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Advice


Before you Run

Clothing and Footwear
Warm-up and Stretching
Leading up to race day
Nutrition and Hydration
How to progress
Take It Easy
Setbacks and Injury
Motivation
Keep a Diary and Observe
Preparing for race day
Progressing from beginner to intermediate

Setbacks and Injury

Your running programme may be hindered from time to time by physical injury, which could range from an annoying niggle (such as a blister) to something more painful that requires the attention of a doctor or physiotherapist.

There are a number of key things to remember when you feel a pain:

  • Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is not quite right – so listen to the signs
  • Take a day off if you feel a niggle/injury coming on – give the body a chance to rest and recover, and see how it is in a couple of days
  • If the injury is still there and/or getting worse, seek specialist advice to get the cause of the pain correctly diagnosed and a treatment plan set out (which may simply mean more rest).

In the first instance you might like to visit your medical practitioner to have the pain checked out. If you feel it is a purely running related issue (such as a tight muscle for example) you may feel that a physiotherapist will be able to help. They should be able to perform some tests to diagnose the problem and to give you advice on a course of action to recover.

You will find sports physiotherapists advertising their services in your local business or sports services directory. Another good way to find one is by recommendation of a friend who plays sport, or from your local running club.

If you have to take some time off your training to recover from an injury (and all runners do from time to time), try to introduce some other aerobic exercise while you recuperate. What you will be able to do will depend on your injury, but options might include swimming, cycling on a stationary bike in a gym, using a rowing machine or simply walking. Any kind of exercise will be significantly better than doing nothing.

And remember, don’t rush back to your training programme too early following any sort of physical setback. Ensure your body is ready.

There is plenty of helpful advice on a variety of medical issues on the main IAAF site. Just follow this link:

www.iaaf.org/medical/manual/index.html