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Injuries - Just Can't Avoid them!!

      By Andrew Simpson
          Posted March 2013


“OOOuuuchhhhhh!!!!” Then “$%#$%$@!# IT!!!!” Every endurance athlete knows that feeling you get when you realize you are in pain and have really hurt yourself. It could be an abrupt feeling that you get that forces you to stop your run, or a gradual pain that one day startles you when you get out of bed. It isn’t a question of if it is going to happen, but rather, when and how often. Preventing injury has become a very popular pastime these days, and it has in fact sparked a new industry, based on rolling, massaging, stretching, strengthening, and temperature therapy. As a coach I was instructed to be very careful in endorsing or recommending products or activities that do not have scientific basis. I’m always surprised at how many products laud some radical benefit but don’t offer any science to back it up. There still hasn’t been one study to prove any benefit to barefoot running yet people still cling to the theory although I have noticed a lot of “minimal” shoes on sale recently (totally unscientific observation).

To me the area that is totally neglected these days is the process to follow once you have an injury. Usually if you start asking your friends you get a variety of go see this person or do acupuncture or try ART or jump up and down three times and put a snowball in the toilet and flush it down...oh wait that’s the snow dance. As I have embarked on my coaching career after over 20 years of running I have come to the realization that a significant part of my job is counseling and advising runners on what to do when they are injured. Part of it is providing emotional support and reassuring them that the old adage is true “Time heals all wounds” and that they will get better. The more challenging part is what to tell them to do. I know you are dying to know so here it goes. And if you are experiencing an emergency medical situation stop reading now and dial 911!

1. STOP DOING IT IF IT HURTS!

And I am not casting a stone here. My last injury occurred in the first couple of miles of a run. I kept running until Mile 8 and I had to stop because the pain was too intense. Why did I keep running? Because I had made it a point to always finish my runs, regardless of any pain. What did my fellow coach Scott Baldwin ask me: “Why didn’t I stop?” Let’s face it; endurance athletes are driven and stubborn. If we weren’t we wouldn’t be endurance athletes, and we’d be batting a shuttlecock around a badminton court instead of losing toe nails running ultramarathons. So if you get hurt and specific activities make it hurt or are making it hurt worse, stop those activities. If you want to cross-train, fine, but don’t do anything that incurs pain (more on that later).

2. GO SEE THE DOCTOR.
I know, I know, I hate it too. Here is how my conversation with Doctors tend to go...

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