Running During The Lockdown

With the new Government restrictions in place, we are able to exercise ONCE a day outside. Many of us will start running. You may already be a runner, or you may be looking to start running, but where do you start and how do you reduce your risk of injury?

Limited by the current pandemic to fewer forms of exercise, we are seeing a huge increase in individuals running. Some may be new to running, others experienced marathon veterans. Wherever you sit on the spectrum there will likely be a change to your exercise routine; an increase in running load and the potential for injuries to occur. The question is, how can you adapt your running routine over the next 6-12weeks to reduce your risk of injury?

I confess, I do not have all the answers! From experience, I feel some running injuries could and possibly should have been avoided but some people are just unlucky. If there is one thing that I can confirm, injuries and pain are part of running. They cannot be 100% avoided and there is no recipe for pain free, injury free training cycles. There are theories to help; the 10% rule, acute:chronic ratio, strength vs bodyweight, managing training loads, cross-training - yet none of them are perfect! Some are logical, others have evidence to support them. All of them refer back to the fact that running injuries are common and whilst we can reduce the risk, there is no one size fits all that completely eliminates the injury risk.

So, can you alter the risk of experiencing pain and injuries from running? Potentially. This will largely depend on your training and injury history. If you have experienced an injury previously, you are more likely to have another injury in the same joint or muscle/tendon. If you haven’t been running for the 5 years and decide to start running 5x a week for the next 12-weeks, you are likely to be at high risk of sustaining injuries. We know that 60-70% of injuries occur from training error. Therefore, every individual will have a different story, different risk factors and different goals but if we look at individual training histories, we can apply theories that may help reduce the injury risk.

The below flow chart is based somewhat on the evidence available, the physiological adaptations of load (known as mechanotherapy - the cellular response and repair in the body in response to mechanical loads) and experience from working within professional sports, the NHS and private practice.

If you are a runner (minimum of once every 2-weeks) you will sit in one category, if you are not a runner you sit in the other. Within each category there are sub-groups based on the frequency and type of exercise you perform across a week. The chart will guide you towards a running programme or information in relation to the frequency of running and training. The information and blogs found at the end are a guide to how you may base and plan your training or adapt it over the next 12-weeks to reduce your risk of injury.

Again, I do not have all the answers, but I would like to guide and help individuals to remain active and continue running throughout these difficult times, whilst reducing the risk of injuries.