INJURY CORNER!

Post your aches, pains and injuries here!

Tammy mentioned looking fior the right kind of ice pack for a knee -- it's in your freezer-- A bag of peas or corn!

Steve mentioned using a rolling pin on his sore legs -- have you ever seen "THE STICK" -- it is made just for that. Check out: http://www.thestick.com/. [thestick.com] It works!

Also, know that Running Times Magainze (where Jane and I used to work) has a pretty good injury section on line: http://runningtimes.com/Channel.aspx?CategoryID=6 [runningtimes.com]

Good luck!!

I should have said that! I don't encourage injuries - but sometimes it is nice to share with some people that can relate! or at least understand why you would continue to run that extra 4 miles when your foot was killing you! :wink:

Edited Tue Sep 9th 2008 2:35 am by Alicia ONeill

I started running in January with a couple of running partners who have been running for about 8 years. I gradually increased my mileage and was doing a pretty good job keeping up with the 30-35 miles per week....that is, until one 13 mile run when I noticed a pain on the outside of my left knee which I attributed to running on one side only of sloped country roads. I took 2 days off and tried to run again -- 6 miles into an 8-miler I had more pain and tried to run through it. I ended up taking 3 weeks off running the first of July (panicking, becuase we have a marathon to train for!!) but I kept in shape by cross-training on the elliptical. Looking back, I think my injury was due to overtraining.

I went ot a sports med doctor who recommended icing, stretching, and Naproxin 500mg BID x 10 days and as needed; and I also did some research on my own. Here's what I found to be helpful:

1. I realized I was a BEGINNER runner and those BEGINNER marathon training programs pertained to ME...so I started following Tom Holland's Beginner program. While my weekly mileage is much less than when I was trying to keep up with my running friends, it is now more structured and allows for adequate rest time and gradual mileage building. I've been following this program to the T -- so far, so good.
2. REST days are for RESTING, your body builds strength on these days.
3. Listen to your body. When it says stop, then stop. When something hurts, it's your body's way of telling you where the weak spots are. Pay attention. I made the mistake of trying to push through the pain when I sould have rested.
4. Keep balanced: Lift weights! (See Tom Holland's program)
5. Stretch! Visit www.howtostretch.com/iliotibi.htm for IT band and external hip stretches.
6. ICE: Even better than frozen peas, I use the KAZ SmartTemp Hot and Cold Therapy pack. I got it at Wal-Mart in the pharmacy section. It's a gel-pack that's about 8 x 14" - stays pliable when frozen, and is the perfect size for wrapping around a knee! (I use ace-wrap to hold the ice in place.) If you need a warm compress, you can heat this in the microwave. (I have a photo of this and my rolling pin in my blog, "Marathon for Mom" on realbuzz.com.)
7. Rolling pin -- AHHHH! You'll get instant feedback when you find a tight spot!
8. Stay positive: Let's face it, being sidelined for an injury is depressing! (I missed the Flying Pig half marathon because of a shin muscle pull -- again, overtraining!) Injuries heal, so try to be patient and know your body will mend itself. In the meantime, look at your training log and try to figure out the source of the problem and try to fix it.

Hope some of this might be helpful to someone.

I've got an injury that is making me nervous. It hurts to run, but there is no way I am backing out of this. If have my left foot flat on the ground and I lift the front of my foot or even just my toes off the ground, I feel pain in the tendons on top of my foot as they go into the lower leg. I only have 5 training runs left. I fought thru shin splints, and I am thinking of doing the same here. Anyone else experience anything like it?

Steve,

Sorry to hear your shin is giving you problems! Injuries can be very frustrating, especially with a race just around the corner...

In April of this year I had a similar problem when I was in training for the Flying Pig marathon (May 2nd). A few weeks before the race while 6 miles into a 10-miler, my shoelace suddenly felt like it was was too tight. It felt odd, but I kept running for another 1/4 mile or so, and then my lower shin/upper foot started burning - maybe cramping? I stopped and stretched, but the pain didn't go away. I continued running through the pain (BIG mistake - should have called hubby to pick me up and drive me home) for another 4 miles. I think this is what did me in.

When I got home I iced it, but even the weight of the ice on my injury was painful. For several nights it hurt when I rolled over in bed, and I couldn't wear flipflops or sandals because it hurt when I raised my big toe up with my foot flat on the ground. It hurt to walk, and going up/down stairs were out of the question. I was afraid I had a stress fracture, so I went to a sports clinic for eval. The PT was pretty sure it was a soft-tissue injury (vs. broken bone) and told me to REST it until it no longer hurt. Then I could begin gradual stretching and later strengthening excercises with a thera-band he provided. I also went to a massage therapist which didn't do much good because I was in so much pain she could only apply fingertip pressure... I was devastated because the Flying Pig was only 3 weeks away. I ended up not running in it, partly becasue it was still a little sore by then but mostly because I didn't want to jeopardize my chances of running in the Chicago marathon.

Prevention? I think mine was a newbie overtraining problem. My calves were tight and probably pulled against my weaker shin muscles, causing them to work too hard and become injured. Now I strength train and keep up with my stretching, and I'm always careful about stopping if I have moderate pain vs. trying to run through it.

That said, here's what I'd suggest, if I may:
1) Keep your foot/ankle/lower shin in an ace wrap. This will compress the area to keep down swelling and will also aid in your comfort since it will keep that foot stable.
2) Ice as often as you can, but no more than 20 min at a time since this can have the opposite of the desired effect (i.e. blood rushing to a frozen body part causing inflammation).
3) Take advil / naproxen -- a multivitamin won't hurt, either (antioxidants E and C will help rid your system of free rads) -- for a few days even after it feels better to keep inflammation at bay.
4) REST - don't run. This means until the morning of the marathon. Please don't try to run through the pain, because I think doing so actually made my injury much worse.
5) (This is the hard one) Keep your dobber up and know that you are prepared for this race. All the miles you need to run 26.2 are in the bank, and not a single mile more or less between Oct 12 with make any difference in your ability to run the marathon. You've done all the work, now sit back, try to relax, and let your body do what it's supposed to do on the taper: heal itself!

By all means, get to the doc if you need to go. I very highly recommend Dr. Marc DeJong of Southern Illinois Sports Medicine in Belleville, IL. (http://www.ilsportsdoc.com/index.htm). [ilsportsdoc.com] He's a runner himself so he can relate. I saw him for my ITBS and thought he was very thorough and helpful.

Down the road FYI: Are you strength training? See p. 139 in Tom Holland's "Marathon Method" for a good toe-raise excercise.

Keep us posted, Steve, and know that in the meantime I"ll be praying for your speedy healing!

Tammy

Tammy,

Thanks for the reply. Now that you describe your injury, it is exactly like mine. I thought it was because my laces were too tight. It doesn't hurt enough that I can't run, which makes it too tempting. I guess my biggest problem with not running is, aside from only missing one training run, I don't want lose any conditioning. It seems like we fight on nagging injury after another. The rolling pin doesn't work on this one though.

Nope, I tried the rolling pin on it, too and it didn't work for me, either! Just be wise -- don't do as I did and try to run because it might make it worse (did mine...). These last few runs don't really even count as training runs -- just those piddly little runs that help us blow off the cooties and soothe our anxiety!
If its any consolation, my right hamstring has been tightening up on me since beginning my taper. My 20-miler actually felt better than an 8-miler I did on Friday! I took the weekend off, guilt-free, and skipped the 6-miler I was supposed to do. I talked to Jane on the phone earlier and she said my body was pushed to its limit during the training and the taper is perfect timing...she also reassured me that all the miles are in the bank and I have everything I need to run (finish!!!) the marathon.

We'll do great! You'll be okay by race day, I just know it!
Tam