Running - Injury, sleep and stress

How important is sleep? Very!

Written by Physiotherapist and runner Becky Sutton

There is a well-established link between lack of sleep and injury risk, not just in running but in sport generally. Sleep helps to optimise performance and recovery – allowing us to rest and allowing our bodies to repair and regenerate. Poor sleep can disrupt recovery, reaction times, cognitive function and mood.  

Sleep duration and sleep quality are both important. However, having an injury can contribute to poor sleep itself –  you may be in pain, struggling to get comfortable, worrying about your injury, and so it becomes a vicious cycle. Whichever came first – poor sleep or injury - aim for that 8 hours a night as best you can! 

Likewise, stress has been linked to injury. It can affect energy levels, mood, concentration and behaviour, therefore, impacting performance. Prolonged stress can affect immunity and increase inflammatory levels. Being unable to run or do the activity you love due to an injury can in turn affect your mood greatly, again enhancing that vicious cycle. 

Injury is never just about the body part affected – it is about the person at the end of that body part, what it means to them and what else is going on in their life. So if you’re struggling (physically or mentally), go easy on yourself, seek some help, give yourself a rest day or some time out, get an early night, and take it from there. Of course, it’s not always that easy, but it may be a good place to start. 

Running - Injury

Written by Physiotherapist and runner Becky Sutton

There is a range of different injuries but there are a few that rear their ugly heads more often than others, most commonly affecting the lower limbs. 

As mentioned last week, injuries can often (but not always) be attributed to training error - too much, too soon or too much change, too close together. 

Other areas to address are muscle imbalances – our bigger powerful muscles have a tendency to take over, leaving our crucial stabilizing muscles flagging behind. The gluteal muscles are a prime example of this. When not at optimum strength, the pelvis is not as supported as it needs to be during movement which can lead to more pressure on the hip, knee, ankle or foot ultimately presenting as pain. Weak tired muscles can also become tight and painful over time. 

Likewise, our calves may not have sufficient power and control in them for what we are asking – combine this with sprinting or hill running where we use our calves more and you may find they start to get uncomfortable. This can then impact on your Achilles (tendinopathy) or foot arch (plantar fasciitis). 

Sometimes, we can put a bit of blame on running style. Overstriding puts more pressure on your knees (patellofemoral pain at the front of the knee), while scissoring or knocking knees can also stress knees as well as hips.  

Occasionally a runner may develop a stress fracture – typically affecting the shin bone (tibia), small bones in the feet (metatarsals), the thigh bone (femur) and sometimes other areas. It is important to get checked out if you are worried about this – it may not be obvious and you may even still feel able to run initially, albeit with pain. 

So lots to think about, but many of these things can be addressed with simple, specific exercises. Some niggles will settle as quickly as they started, while other issues can be a little more stubborn, so keep at that rehab and give it time!

Next week – what else affects our running? Time to talk about stress and sleep. 

Running During Covid - Training and Injury 

Written by Physiotherapist and runner Becky Sutton

As mentioned last week, running motivation has changed during Covid, as have our running behaviours and in turn our injury risk. It is the change to these running behaviours that have led to an increase in injury. 

During the pandemic, those experiencing injury had greater changes to the training and running environment. This change could be the amount of running, the duration of running sessions, the intensity of sessions, new routes or changes in the running surface such as road/trail.  

Having less time to run due to changes in the work environment also led to more injury. Hypothesizing suggests this may have been due to increased work pressures, stress and the addition of homeschooling, followed by higher intensity exercise to compensate for the reduced frequency.  

Prior to this research, it has been well documented that the majority of running-related injuries are due to training ‘error’ – too much load for your body or too much change, too soon. Covid has exacerbated this. To add, other risk factors are, a history of prior injury (so get those niggles seen to) and being a relatively new runner, with less than 2 years of experience.  

The message to take home - be careful with your build-up and overall training schedule. Don’t overdo volume, intensity, and mix up the terrain all at once. If you’re a seasoned runner, still bear this in mind if you’re ramping up the training for the return to events. Of course, not everyone will sustain an injury (so don’t let this put you off!), but when it happens it can sometimes come as a surprise – not always linked to a specific session but after a few months of activity. Your body may cope for a while and then start to protest.  

So what running injuries might we encounter?

More on this next week! 

Running During Covid - Motivation

Written by Physiotherapist and runner Becky Sutton

Running is a bit like marmite, you either love it or hate it (sometimes both!). For some, you hate the thought of doing it but love the feeling afterwards. Running has a huge number of benefits for physical and mental health as well as socially. During the Covid pandemic, there has been a real surge in people finding the love for running (or being forced into it during lockdown when all other sporting options were shut). For those that were running previously, it has meant changes to training. 

There have been two interesting research studies published this year looking into running motivation, behaviours and running-related injury during Covid, parts of which I will touch on here and next week. Reportedly, motivation for running has changed during this period – rather than training for events and the social aspect that comes with running, we have used it to occupy free time, for stress relief and fitness. Personally, I can certainly relate to this – I have always run for times and a personal sense of achievement but now it is so much more than that – it is my escape, my happy place, my sanity.  

What drives you to lace up and get out there? Has running helped you to keep going during this crazy time? Is your mindset changing again now with the return of face to face events? I can definitely feel my competitive edge coming back having already done a few Covid-friendly events! Perhaps running is long forgotten with the reopening of gyms and other forms of exercise?  

Whatever your story, this recent running boom is great if it is keeping people happier and healthier. However, we can’t ignore the risk of injury. Has this changed during Covid too?

More on this next week! 

As the joys of the Brighton Marathon and the Worthing Half Marathon become a distant memory, excitement over the upcoming London Marathon is growing. Many runners, however, will be nursing injuries from previous races and training.

Below we cover a few of the common running injuries and ways to help ease the pain:

Runners Knee: Also known as Anterior knee pain or Chondromalacia Patella, this describes pain and inflammation to the front of the knee, 'under' the knee cap. Common muscle imbalances around the knee and pelvis can cause the kneecap to be pulled out of the correct line of movement (mal-track). Running can encourage hamstring and ITB tightness which can pull the kneecap laterally. Worn trainers and overpronation can also be a cause. A physiotherapist can make an assessment to identify the cause of your anterior knee pain and the fastest route back to running.

Achilles Tendinitis:  The Achilles Tendon joins the 2 powerful calf muscles to the back of the heel bone. Inflammation of the Achilles Tendon can occur with changes to your running regime, such as increasing hill training or increasing your running speed. Tight calf muscles, tight hamstrings or excessive pronation of the feet (rolling inwards) can all be contributing factors. Rest, ice and anti-inflammatories can all help as initial treatments. Physiotherapy such as ultrasound and acupuncture can reduce inflammation. Stretching must be done gently, and it is wise to get your trainers checked, as these can also be a cause of the pain. 

Low Back Pain: There many causes of Low Back Pain, but muscular strain is often the culprit of a running injury to the back. Often there is an underlying problem such as muscle imbalances around the pelvis and 'core' eg. weak deep abdominals, tight hamstrings and back muscles. Rest, heat and gentle stretching exercise can all help. Physiotherapy can help diagnose and treat both acute and underlying problems.

For further information or to book and Assessment & Treatment, please call Sussex Physio Pilates on - 01903 256 500