PREVENT SHOE INJURY
Some Common Injury:
Despite your best injury prevention efforts, you may find yourself dealing with some aches and pains. Most running injuries take a few weeks to develop and then another couple of weeks to heal. Learn more about these common injuries, their causes, and treatments.
Achilles Tendonitis
Achilles tendonitis is an injury that occurs when your Achilles tendon -- the large band of tissues connecting the muscles in the back of your lower leg to your heel bone -- becomes inflamed or irritated.
Ankle Sprains
Ankle sprains are often caused by the twisting or rolling of your ankle and result in swelling and pain above and around the ankle.
Black Toenails
Runners, especially those training for long-distance events, can suffer from black toenails, caused by the toes rubbing up against the front of the running shoe. A blood blister forms under the toenail and the nail eventually falls off.
Blisters
While not a serious injury, blisters - those fluid-filled bubbles of skin on your feet - can be painful and keep you from running.
Illiotibial Band Syndrome
Marked by a sharp, burning knee or hip pain, Illiotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) is a very common injury among runners.
Muscle Pulls or Strains
Muscle pulls and strains are common and annoying injuries for runners, marked by pain and tightness in the affected muscle.
Runner's Knee
A common complaint among long-distance runners, runner's knee feels like a soreness around and sometimes behind the kneecap.
Plantar Fasciitis
Heel pain in runners is usually caused by inflammation of the plantar fascia, a condition known as plantar fasciitis.
Shin Splints
One of the most common injuries for beginner runners, shin splints are characterized by pain in the front of the lower leg.
Stress Fractures
Stress fractures, or tiny cracks in the surface of a bone, are serious running injuries that requires immediate treatment.
How to avoid injury:
Once you've been running for a while, you may eventually have to deal with the pain and inconvenience of an injury. Most common running injuries are due to overuse, overtraining, improper shoes, or a biomechanical flaw in body structure and motion. The good news is that many running injuries can be prevented. Follow these steps to keep yourself on the road.
Time Required: varies
Here's How:
- Avoid the "terrible too's". Many running injuries are a result of overtraining: too much intensity, too many miles, too soon. It's important to go easy when adding mileage or intensity to your training. You shouldn't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% each week. You can still push your limits, but you'll have to take a gradual and patient approach. By building up slowly, you can save yourself pain and frustration, and still reach your goals. Let common sense and a smart training schedule determine how much you should be running.
- Treat your feet right. Be sure that your shoes aren't worn out and that you have the right model for your feet and running style. The wrong shoe can actually aggravate existing problems, causing pain in your feet, legs, knees or hips. Wearing shoes that have lost their cushioning may also lead to injury. Go to a specialty running shop where you can be properly fitted for running shoes, and replace them every 350-500 miles. If you have a biomechanical problem with your feet, you may also look into getting fitted for heel lifts or orthotics.
- Find the right surface. Once you have the right shoes, you want to make sure you're using them on the best surface. Ideally, you want the ground to absorb shock, rather than passing it along to your legs. Avoid concrete as much as possible: It's about 10 times as hard as asphalt, and may be the worst possible surface for running. Try to find grass or dirt trails to run on, especially for your higher mileage runs. Consistency is important, too, because a sudden change to a new running surface can cause injuries. You'll also want to avoid tight turns, so look for slow curves and straight paths.
- Stay loose. A regular stretching program can go a long way toward injury prevention. Be diligent about stretching after your runs -- your body will make you pay if you get lazy about it.
- Keep your balance. Injuries sometimes pop up when you're paying too much attention to your running muscles and forgetting about the others. For example, knee injuries sometimes occur because running strengthens the back of your legs more than the front of your legs. Your relatively weak quads aren't strong enough to keep your kneecap moving in its proper groove, which causes pain. However, once you strengthen your quads, the pain will often go away.
- Make sure you're ready to return. To prevent re-injury, ease back into training with water running, cycling, or using an elliptical trainer. Overtraining is the number one cause of injuries, so try to remember that progress takes time.
Shoe pinch
Don't make these mistake when you buy or wear formal shoes…..
- It's a common mistake to buy what looks good on another person, little realizing that while a particular style looks dame sexy on one person, it may not make shoe sense for you. Try it on for uourself first.
- Most men tend to wear the wrong size or forgo comfort in trying to be stylish. Pick a shoe that fits well and doesn't pinch your toes. While shoes expand a bit after wear, a too tight shoe will always remain tight. It may break or be forever uncomfortable ans stay as adisplay item on your shoe rack.
- The most important factor in choosing an oxford is your foot shape. Don't just go by shoe size. The foot width may make certain styles very uncomfortable. In buying a shoe strike the size- style proportion.
- Wearing flat shoes or loafers without socks is acceptable. But do keep the climate and material in mind to avoid shoe pinch.
