Busting 5-Myths for Runners and those New to Exercise!
As Sutcliffe & Co Insurance Brokers are the new headline sponsor for Worcester City Runs across the weekend of 13th-14th September, we are absolutely delighted to feature a guest blog by co-sponsor Worcester Physiotherapy Clinic, with key advice from Ryan Sneddon.
Whether you’re a seasoned runner or just starting on your running journey, this blog will give you a head start when trying to perform your best at Worcester City Runs this September.
Myth #1: Injury can be prevented!
Unfortunately, pain and injury are part of life (in fact, 85% of us will experience back pain at least once in our lifetimes!), and although we may be able to reduce the risk of injury, you will never be able to ‘prevent’ it.
Let’s simplify the causes of injury down to two factors:
- You overdid it! (or in other words, you didn’t have the capacity* to cope with the demands of the activity)
- Luck! (Incidents and accidents happen, unfortunately).
Your ‘capacity’ is made up of not just your physical health and fitness, but also things like your mental health, sleep quality, diet quality, immune health, etc. Although you may not be able to control your ‘luck’, you are able to control your capacity by leading a healthy lifestyle.
- Sleep less than 7 hours per night? You are 1.7 times more likely to experience an injury
- Consume less than 1g of protein per kg bodyweight per day? You’re not fuelling your body’s ability to heal and recover from daily activities.
- Stressed at home or work? Cortisol is our stress hormone, which can lead to increased injury risk.
- Sit for more than 5 hours per day? You’re more at risk of injury and illness.
Focus on making and accumulating small changes day-to-day, rather than going full-steam ahead with something new!
Myth #2: Road running is bad for your knees
Research tells us this is quite the opposite.
A 2017 study looking at the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in recreational running found that you were three times more likely to have knee osteoarthritis if you didn’t run, when compared to a recreational runner!
However, it’s still really important to start slowly with any new sport, to reduce the risk of any overuse injuries.
Myth #3: You must stretch before every run
Stretching isn’t always necessary before runs. Of all the warm-up methods, stretching is also probably the least beneficial due to it being static in nature.
Instead try anything that replicates the activities you want to do, that also gets you out of breath:
- Going running? Try some lunge walks, mountain climbers and some gentle jumps on the spot
- Going to the gym? Try performing the movement with less weight and slower to begin with.
Myth #4: Strength training will make you heavy (and waste running time!)
Although muscle is a heavy tissue, you’d need to have A LOT of it before it started to impact your running.
The better your power-to-weight ratio, the better a runner you’ll be. And to have power, you MUST have muscle.
I always advise runners to perform at least one strength-based training session per week to support their running goals.
I also suggest this to females who are over 45. This is one of the best things you can do to support your long-term bone health, which will, unfortunately, be impacted following menopause!
Strength training; it’ll not only make you faster, but it’ll keep you active for longer!
Myth #5: No pain, no gain!
Now, what’s required here is for you to understand the difference between fatigue and a genuine injury-related pain.
If your thighs are burning because they’re tired from running up a hill, then you can of course keep pushing!
But the knee pain that gets worse as the run goes on, makes you limp, and aches when you’re sitting at the dinner table later, is NOT a pain you should be tolerating.
If you find yourself carrying a couple of niggles in your training, try reducing how much you do to 70% of normal (e.g. run 3.5km instead of 5km, only exercise four times that week instead of six, etc).
Try to give your body the opportunity to heal and recover, and if things still aren’t improving after a week or 2, get in touch with Ryan Sneddon for a FREE 10-minute telephone triage call to discuss your symptoms and see how we can help!
Ryan Sneddon
Worcester Physiotherapy Clinic
www.worcesterphysiotherapyclinic.co.uk
Don’t let a niggle become a nuisance!
Whether you’re ramping up for race day or just starting your running journey, don’t ignore those aches and pains; they could be your body’s way of asking for help. Early advice can be the difference between powering through or pulling out.
Book your FREE 10-minute telephone triage call with Ryan Sneddon at Worcester Physiotherapy Clinic today. No cost, no pressure, just professional guidance to help you keep moving.
Click here to book now: www.worcesterphysiotherapyclinic.co.uk
