and Elevation) is the key component of acute soft tissue injury, but little is known about the optimum duration of individual treatment sessions, the frequency of application or the length of the overall treatment program.

Take note of some new advice on the use of ice.

1. The most effective method is applying melted iced water through a wet towel for repeated periods of 10 minutes. Frozen gel packs and ice taken straight from the freezer may lead to tissue damage and even burns the skin if applied directly. And, since deep penetration of cold is fundamental in muscle tissue repairs, topical sprays can have little effect.

2. You should know this: the optimum skin temperature for reducing inflammation without causing cell damage is 10-15 degrees C.

3. It is better to use repeated ice applications than to use continuous ice applications. The former helps sustain reduced muscle temperature without compromising the skin and allows the superficial skin temperature to return to normal while deeper muscle temperature remains low.

4. Avoid rushing straight back onto the track or road following ice therapy, since reflex activity and motor function are impaired temporarily. Athletes are more susceptible to injury for up to 30 minutes following treatment.

Familiarity with Stress Fractures is also important. Stress fractures occur when an area is put under more stress than the bone can physically handle and endure. The body parts which are most vulnerable are the lower legs as well as feet and often in women it is usually the bones of the pelvis. I hope to develop an article for this soon.

In the meantime, it is also good to know some of the top running injuries. You can do your own research about the following for avoidance.

The BIG 5 - the five most common running injuries.

? Achilles tendonitis

? Runner's Knee - Chondromalacia

? iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome

? Plantar fasciitis

? Shinsplints