‘Hurt’ is a word with a number of meanings and variations but its safe to say that not too many people conjure up positive thoughts or images when reflecting on the word. This is especially the case with endurance athletes, most notably runners. Being hurt means not being able to run in a manner in which we enjoy. We’re either slogging through a painful run with every thought focused on the discomfort or worse, having to ‘rest’ which is a concept we’re not all that good at. Being out of action has a negative affect on our thoughts and emotions which like it or not, has a domino affect on our jobs, relationships and sense of well being.

I’d like to focus on the word ‘hurt’ as a verb…”my knee hurts”…”my achilles is hurting”. While there’s nothing great about these issues, there is a positive to be found here. Think of this situation as your body’s “check engine” light. You’re out there on a workout or in a race when X starts to hurt. Something is going on which your body isn’t happy about and thats how it tells us. Its the proverbial ball-is-in-our-court stage and how we address it determines to a large degree whether we end up on the side line or simply make some adjustments and get on with things.

Whenever something pops up in the form of an ache or pain, its time to do a personal assessment. The first thing I do is focus on my shoes. How many miles have I put in my current pair is my first thought. Very often, when shoes begin to break down, a little ache or pain pops up. If you’re due for new shoes or even just getting close, you may want to replace them. Worn shoes aren’t going to get better and by trying to extend the life of them another 25 miles might turn that little ache into a major problem. While on the subject of shoes, even a brand new pair of running shoes may be the cause of problems if they’re not the right pair of shoes for you. Most seasoned runners know that the only proper way of selecting a running shoe is having a trained professional who works for a reputable run-oriented retailer do an in depth assessment of your foot characteristics, running style and other key determinants. Buying a particular shoe based on your best friends recommendation, shoe review in a magazine or the worst, because you like the color will put you at risk of injury. Sometimes changing from a particular model of shoe to another can raise issues even if it’s the right category of shoe for you. The point here is to consider all these possibilities when issues arise.

The next question to ask yourself is “what am I doing differently”. Simply put, our bodies adjust and adapt to the stresses we introduce to them. When we change these conditions, our bodies need time to adapt. Without that adjustment period, bad things can happen. What do I mean by this? Examples could be changing the running surface you’ve been used to as in deciding to run at work on your lunch hour on a macadam path when you’re used to running on the boardwalk. Another could be adding hills to your training program when you’re used to flat courses. I’ve talked to people having injury issues who decided to begin running on the beach figuring the softer surface would be good for them. It might in some respects but the drastic change from running on a firm surface to soft sand is an invitation to injury if not done gradually. A very common source of injury is when runners sign up for a race at a distance they’re not used to such as a half or full marathon. They end up building up their weekly mileage at a far greater pace than is recommended and the wheels fall off. Remember the old adage, weekly increases should never exceed 10% and that holds true for the distance of your long run as well as your total weekly mileage. Even changes in non-running patterns can be problematic. Plantar Fascitis is arguably the most common running injury out there. There are many causes but we always found it interesting that many people, especially women, began to have symptoms of it in the Fall. When you consider that most of us spend a big part of the summer months wearing Flip Flops or Sandles with no arch support, you see the correlation. Keep in mind Newton’s Third Law of Motion, “for every action, there is a reaction”. Taking this principle a step further explains the other danger of unaddressed aches and pains. When we have something that is bothering us, we consciously or subconsciously alter our stride or structure we’re used to in order to compensate for the discomfort. By doing this, we run the risk of injuring something else.

The Internet is a wonderful source of information pertaining to practically every nuance in the universe. Researching possible causes for any issues we’re dealing with will often highlight something we’re doing that might be related. It can also educate us on how to prevent these problems through the use of stretching and strengthening exercises. For all the good the Internet can do in helping us understand injuries, I want to raise a big red flag when it comes to using the Internet to TREAT these injuries. Sure, there may be something simple you can do to alleviate the problem but truth be told, when an injury goes beyond a certain point, seeing a doctor or therapist is your only recourse. One of the great bi-products of living a fit, healthy lifestyle is being able to “read” your body. We become aware of our body’s nuances in minute detail based on experience and focus that other’s can’t. The key is to use this advantage to minimize and prevent injuries TO A DEGREE but to also understand that there are likely going to be things we can’t fix on our own.

No discussion of injuries would be complete without mentioning the importance of preventative maintenance. Strengthening our core with resistance training and stretching is crucial to our long-term goals of remaining healthy and injury free. When parts of our body weaken, other areas have to carry the load. Over time, imbalances occur. No better example of this takes place in our legs. Many runners theorize that they don’t need to do any strength training for their legs because the running takes care of that. Well, the ‘running’ pretty much focuses on our quads but does precious little for our hamstrings & glutes. We’ll get away with that imbalance for only so long and then the bill comes due. This imbalance puts added stress on our hips and lower back. In addition, the string of muscles that run from our lower back through our flutes down to our calves begin to tighten. The list of injuries and efficiency loss that results from this is scary.

I guess the point I want to make here is that “hurting” and “hurt” are the ‘befores' and ‘afters' of running. Keeping the ‘before’ from becoming the ‘after’ is well within our ability if we listen and react to what our bodies are telling us.