Being an athlete is not an easy job. You have to give your best, and while you are training to become number one, you have to go through multiple injuries daily. Among all the athletes, runners are the most healthiest group of injured people. 

Multiple running injuries and over-occurrence can hurt you, and the impact will be seen on your performance. To stay fit, it becomes important that a runner is aware of his injuries and how to heal them, and this article will show you the same. Let's have a look. 

Most Common Running Injuries 

1. Runner's knee

Runner's knee is one of the most common injuries runners face daily. Runner's knee refers to the pain caused in the front of your knee. The symptoms of runner's knee include:

  • Pain that you can feel on both your knees
  • Pain while prolonged sitting or exercises 
  • Serve pain while jumping, climbing stairs, or squatting

2. Stress fracture

Stress fracture refers to the term when repetitive pain or impact causes a rupture in your body. It's a tiny crack on your bone usually caused at the top of your foot, heel, or lower leg. The symptoms of a stress fracture include:

  • Pain that's barely noticeable at first but gets worst overtime
  • swelling and bruising at the area of your stress fracture. 

3. Shin splint

Shin splint is also known as tibial stress syndrome. It refers to the pain in your shinbone and the parts of your lower leg. Shin splint usually isn't severe, and usually, taking enough rest can fix it. If left untreated, it can develop into a stress fracture, and hence it is recommended to try various ways to avoid shin splint & take enough rest until you feel easy. The symptoms of a shin splint include: 

  • mild swelling
  • a mild pain near the front and inner part of your shinbone
  • pain while exercising or indulging in activities that involve physical strength 
  • shins hurt when running 

4. Achilles tendinitis

The tendon that connects calf muscles to the heel is Achilles Tendon. Achilles tendinitis refers to the inflammation of the same tendon. This usually happens when runners increase the intensity of their workouts and running. The symptoms of Achilles tendinitis include:

  • pain in your lower leg
  • warm feeling near your tendon
  • swelling

5. Ankle Sprain

Overstretching the ligaments between your leg and ankle leads to Ankle Sprain. The symptoms of Ankle Sprain include: 

  • pain
  • swelling
  • bruising
  • limited range to move your leg

How to heal from these injuries

1. Stretching and Warm-Up 

Running injuries usually happen when runners stop focusing on stretching and warming up. Hence to avoid these running injuries, you must stretch your muscles before and after you start running. 

2. Choose your clothes correctly and dress appropriately 

Your clothes play a crucial role in how your body functions throughout the day. It is recommended that you wear lightweight and breathable garments to separate the moisture from your skin throughout the day. 

Using Copper Compression Socks can revive your tired feet and legs. They can also help you boost your muscle strength and performance and prevent blood clots in your lower leg. If you are an Athlete, switching to Copper Compression socks can help you prevent many problems. 

3. Ice & cold therapy

As the name suggests, applying ice packs to the affected area can help you heal problems like swelling and pain. 

4. Stay Hydrated

A lot of energy is consumed when you start running, and hence it becomes important that you keep drinking water regularly to keep yourself hydrated. Drink extra water on the days you are running, and use an energy drink to get back the minerals you've lost while running. 

5. Take Rest

Pain gets worse with physical activity but improves with rest. Hence, it is recommended that you listen to your body and take some rest when you feel tired, and your body starts paining. In most cases, taking rest can help you heal a lot of problems. 

6. Diet

Diet is one of the key factors that affect your healing time. Poor nutrition can slow down the healing process while eating and keeping yourself in shape is the key to better health. Good nutrition is important to stay fit, eating immunity-boosting food will help you recover from an illness or injury.

Conclusion

If you are a runner, you must have faced these injuries at some point. If nothing seems to heal your injuries, visiting a doctor for proper diagnosis is recommended.