Importance of Injury Recovery for Runners

When avid runners get injured, they often count down the days until they can hit the trail again. Once a runner has taken time to heal and rest, they’re running again as soon as possible. But how soon until another injury occurs?

Unfortunately, many runners rush to recover from an injury without taking the time to fully understand why they were injured in the first place. Actively recovering from an injury by working with a certified physical therapist helps reduce the risk of future injury, and ensuring you heal properly.

Risk of Repeat Injury

A recent study of 224 recreational runners with an average of 15km weekly running distance for the past 12 months looked at running-related injuries in each runner for one year. They found that 46% of those studied had running-related injuries. The most common anatomical locations were the knee (27% of injuries) and Achilles tendon/calf (15% of injuries).

The most concerning finding of the study is those who had previous injuries were twice as likely likely to be injured again, compared to runners with no previous injury.

Obviously, the only thing worse than an injury for a runner is another injury. So what can you do to reduce your risk and keep running injury-free?

How to Recover from Injury

The first, most obvious step, is to rest. Ice the injury if necessary. Avoid any excessive walking or strain on the injury.

The length of time you should rest before starting running again depends greatly on the type of injury. Consulting a doctor, or Oregon Running Clinic, is a good idea to ensure you don’t get started sooner than is safe.

After you’ve rested an appropriate amount of time, start slow. Give yourself a generous warm up, then slowly ease into running. Run for five to 10 minutes, and then check your body for pain. If you are pain-free, walk again for another five to 10 minutes. Add a small amount each time.

Don’t rush your recovery to try and get back to where you were pre-injury. This will only slow down your recovery and increase your risk of getting injured again. Take your time.

How to Avoid Injury

After you’ve recovered, always take precautions to reduce your risk. Remember to warm up and cool down, stretch, wear a good pair of running shoes, vary the terrain you run on, listen to your body and stop if something doesn’t feel right.

Another way to avoid future injury is to help determine what caused the injury in the first place. Your running technique may be causing unnecessary strain on your muscles or bones. If you continue to injure the same part of your body - the Achilles tendon, for example, seeking a consultation with a physical therapist is an excellent idea.

Here at Oregon Running Clinic, we use the Functional Movement Screen to determine how your body moves. We’ll be able to see where you may favor one leg over another, or other abnormalities that may be increasing your risk of injury. We also provide gait analysis to achieve similar results.

It’s easy to establish bad habits as a runner, especially if you’ve never worked with a coach. By taking time to recover properly, and retrain your body to run in a way that is healthier on your muscles and joints, you can reduce your risk of future injury and keep training for that next race.

Contact us for physical therapy to recover from your running injury today.