What Runners Should Avoid

As a runner, there’s probably nothing more frustrating than sustaining an injury, especially when you run daily. So, when it comes to recuperating, you need to know when it’s more than an overuse injury. Here’s a few things runners should never do after an injury.

Ignoring the Pain

Running injuries can range from minor to downright debilitating. In fact, even something as simple as a pulled muscle can be excruciating. If you sustained injury and the pain doesn’t resolve with rest and time off from running, you need to seek medical attention. Far too often, runners shrug off injuries, which leads to either reinjury or sustaining another injury because the prior didn’t have enough time to heal.

Running in Pain

In addition to not allowing enough time for recovery, it’s not uncommon for runners to hit the open road too soon. Even if the pain is subsiding, you still need to wait until your injury is completely healed. Certain injuries, like an Achilles tear or tendinopathy, flare up once you start moving. So even if you feel great the first few minutes, you can develop severe pain while in motion.

Trying to Self-Diagnose

Unless you’re a doctor, you really can’t diagnose your ailment. A lot of high-impact injuries have similar symptoms, which means you could exacerbate your symptoms if you underestimate the extent of the pain. If that occurs, you could end up needing surgical intervention. Even small tendon tears can require surgical correction, so you’ll need a way to move from location to another in your home. If this turns out to be the case, and your home is multi-level, you may want to consider a home lift. Having domestic lifts by Stiltz can aid in your recovery by helping you move easily between floors. In addition, installing a home lift can also increase resale value if you choose to sell your home.

Having Sport Massages

Unless you know your injury is only muscular and not needing intervention, you really need to avoid getting or giving yourself a massage. Tiny tears in your calf or hamstring can become major if too much force is applied. If you’re waiting to see your doctor and are looking for pain relief remedies, try elevating your leg, apply ice with alternating heat and take a pain reliever.

Skipping Physical Therapy

If your doctor recommends physical therapy, you need to go and complete the course. Physical therapists can help you strengthen the injured limb and teach you ways to avoid reinjury. Unless you are completely free of pain, you should take advantage of PT and the advice from your therapist.

Overstretching

Is it possible to stretch too much? Believe it or not, stretching can be a bad thing, especially if you have a healing injury. As important as it is to be limber, you also need to avoid putting excessive stress on the affected limb. Start slow and gradually build up to full stretching over time. Give yourself enough time to fully recover prior to resuming your regular routine.

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