Obviously if you hurt yourself I am going to try and do what ever I can to help you, but if the problem is too severe I have to tell you to go see your doctor. Now I am giving away a lot of this knowledge hoping that you will learn from it and not just use what you think is more specific to you. For example, some of you have ankle pain, some of you have knee pain. I hope that you use the preventive measures for both so that you do not end up with the other.
This covers abdominal, hip, thigh, knee, calf, ankle, foot, and even a little toe pain. At the very end there is some even on heat related illnesses. Nerves are what tell you that you have pain. But pain can "radiate," which means that just because you hurt in one area does not mean necessarily that what is in that area is the problem. The best and most well known example for this is a heart attack. Heart attacks usually have left arm pain. Does that mean that the patient just slammed his or her arm in a door? No. Does it mean that the person used his shoulder too much that day? No. It means that the nerves that tell you your heart is hurting also tell you your left arm is hurting.
Abdomen. If you are running and your abdomen starts to hurt stop close your eyes and continue running focusing on your breathing. This especially works when you would describe the pain as "sharp" and on the side of your abdomen not the middle. This pain is called a "runner's stitch." There is a high likelihood that you were not breathing deep or fast enough to get the muscles in your abdominal wall or chest the oxygen they need. Try taking 10 deep breaths in and then interlace your fingers behind your head and repeat the process again. You should feel better. Now the reason this happened is because the muscles in your abdomen were lacking oxygen and the reason that taking a deep breath works is because this stretches your diaphragm (a muscle that could be the source of your pain). If not bend over and and push your fingers into the painful side or place the arm overhead and bend at the waist over the opposite side. If this does not work it could be what you ate before practice or what you did not eat. I will explain more later on what to eat and not eat but for now. No fast food. If you are convinced that it was neither of these three problems it could have been that you did not do the "seal stretch" before you ran that day. Preventing abdominal pain comes from proper stretching before running and Pilate's and cardio workouts during and prior to season. I will given you tons of exercises to strengthen leg and abdominal muscles at a later time. But for now just do the stretches that we do in warm up and really try to do them. I remember when I was in high school not making an honest effort but I did not know that the more flexible the better the chances are that you will be faster.
Now when you are talking about your hip, knee, and ankles you are talking about joints. Depending on how you run one could hurt more frequently than the other two.
If you are having ankle pain there is a good chance that you are not wearing the proper foot wear, you have a history of ankle injury, you do not point your toes forward when you run (you walk like a duck), or you recently rolled your ankle.
Knee pain in runners is sometimes caused by runner's knee. You see your knee really just moves up and down into this grove in your thigh and uses this soft stuff called cartilage to cushion any blows that might occur when you are doing something your not supposed to be doing. Like stomping while running. But with the average of 1000 something steps a mile your knees are not going to be able to take that many blows. They are not Rocky Balboa. Eventually the cushion wears thin enough that it causes you some pain. Fear not you are young and can recover quickly.
Usually the two areas that cause knee pain originate in either your thighs or feet. When you are a runner you mostly use the back of your thighs AKA your hamstrings but the front of your thighs AKA your quadriceps do not get quite the workout. One solution is a preseason workout of quadriceps, but since you no longer have that luxury squats is one solution. Literally stand in one spot squat down and then return to standing position repeating this process until it burns in your upper legs. The muscles that burn first will be your quads FYI. There is also the infamous lunges, same concept repeat until it hurts. When you are not in season and you are trying to build this muscle not just condition it I recommend adding some weights in your hands and a little more protein to your diet.
Knee pain can also be increased by a sudden increase in workout intensity, too much speed work, too much hill work, or even banked or uneven surfaces. When ever possible run on even ground. If your knee starts to hurt ice it for about 15-20 minutes to decrease the swelling after practice and then at night right before going to bed lay down with your leg elevated and put a heating pad on your knee for about 30 minutes. Do NOT fall asleep with it on.
Another type of knee pain occurs on the outside of your knee. The best thing you can do for this is ice and rest and possible inside and side leg rises. YOUTUBE some videos to see what I am talking about. Trying to describe them is just confusing.
Heel bruising is caused by wearing shoes with little heel cushioning, exercising on hard surfaces, landing on your heels instead of the middle or front.
Turf toe or pain in your big toe is caused by running on the balls of your feet too much.
Causes of shin splints include suddenly increasing the intensity of your workouts such as right at the beginning of the season or at the end when you think you should start trying. Another cause is uneven ground or unyielding surfaces. Concrete and asphalt are the same hardness. Its better to run on a track and then grass is the best to run on. Another reason is tight calf muscles or Achilles tendon. Or shoes with inadequate arch support. Old shoes is another reason. You should apply ice to your legs after meets and practices
Athletes foot you should go to a physician to be diagnosed but the highlights are apply dry socks frequently throughout day to keep feet dry and wash and thoroughly dry feet throughout day. apply antifungal cream or powder to the area.
This part of the blog is almost a day late and a dollar short as we finish our last day of summer practice and move into the school year but it needs to be incorporated into this "health" lecture because usually the heat will effect your legs. Heat exhaustion, cramps, and stroke can be not only painful but lethal. I saw many people over the last summer come in from outside that did not recognize the signs soon enough. Sometimes they passed out or collapsed so please take your hydration status seriously because I can not be in all places at once on a 3 mile track. And God is not going to give you a bottle of gatorade when you collapse.
1. You should gradually increase your intensity and duration. Do not go crazy and increase your intensity right before a particular race you should be working out as hard as you can all season.
2. Take periods of rest when I tell you and drink plenty of water during this period. I have said it before but approximately 100 mls for every 10 minutes of workout. 100 mls might be about a mouthful of water or more for you. Get a measuring cup sometime when your home and check it out.
3. Drink water or sports drinks throughout physical activity in the heat. If you want gatorade go ahead and bring it otherwise drink plenty of water and eat a banana or pineapple everyday to get the right amount of potassium. By the way I heard after practices that chocolate milk is best at replenishing everything you need. I will probably stop at a Dairy Queen for this reason on the way home from meets if everyone is alright with this idea. By the way I am also thinking that next Friday we go to Princiville's Cafe to relax a little and load up on carbohydrates.
4. A darker urine color is a quick indicator of dehydration. Your urine should look more like lemonade than apple juice. But a water-downed lemonade look is better than a regular lemonade look.
5. Exercise during cooler portions of the day (early morning or late evening), if possible. Be thankful that I work until 6 p.m. for this reason. Because now instead of wasting all your hydration status on hotter temperatures you are able to waste it on getting better, building more endurance, strength, and flexibility. Plus as the season progresses you will be exercising in the temperature of the regional and sectional meets.
6. Do not participate in intense exercise if you show signs of an existing illness (i.e. fever, diarrhea, extreme fatigue, vomiting, etc.). These can decrease your body’s tolerance for heat and increase your risk of a heat illness.
Heat-related ailments
1. Exertional Heat stroke is an extremely serious illness that can result in death unless quickly recognized and properly treated. Signs and symptoms include a fever of 104F, altered consciousness, seizures, confusion, emotional instability, irrational behavior or decreased mental acuity; nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; headache, dizziness, or weakness; decreased blood pressure; dehydration; and combativeness. Key steps to take when exertional heat stroke is identified include immediate whole-body cooling, preferably through cold-water immersion, followed immediately by medical treatment in an emergency room.
2. Heat exhaustion is a moderately serious illness resulting from fluid loss or sodium loss in the heat. Signs and symptoms include loss of coordination; dizziness or fainting; profuse sweating or pale skin; headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea; stomach/intestinal cramps or persistent muscle cramps. Heat exhaustion patients should immediately be transported to a cool, shaded environment with feet elevated, and fluids should be replaced. If your condition worsens or does not improve within minutes, you should be transported to the emergency room for evaluation and treatment. Practice is over for you. Probably would be a good idea to go see your doctor to make sure nothing is causing the problem other than inadequate hydration.
3. Heat cramps are often present in those who perform strenuous exercise in the heat. Signs and symptoms include intense pain (not associated with pulling or straining a muscle) and persistent muscle contractions that continue during and after exercise. You should consume high sodium food(Eat Ramen noodles), a sports drink and stretch the affected muscle.
4. Hyponatremia is a potentially fatal illness that occurs when a person’s blood sodium levels decrease, either due to over-hydration or inadequate sodium intake, or both. Headache, nausea, and vomiting are the usual symptoms when running.
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