Five Tips For Distance Running
Distance running can be a fun way to challenge yourself, improve your fitness or relieve stress. It can also be the cause of injuries if training is not completed correctly. With further distances, it becomes more and more important to look after your body and ensure you stay fit and healthy for the next run. Below are five quick tips to keep those legs ticking over.
Common Running Injuries
Running is a great way to stay in shape, manage stress and increase your overall health, however, it’s not without its drawbacks. While being a low-risk activity, there are a few injuries that commonly affect runners. As running is a repetitive impact activity, most running injuries develop slowly and can be difficult to treat. Here we discuss three of the most common conditions faced by runners.
Focus On High Ankle Sprains
A high ankle sprain can occur when you twist inwards while your foot is planted on the ground. The foot is typically pushed back and rotated outwards, putting excess pressure on the ligaments that the lower leg bones together. This force can cause the syndesmosis to tear resulting in a gapping of the two bones, which can lead to significant instability of the ankle. This can happen from every-day activities such as a fall, but most commonly while playing sports that involve running and jumping.
Are You Suffering From Plantar Fasciitis?
Plantar Fasciitis is characterised by pain and inflammation in the thick band of tissue that connects your heel to your toes, known as the plantar fascia. Symptoms often include sharp pain in the heel or arch, especially in the morning or after long periods of rest. It can make walking or standing for extended periods quite challenging.
Sever’s Disease
If you’re a young basketballer/netballer/footballer and have heel pain when playing basketball or sports involving running or jumping, you may have a particular growth pain disorder called Sever’s Disease. It is a condition (not a disease) usually affecting 9-15-year-olds that occurs at the back of the heel, where the Achilles tendon attaches to the foot.
