Treating Running Injuries

I had a friend who was a physical therapist and liked to hang out with runners because they get injured so often.

When I was in law school a professor asked when does a problem become a legal issue? After many attempts to coax the answer from the class using the Socratic method, he finally had to suggest the answer. “A problem becomes a legal issue when a lawyer is asked to solve it. The same question brought to a psychiatrist is a psychiatric problem. If it’s asked of an architect it requires an architectural solution.

Think about that next time you have a running injury that needs medical treatment. If you consult a surgeon, they’ll recommend surgery. If a medical doctor who doesn’t practice surgery is selected, she’ll write a prescription for drugs. Take that same problem to a physical therapist and the solution is likely to be stretching and strengthening exercises. Take it to an acupuncturist and what do you think will be offered as treatment?

Next time a running injury requires medical treatment it might be wise to first take it to the least invasive practitioner who in your opinion has a reasonable chance of resolving the issue.

Health Quiz

photo credit: Curious Expeditions

The value of prevention is not only that you can avoid injury and illness, you’re not subject to medical mistake, which is a larger problem than you may think.

Here’s a website that rates your risk of getting cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and stroke.  While the site is owned by a respected hospital that may profit from these diseases there is no reason to believe that influences the quality of the information.

If you think you might be vulnerable to any of these problems, take the quizzes. They're a good way to learn what modern medicine currently deems important in lowering your chances of suffering from any one of these illnesses. 

Reducing your likelihood of getting sick has a huge hidden benefit. You eliminate the possibility of suffering the many problems caused by treating your illness or injury. 

Steering clear of modern  medicine may save your life. Doctors, like everyone else, make plenty of mistakes. While no one knows for sure how many people clip out each year due to medical errors, it has been estimated that around 250,000 die in the U.S . The estimate may be higher if you don’t like medical doctors and lower if you are one. In any case, if you’re in a hospital it’s discomforting to read headlines that state: “Doctors Are the Third Leading Cause of Death in the U.S.” 

 or "Medical Error Is The Fifth-Leading Cause of Death In The U.S."

Take the quizzes if you want to know how you might reduce your likelihood of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, stroke and iatrogenic  illness and death.

Traditional Running Stretches Don't Work

Admit it: Traditional stretching doesn’t work for you, me or most runners. The standard stretches recommended for runners are ineffective and often harmful. They don’t reduce our likelihood of injury. They don’t help us run faster. They don’t even feel good. Why not try something that does?

Ninety percent of runners don’t stretch after running, and feel guilty about it. Forget the guilt, if you don’t stretch it’s probably because your body is aware, even if your mind is not, that these classic running stretches are a waste of time.

A few runners do need these stretches. Their bodies require them, and they should continue them. The remaining 90% should lose their guilt and try something that's effective.

Thirty Years of Failure
For more than 30-years runners have been told that a handful of classic running stretches prevent running injuries. They’ve been told wrong. There is no persuasive evidence to suggest that these running stretches prevent injury. In fact, it’s more likely that they cause injury.

Not Simple
Runners have been told that these stretches are simple to do. It just ain’t true. To stretch a muscle as prescribed by the advocates of these stretches is anything but simple. It requires precision that most of us will never master. First you have to identify the muscle or muscle groups that need stretching, and then apply just the right intensity for just the right amount of time to get the right benefit. There are more than 600 muscles in your body so identifying the precise muscle you need to stretch is not easy. Then delivering the stretch to that specific muscle with just the right intensity and timing takes training, skill, and luck. These traditional stretches cause most runners more pain than pleasure, more harm than good.

Stretching Can be Dangerous
The advocates of traditional stretching usually warn if the stretch is not performed correctly it does little good and may be harmful. According to stretching authority Bob Anderson, author of the classic book Stretching, “Improper stretching is worse than no stretching at all and leads to injuries.” (p.173) He goes on to conclude that most runners he’s witnessed “do it completely wrong.”

Running Coaches Warn Against Stretching
For most runners, the classically recommended running stretches are either dangerous or unnecessary. The great running coaches, of whom I’m aware, warn their runners against stretching. Arthur Lydiard said stretching was unnecessary, believing that runners naturally stretch their legs while running, especially when running hills, and did not need special stretching routines. Frank Shorter echoed this theme when I was training with him last year.

Mark Allen’s coach, Phil Maffatone, suggested that stretching did runners more harm than good. Runner and coach Jeff Galloway believes that stretching is the third biggest cause of running injuries. He says he hasn’t stretched in 20-years and feels no ill effects (See page 152 of Galloway’s Book on Running, 2nd edition ).

Reducing Injuries
What are traditional running stretches good for? Increasing range of motion. Most running injuries have nothing to do with range of motion. They’re invariably overuse injuries caused by weakness in the muscle tissue not inflexibility. If you want to reduce your chances of getting injured, make your muscles stronger not more flexible.

If you want to stretch to reduce your chances of getting injured, combine it with strengthening as in yoga and Pilates. Because practitioners of these disciplines strengthen their muscles while they stretch them, these practices will reduce your likelihood of injury.

A Better Way
There is a better way to stretch. It’s simple to learn, and easy to do. It will reduce your likelihood of injury. It feels good. And it will help you run faster. It's called trigger point therapy. I've written a couple of article on them. If you want to learn more click here and here.