OT: Avoiding running injuries
 

I've noticed a few threads on running the last little while, so I thought I'd pick the brains here.

I *love* running, but for the past couple of decades every time I attempt to start any regular running regimen after a couple of weeks I end up with a painful calf strain that takes 4 weeks to heal. I got into cycling because of this, but just because I enjoy riding a bike doesn't mean I still wouldn't love to be able to run injury-free.

For those of you who bike and run, how do you avoid injury like calf strains? I've googled the topic, but the info I've found so far only contains vague recommendations to stretch and warm up. Hey, I stretch, I warm up, I still get injured. Does the smart, educated, athletic crowd here have some more specific advice?

running
 

running over extends the muscles and tendons while cycling does the opposite
i.e you don't fully bring your leg into its full length while cucling
Need to see trainer who knows how to be prepared to do both

You should make an appointment with a PT or trainer instead of hitting up the forum.

Here's my recommendation: Matt Stodolsky

Run really slowly for awhile and eventually the rest should follow. People tend to overboard too quickly and end up with injuries. Maybe pick up a jumprope to strengthen your calves.

I easily avoid running injuries by avoiding running.

Start small
 

D,

As someone who's relatively in shape from cycling, you're probably going too hard/too fast/too long for someone starting out running. Try to dig up a training schedule that's targeted towards a complete beginner and use that as guideline for your running -- while continuing your cycling as appropriate.

I know that I've done similar things and that I have to be more careful than I would figure when I get back into running again.

Good luck,
Mark.

dgauthier,

I have been an avid runner my entire life. It has been my experience, every time I suddenly increase either the distance, frequency, or speed of my running workouts, I will suffer from an injury. Usually, the onset of the injury lags 2-3 weeks after the sudden ramp-up of my running load. I suspect the reason you keep getting injured is that you never fully acclimate your body to running and gradually build-up your running fitness. You get motivated, begin an aggressive running program, increase the distance, frequency, or speed of your runs too suddenly, and then you get injured. Stop, rinse, repeat. This cycle is very common for new runners. I humbly suggest you build up your running fitness gradually. Slowly increase your distance, frequency of runs, and speed. Let your body adapt to running, very slowly. You want to build a solid foundation. In the long term, you will be a much stronger runner, with less injuries, with this approach. Just my two cents.

You're getting golden advice here.

A common problem with cyclists starting running is that their cardiovascular condition exceeds their specific tendon/muscular condition. The good news is that the main thing you have to do is get this specific capacity up to par, i.e. your calves. Luckily this build up of specicfic capacity is relatively fast as long as you keep running, at least that is my experience. As others have said you need to build up slowly, decrease your pace, and also consider running on forgiving surfaces such as trails vs asphalt which can exacerbate injury.

If the strains are usually on the same side, you have some imbalance causing muscle hypertonicity. It is really easy to strain muscles that are already tight for some reason. In my applied kinesiology chiropractic practice I see this every day. Leg muscle imbalances almost always come from one or a combination of factors, including instability of the ankle; instability of the tibia/fibula, which stretches the sciatic nerve shutting off various big important muscles like hamstrings and glutes; instability of the sacroiliac joint which inhibits gluteus maximus, causing atrophy there and further destabilizing the SI joint, a vicious cycle and which leads to overcontraction of piriformis, aggravating the sciatic nerve and all the muscles of the leg; and a big often undiagnosed one, iliopsoas tightness, which upsets pelvic girdle balance as well as compressing the lumbar spine causing lumbar irritation, leading to leg imbalances. All these usually lead to chronic calf muscle tightness, making them very easy to strain.

The key is regaining and maintaining stability of the various joints, regaining muscle balance, and removing nerve irritation where it exists. The instabilities I find are very often from old injuries years or decades ago that never really healed; but just stopped hurting. Broken bones heal to as strong as before the break; sprained joints just stay unstable. And muscles develop adhesions when they're hypertonic for even a couple of weeks. So in addition to finding and fixing the reasons for muscle imbalances, the muscles need massage and myofascial work to erase some or most of the adhesions and trigger points.

Trying to run with a set of leg muscle imbalances is risky. Especially as we age. I am a big proponent of walking. A lot of what I do is get patients stable and balanced so they can walk properly, and that means with long enough strides to activate the glutes and stretch the iliopsoas and hamstring muscles, as well as with upper body rotation during the stride bringing the opposite shoulder forward to twist the spine and ribcage with each step. Walking like this re-integrates the entire neuro-musculoskeletal system. Walking without the upper body rotation leads to further imbalances. I have a bunch of older runners who have benefited quite a bit by walking properly before and after their runs; sometimes during for marathons.

A couple of key signs to look for are pronation in one or both feet, where the ankle falls inward; one butt cheek smaller than the other indicating atrophied glutes on that side; tightness in one or both sides low back muscles-quadratus lumborum.


Steve

Is your preferred running route hilly? If so, try to pick a flatter route or run the hills more slowly. The hills (up and down) will put a lot more strain on the calf.

Walk on your toes forward and backwards to strengthen the calf. Try 10 or 15 yards.

Heel drops on a stairs to stretch out the achilles.

Get a shoe with a little more heel. The barefoot style shoes are not for everyone. You might want to try a ASICs KAYANO with 9mm. The shoe seems a bit clunky, but is robust.

Definitely stretch out the achilles on stairs. Make sure you hold on to railings so no chance of slipping and cause an injury.
I would also see a good sports Podiatrist or Chiropractor who could evaluate you for orthotics. If you are a severe pronator or have an extremely high arch you will continue to battle calf injuries.
Upon heel strike the foot needs to go into a natural movement where it transfers the impact across the metatarsals for push off. With pronators the weight is all concentrated to the 1st metatarsal so the foot arches collapse, causing the achilles to bow pulling the gastocs (calf) with it. A good indicator if you are a pronator is a callous formation under the ball of the big toe.
This injury is less of a problem on the bike because you are not weight bearing and their is no impact.

This^^

There is a great deal of very good info from rockdoc. His explanation closely matches my experience. Odds are, there are underlying imbalances and restrictions in your body. If you can find a good, holistic chiro, PT or massage therapist near you who really understands athletes, get thee to them. I'd bet they could help a lot. As athletes we tend to believe our willpower can overcome anything. But our bodies, and old injuries, often disagree. Good luck!;)

Go and see a pro about this before you start. Running is great, but has lots of variables too: shoes, running surface, your body.

Lots of good advice here. I agree that the most important thing is to avoid going overboard. The rule of thumb I hear thrown around is to increase your distance by no more than 10% each week. Doing so requires discipline because after participating in cycling, 4 or 5 miles seems short. You must start slowly in order to build up muscle strength and prevent injuries.

I've started running this year for a few different reasons. It was a tough transition and continues to pose some challenges. I have a plantar fibroma that I am trying to work around at the same time, so I have spent some time with the podiatrist and a pretty knowledgeable guy at the running store. What I have noticed most is what has been alluded to earlier. I need to spend a lot of time focusing on stretching, primarily my calves and a slow methodical build was important. I started running really slow. Breathe through the nose slow and am just starting to up the tempo to a more rhythmic pace. The guy at the running store and my wife who is a runner also emphasized running form. I was running really up and down in this plodding type manner when I should have been running lower to the ground and more elliptical in nature. That has helped with the impact of running. The experiment continues.