6 Ways To Avoid Running Injuries

Running is a fantastic activity that can do wonders for your overall health and fitness but like all sports it can lead to injury if you overdo it. These simple tips should help you reduce the chance of a running injury and keep you on track for injury free running. Studies have shown that over an average year around 60 to 65% of all runners experience some kind of injury and these tips will help you avoid becoming one of them.

Use Good Shoes

This is a fairly obvious but important tip that will greatly improve your running experience and reduce your changes of injury. If you are planning on running on a regular basis then getting good shoes is an essential step to prevent injury and will make the running experience much more enjoyable. If possible buy a pair of good quality running shoes that you only use for exercising in. Ideally you want to get a new pair of shoes after running about three to four hundred miles.

Warm up

A good warm up session is important and you should spend about 5 minutes with some simple stretches to loosen up your muscles and get the blood flowing round your body. Start of slowly with a gentle jog to get your body warmed up before really getting down to some serious running.

Never run on an injury

Forcing yourself to run when injured will always do more harm than good and could lead to a more serious injury. Your body should always be given proper time to rest and recover when injured so be careful not to push yourself to hard. If you feel pain or discomfort then you should see this as your body’s way of telling you that you need more rest.

Back off when you are tired

Running when tired and exhausted is one surefire way to increase your chances of injury. If you feel like your running technique is slipping because you are tired then you should ideally back off until you can run with proper form. When we are tired we are much more prone to losing focus and using poor form which are major causes of exercise related injury.

Run on flat ground

If possible avoid uneven ground for running because it increases your likely hood of slipping or falling over. Find the best possible running surfaces you can to reduce your chances of a running relating injury.

Train with weights

Strength training can help reduce injury by developing your core muscle strength making you stronger and less prone to injury. As well as developing strong muscles, a good strength training program will improve your overall health and fitness and strengthen your joints.

I hope these tips will help keep your on track for an injury free running experience.