10 Tips for Injury prevention and How To Avoid A Stress Fracture @ ALKA12™
Injury is an almost inevitable part of an athlete’s life. It may take the form of an acute ligament tear , a stress fracture or be as mild as post-exercise muscle soreness. Either way, the majority of sports related injuries can be prevented or alleviated. Every athlete gets injured from time to time; it’s part of the courage and discipline of athletes to endure and a challenge to their spirits to remain positive and optimistic about their return to full performance. Injury prevention is critical if you want to improve your running. You cannot become a better runner if you are constantly being sidelined with injuries. Keep injury free so you can keep running and make it to the finish line every time!
Try these 10 Tips for Running Injury Prevention
1. Get started with the right sports nutrition: If you want to reach to peak performance and to become unbreakble on race day, then you better start working with the right sport nutrition and there is nothong better than ALKA12™ magnesium gels and oils. ALKA12™ performance nutrition gives your muscles and bones strength and play an important role in muscle contraction, flexibility, and energy production. This in turn improves sleep and promotes proper hydration, both fundamental for an adequate recovery process. No matter how hard you train and push yourself. The real workout starts before and after the workout. Take the time to recover and take care of yourself. Apply ALKA12™ on pre-workout and/or post-workout. It increases your energy, enables fast recovery, relieves muscle tension and cramps, reduces the risk of injury and improves athletic endurance.
2. Listen to your body and get to know your limits. Plan your training schedule and increase your mileage gradually. Most experts suggest a maximum increase of 10 percent each week with an occasional easy week, usually once a month. This increase may be too much for you. Track your mileage, so you will know how much is too much for you. Pay attention to how your body feels after each increase. Sometimes a 3-5 percent weekly increase is better for some runners to remain injury free. Don't ignore persistent pain. If you feel pain, take a few days off from running to give your body a rest and then ease back into it. If you still feel pain, take more time off and seek the advice of a professional. Positive affirmations can help you overcome and prevent injuries.
3. Improve your running form. Most experts now agree that having a short stride, a forefoot strike and a lean from the ankles are conducive to injury free running. Also, moving your arms is important for a relaxed, efficient running form - work out on your psoture.
4. Cross-train - for injury prevention and to improve muscle balance. Try swimming, deep-water running, cycling, rowing and other low-impact workouts. If you have an existing injury, ensure you choose a workout that doesn't aggravate your condition.
5. Do strength training. Pay particular attention to the hip area as weakness in the hips often cause problems in other areas, such as the knees and the ankles. It is also important to strengthen your feet and develop your foot muscles. You need strong feet to support your body and to maintain a strong, controlled running posture. Begin by balancing on one foot for 30 seconds and then the other with your hands on your hips. Try to keep the inside ball, outside ball and heel in contact with the floor constantly. As this becomes easier, gradually increase the time until you can do it for 2 minutes. When you can stand on each foot easily for 2 minutes, try balancing on your forefoot. This exercise will help you become more aware of how your foot lands while running and help you correct any inefficiencies in your posture. Over time, the increased strength and sensitivity in your feet will affect and strengthen the muscles in your legs.
6. Try to run on level surfaces. This is especially important if you are prone to injuries on one side of your body. Road camber can cause leg-length discrepancy and over-use on one side of your body. Run as much as possible on trails, tracks, sidewalks or treadmills. Running on trails can be particularly helpful in developing your stabilizer muscles that you don't normally use during road running.
7. Limit through workouts. For example: races and speed work. If you are prone to injuries, it is best not to push your body too hard by doing too many tough workouts too often. If you are doing races on the weekends and interval training during the week, you are probably pushing your body to the extreme. Unless you are a serious competitor, limit your race participation and do most of your speed work at tempo pace to prevent injuries.
8. Stretch. If you feel tight in certain areas after you run, stretch these areas. Areas that most runners have problems with and need to stretch are the hamstrings, hip flexors, calves, and the IT band. Learn how to give yourself a myofascial release or self-massage by learning how to use a foam roller.
9. Run backwards. Yes, indeed, backwards running helps maintain muscle balance. It is a funky way to improve muscle imbalance and build strength as you are reversing all the movements of normal running. It is also a great way to improve posture as you run with a more erect posture.
10. Buy the right shoe for your feet. Wearing the right shoe is a significant aspect of injury prevention. There are many options to choose from including not wearing any shoes at all. Experiment with what feels right for you.
HOW TO AVOID STRESS FRACTURE
A stress fracture is a small crack in any of the weight-bearing bones of the body. This injury is usually caused by a repetitive force that the body cannot absorb. It can occur in any weight-bearing bone, but for runners it most commonly occurs in the foot (metatarsal) or shin (tibia) bones. It is also known as a hairline fracture or a fatigue fracture. A fracture in the foot is often referred to as a top of foot pain injury because that is where pain is usually felt. These injuries are referred to as fatigue fractures because they occur when the muscles become fatigued and can no longer absorb the stress and protect the bone. The bone cannot absorb the shock and cracks. It is a common injury among long distance runners, and it is more common in women than in men. Women commonly experience bone density loss more so than men mainly because of menstrual irregularities. Normally, a stress fracture injury has a longer recovery time than a soft tissue injury. It usually requires at least six weeks off from running, and it may take several months for the bone to become strong again. A stress fracture diagnosed in its early stages, referred to as a stress reaction, may only require a few weeks off from running. Hence, it is best to catch it early before too much damage is done.
How do I Know if I Have a Stress Fracture?
Stress fractures can be difficult to medically diagnose as x-rays will not initially show the fracture. After several weeks, it may show evidence around the affected area of the bone attempting to heal the fracture. To confirm a stress fracture, your physician will check the history of your injury and perform a physical exam. An MRI or bone scan may be required to confirm the presence of a fracture. However, the best indication of a fracture is the sudden onset of intense pain that is felt whenever you put weight on it.
There is usually tenderness and swelling in a specific point directly over the injury and an aching or burning pain is felt along the bone. Gently tapping on the bone will cause pain, which is not the case if you have a soft issue injury.
You will experience pain in the affected bone and it will get progressively worse if you continue to run or walk on it. The pain often subsides when resting and crutches can be a very helpful aid to recovery.
How to Get Back to Running
The most commonly recommended way to fully recover from a stress fracture is rest, which usually requires six to eight weeks off from running. However, from my experience with a metatarsal stress fracture, acupuncture really helped speed my recovery from top foot pain. But if you have pain, you must not run or you risk causing more damage and a much longer recovery time. Do not put weight on the area if it causes pain. Crutches or a cast may be necessary.
The Athletic recovery : If you are like most athletes, you want to recover and heal naturally from your injuries and do so in record time without having to resort to drugs or surgery. There is no greater way to accomplish this with Topical Magnesium, says Dr. Jeff Schutt, Doctor in Chiropractic.
ALKA12™ Ultra pure magnesium lotions increase your bone density, increase flexibility, increase muscle tone and therefore reduce the risk of injury and definetly can help you to enjou an ultra speed recovery. ALKA12™ Topical Magnesium products, are applied and absorbed directly onto the skin and has an immediate effect on pain. Ideal for pain management, sports injury treatment and inflammation. Heal naturally in record time from muscles pain, lumbago, back pain, joints inflammations to fractured bones or ACL surgeries. Apply ALKA12™ in mornings and evenings on muscles/joints inflammations for about five days. Two weeks is necessary for fractured bones and then a month post-surgeries. Each injuries are different so listen to your body and keep going if needed. For a cooling effect, put your ALKA12™ magnesium gel in the fridge !
What you can do while recovering...
Safe activities include deep water running, swimming, spin classes. Also, be sure to eat well and include lots of calcium-rich foods so you can maintain a godo ratio Magnesium-calcium. This is especially important to maintain bone strength. When you get back to running regularly, work to improve your running posture, particularly if you tend to over stride or need to increase your cadence. This will help prevent reoccurrences.