i'm under the impression that running is one of the most injury prone things people do, especially as they get older and when they've never been trained on how to do it really properly.
my cardio is pretty shit, will look to get a bike when back in thailand, although i don't plan to necessarily go on long rides for it vs. just use it as a get around in my bubble to burn off a few calories instead of sitting on a scooter
There are so many things that go into staying healthy from an injury aspect with running. Definitely form and couple days of strength training are key. Without these most people end up stopping running because of knee/hip/joint/leg pains. Some folks can run into their 80s if they are vigilant with a routine. Below are things I do now I did not do in my late 30s(when I started running again) that have allowed me to actually increase my mileage compared to 10 years ago when I struggled badly with stress fractures and achilles tendon issues. Obviously , what works for one body type might not work for another. I am no spring chicken anymore that's for sure.
- Slowly increasing mileage. Large weekly jumps will 100% introduce lower extremity injuries. I believe rule of thumb is 10-15% increase weekly.
- Decreased body weight. You should walk before running. Try to shed pounds first. The more weight you carry the more likely you will injure yourself.
- Cross training for lower impact. I choose to ride mountain or road bike for this. But swimming is awesome as well.
- Foam rolling pre and post workout. This has helped me the most. Although, this is tedious and painful it really does work the tendons and muscles to relieve pain and fatigue.
- Strength training x2/x3 times a week. This for me anyhow is typically only body weight type of activity. As examples squats/reverse lunges/ calf raises/ planks/abdominal workouts etc
- Stretching. I have definitely had to put a lot of time into stretching post workout. There are some conflicting oppions on stretching pre-run as you muscles have not been warmed up or are not as elastic(cold rubberband concept). I typically do not stretch pre run unless im doing a race.
- Diet (And I struggle with this). But having the right amount of nutrients has helped my muscles and body recover between long runs.
- Sleep. (Also struggle with this due to most like apnea/waiting for CPAP machine
). But getting adequate sleep helps restore your body and less likely to get injured.
- Supplements. Not sure how much this actually matters. But I am pretty vigilant in taking them. As example I used to pop IBU(400mgx2 daily) to reduce pain from running . Which really is not great for your Kidneys etc. I now use Glucosamine/Chondrotin. And have less pain now then I have ever had. This could be also because of all the other things listed above as well. But I see no harm in taking this supplement.
- Self massage with theragun
- Gastron method. Basically scraping muscles/tendons to stimulate blood flow in that area for repair. I do this on my achilles often and works like a champ from any injuries returning.
Spivitz), but has more of a scenic and photographic tone to it and would like to keep it along that scope.
