The Myth of the “Out of Nowhere” Injury
Ever get a random pain or niggle or injury that seems to come out of nowhere?
I’ve got news for you: unless you stepped off a curb or something, it didn’t come out of nowhere. It was probably brewing for days, weeks, months. But you didn’t pay attention to it until it got in the way of your running. Oops.
Why do runners get injured so much?
Most of us don’t spend a lot of time paying close attention to the sensations and mechanics of our bodies. We do our workouts, and we often do them with a grit-your-teeth, no-pain-no-gain attitude. We might do a little bit of strength or mobility work tacked on. But even then, we’re probably looking at our phones or listening to podcasts or watching TV.
So all that time we spend running, and sitting at our desks, and carrying our heavy stuff around, and looking down at our phones. . . we’re developing little imbalances, and tight spots, and wonky movement patterns. And we compensate– until we can’t. Until we’re hurting a few miles in, altering our mechanics, and riding the fast train to injury city.
How to stop getting injured
Here is the fix: take 5-10 minutes a day to pay attention to your body. Yes, you can find it. Cut your run by five minutes. Even cut your sleep by five minutes– yes, I just recommended that. Do it while you’re in between calls. Do it while your coffee brews. I like to do it first thing in the morning, but you do you. Whatever you can make stick.
For these few moments, move every joint in your body through its range of motion a few times. Start with your head– roll it in both directions. Then circle your arms. Bend forward, back, and side to side. Rotate your hips, your knees, your ankles. Spread your fingers and toes.
The exact sequence of movements doesn’t matter– do what works for you. But try to move every single part of your body.
During that short window, pay deliberate attention to your body. Be here now. Notice everything– even the very subtle left/right differences that we all have. When you find something that feels sore, tight, crunchy, or restricted, stay on that area for a few moments. Make a note of it and work with it when you’re foam rolling or stretching later. Use some heat on it. Put some biofreeze on it. Whatever you do to care for a tissue that needs TLC. (I like Kelly Starrett’s Ready to Run as a resource).
Why it works
The magic of this method is that it brings your awareness to potential trouble spots early– before they’re on fire. You can correct those weird little issues before they hurt your running. You can stay healthy. You can make the call to take an easy day rather than exacerbate a brewing problem (and remember, a day off on purpose is always better than a month off by necessity).
As an added bonus, you can become more familiar with the sensations of your body, and this can help you in all kinds of ways (like on race day). You can learn what’s normal soreness and what’s a problem. And if you make little notes in your training log, you can also see patterns and connections– maybe a certain workout does it, or a stressful workweek, or a particular pair of shoes. Knowledge is power!
