Run Well Juliet McGrattan (microsoft ebook reader TXT) 📖

strength you need. Take them off at night. Don’t massage the area in the first 72 hours as it may increase the swelling.

Elevate Injured tissues swell as fluid accumulates and this can cause pain. Let gravity help you and keep the injured area raised. This may mean putting your ankle up on a chair so it’s higher than your hip or wearing a sling for an injured wrist.

Use PRICE for three days, but if you aren’t getting relief, the pain and swelling is increasing and you suspect more than just a sprain or strain, then get a medical opinion.

Q What painkillers are best for runners?

A When rest and ice aren’t giving you enough relief then you can reduce pain with an analgesic (painkilling medication). The safest one to use is paracetamol. Most people don’t realise that paracetamol has some anti-inflammatory actions as well as directly reducing pain. The dose for adults over 50 kilograms is 1 gram (two of the 500 milligram tablets) up to four times a day. You should leave a minimum of four to six hours between doses and not take more than 4 grams (eight tablets) in 24 hours. There aren’t many medical situations where paracetamol is not advised, but they include liver damage from alcoholism, long-term liver disease and interactions with some epilepsy and cancer medications. It’s safe to take paracetamol on an empty stomach, making it a good choice for injuries during running when you may not have eaten for several hours.

The other common analgesics that you can buy over the counter are Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories (NSAIDs). The most frequently used is ibuprofen. NSAIDs mainly work by reducing inflammation, which is an effective way to reduce pain from inflamed and swollen tissues. However, there is now an opinion that using NSAIDs within 48 hours of an injury might slow down the healing process. The thinking is that the body intentionally activates inflammation to draw cells and fluids to the area to promote healing. Disrupting and preventing this may slow recovery. So paracetamol seems the best option in those first few days.

There are also quite a few cautions that need to be considered with NSAIDs. Check with your pharmacist or doctor whether you can use them if you have ever had stomach ulcers, allergy to aspirin, asthma (they can provoke an attack in some people), heart disease, kidney disease, inflammatory bowel disease, are breast feeding or are taking any medications that thin your blood, such as warfarin. You should not use ibuprofen if you are pregnant. The usual recommended dose is 200 to 400 milligrams three times a day. It’s best to avoid taking it on an empty stomach. Anti-inflammatories can also be given locally, through a cream or gel which is rubbed into the skin. This doesn’t reduce the risk of all side-effects or cautions, because the active ingredient is still absorbed into the bloodstream (see here).

Did you know?

Swelling after an injury isn’t all bad news. In the first 48 hours the body intentionally causes inflammation in the damaged area. The extra tissue fluids immobilise the joint and restrict its movement, which allows healing and protects it from further injury. The fluids are also packed with cells brought into the area to stop further bleeding from torn blood vessels, to remove waste products and debris, and to stimulate growth and regeneration.

Q Why do I keep getting injured?

A Are you one of those unlucky people who seems to move from one injury to another, doesn’t ever get a long stretch of training and has DNS (Did Not Start) recorded on multiple races? Is it all down to luck? Why do some people get injured all the time and others never seem to? There are multiple things to consider when it comes to recurrent injuries. Genetics and susceptibility to injury is one of them. We can’t change the genetic code that determines the exact make-up of our bones, tendons, cartilage and muscles. There are professional sports teams who do use genetic information to tailor individual training programmes, so who knows, in the future there may be similar options for recreational runners. In the meantime, and more importantly, there are many factors that we can change and influence to reduce the risk of recurrent injury. Here are some reasons why you might be repeatedly getting injured. It’s easy to see how you can correct each one:

• Returning too soon after injury Repair may take longer than you think and even when a muscle is pain free and functioning normally, it is still healing. Rushing back and picking up where you left off leaves you vulnerable to further injury. Be patient and take rehabilitation seriously.

• One thing leads to another Having an injury alters the way you run, walk and generally hold yourself. This can put strain on other parts of your body, making them injury prone. For example, a knee injury might result in a foot or hip injury on the other side of the body. Get significant injuries diagnosed and allow adequate recovery time.

• Ignoring niggles It’s tempting to just keep running. After all, you can’t stop with every little twinge. However, if you’re someone who always turns a blind eye to low-grade pain and aches then it’s sensible to listen to your body, take two or three days off and then return with a lower running intensity and distance to see if they persist. Get assessed if they do.

• Underlying weakness It might be that you have weaknesses in your body that aren’t apparent in everyday life, but when the extra load of running is added they become significant. This can result in poor running technique. Weak glute muscles from a sedentary lifestyle, for example, leave you at increased risk of multiple injuries, including Iliotibial Band Syndrome (see here). A physiotherapist assessment will pick up any weaknesses and can direct strength training.

• Inadequate warm-ups The jury is out on how much warming up influences injury risk, but if you’re someone who gets