A reader wrote to me and asked about the relationship between athletic training and injury. The question was, "I tried running and my knees and ankles hurt every day. How can I run without suffering some type of injury?"
This is an excellent question. Thousands of scientists, doctors, coaches and athletic trainers all over the world have done extensive research on how to avoid injury. I am not an expert; however, I can speak from personal experience: I have never had a joint-related injury during my entire lifetime. I have never injured my knees, hips or ankles and I have never had back pain. I did suffer from pain after running my first marathon; however, the pain subsided after 48 hours and I had no permanent injury and no joint problems.
Recently, researchers have done extensive research on the benefits of stretching. This research has shown that stretching before running is not as necessary or as beneficial as was commonly believed. In fact, the research has shown that stretching can actually contribute to injury. The likelihood of injury is actually increased with vigorous stretching prior to running.
Research has shown that it is more important to warm up prior to running. An adequate "warm-up" is more beneficial than pre-run stretching. On the other hand, moderate stretching has been found to be helpful after the day's run is completed.
I have greatly reduced my pre-run stretching, and I have not noticed any difference. I made the decision to reduce pre-run stretching after speaking to Olympian Jeff Galloway ( www.runinjuryfree.com ). I explained some of the stretches that I was doing, and Jeff stated that while they were not harmful, they were probably doing little or nothing to prepare my body for running. I tried stretching less, on a trial basis, and it honestly did not have any impact one way or the other.
I still stretch, but not as vigorously as in the past, and I stretch primarily after the run.
I also believe that in order to avoid injury it is important to not run every day. It is very easy to become addicted to exercise and to run too much. Running every day, however, is simply too great a strain. Muscle tissue needs to recover and running every day prevents the tissue from having adequate time to recover. I get some type of exercise nearly every day, even if it is only walking, but I limit serious running to only three days per week. I only do one "long run" per week.
By following these steps in moderation I have been able to run for 30 years without injury. I hope I can run for another 30 years -- or more!
