Stretch properly: 5 myths about injury prevention in running put to the test
As in other sports, there are many myths about how to prevent injuries in running. But unfortunately, many of the supposed insider tips are ineffective when it comes to injury prevention. We have taken a closer look at the 5 most popular tips for you and show you whether they will help you prevent running injuries or whether they are just airbrushing.
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Anyone who goes running or plays sports more often will also see many people stretching before exercising. Especially before running, thorough and especially proper stretching is supposed to help prevent injuries. Is that right?
In principle, there is nothing wrong with stretching. However, you should keep in mind that there is stretching and stretching. Stretching exercises serve two different purposes. On the one hand, you can actively stretch your muscles dynamically to prepare your body for an imminent load, e.g. a 10-kilometer run. On the other hand, passive static stretching serves to improve your flexibility. It is therefore part of flexibility training.
So how should I stretch before running to prevent injury?
Before running, you should actively stretch your muscles dynamically. This means that you move within your range of motion (ROM) when stretching. Specifically, you stress the corresponding muscle part over the entire contraction range from maximum stretch to maximum flexion. In doing so, you do not stretch further than you are able to do with your own movement or that you are physically able to do without help from others. By actively stretching dynamically, you prevent the muscle-tendon unit from "wearing out" and losing return forces. Instead, you ensure that the muscles and tendons remain elastic under load and have a damping effect.
So when should I stretch passively?
However, you should not neglect passive stretching. Rather, make it a separate "training session" that helps you improve your flexibility. It is important that you do not passively stretch your muscles and tendons after strength or endurance training.
If you increase your range of motion through passive stretching, you prevent possible injuries in the long term.
Compression stockings - what they do and when you should wear them
There is hardly a sporting event at which athletes can be seen without compression stockings. Many amateur athletes like to copy this and think that they can improve their performance. The desired effects are also less damage to the muscles during exercise, which should lead to a shorter recovery time.
Compression stockings are also said to reduce inflammatory processes in the ligament and muscle apparatus as well as pain after exertion. In addition, the special stockings are said to improve blood circulation.
But the fact is: there is no objective scientific evidence about the effectiveness of compression socks in terms of regeneration or performance enhancement. In fact, wearing the socks can increase your well-being while running or doing sports. But you can also do that if you can design your own running shirts.
So compression stockings are more about the psychological effect than a proven positive impact on your physiology.
Conclusion about compression stockings
Basically, passive therapies such as massages, reboots, and even compression are only marginally beneficial for post-exercise recovery.
If you really want to optimize your recovery, tools to improve your sleep are much more effective. With the help of sleep trackers, for example, you can successively improve your recovery phase. This then has a significant effect on your regeneration. In this way, and with the right nutrition, you can increase your performance and effectively prevent injuries while running.
Is strength training useful as injury prevention?
The quick answer is yes! You can prevent injuries through strength training. It is also highly recommended for runners at any level. On the one hand, a strengthened musculature ensures a lower risk of injury when running, on the other hand, you can increase your performance with the help of targeted strength training.
In addition, strength training can be used to treat sports injuries, such as Jumpers Knee or Achilles tendinopathy. For stress fractures, the arch of the foot can be straightened with the help of stronger muscles. If you suffer from a runner's knee, you can strengthen the hip and buttock muscles with appropriate exercises. This can relieve pain and improve healing, for example.
Strength training is essential for improving performance in running because it improves your running economy. For example, stronger and better coordinated muscles require less oxygen for the same final speed or performance.
What should strength training for runners look like?
When strength training for running, you should go for maximum strength. This results in less hypertrophy, i.e. the cell volume does not increase as much with the same number of cells. Maximum strength training improves intramuscular coordination. Thanks to this form of training, you can target more motor units, i.e. ultimately more muscle fibers at the same time.
The important thing is that you should always approach and prepare strength training very carefully. Because especially at high intensity, the movement sequences must be correct. In addition, you should stay within the entire range of motion and perform the movements completely. This way you stay flexible despite muscle building. This also disproves a myth, because many people still think that strength training makes you rigid and immobile.
Exercises include compound lifts such as deadlifts and squats.
Are barefoot running and barefoot shoes absolutely necessary for running training?
Barefoot shoes are a reaction to the athletic shoe industry, which has taken a lot of cushioning and stabilization work away from the foot with heavily cushioned athletic shoes. Barefoot shoes, on the other hand, do not require cushioning and thus train the arch of the foot. It has to do the cushioning itself when the foot hits the ground. Those who walk barefoot (or in barefoot shoes) are more likely to land on the forefoot. This allows the natural cushioning of the feet to function better.
Barefoot shoes can actually be a good tool for strengthening the arch of the foot during running training. However, the shoes should not be used too often and rather lightly "dosed" into the training, because otherwise you risk overuse injuries.
In fact, there are far less risky methods to strengthen the arch of the foot. This can be done, for example, through targeted strength training. The effect: you strengthen your foot muscles and reduce the likelihood of injury.
Additional tip: You can wear toe spreaders in the evening. They relieve the arch of the foot if your toes have been pressed together in the shoe all day. By spreading the toes, the muscles that strengthen the arch of your foot are relieved and trained.
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Supplements - miracle cure or myth?
Nutritional supplements are considered to be true miracle cures when it comes to performance enhancement and regeneration in sports. Whether shakes and other supplements really make sense depends on your training intensity.
If you are active in the area of health sports, it is usually sufficient if you eat a whole food diet and thus consume sufficient proteins, fats and proteins. Especially by supplementing micronutrients you can in the worst case mess up your metabolism. Here you should visit a doctor in advance and have your blood analyzed. Only if a deficiency of vitamins or minerals is diagnosed on the basis of a blood count, you should also supplement.
If you do competitive sports, supplements in the form of shakes can make sense. This is also the case, for example, if you could not otherwise take enough so-called "macros" (proteins, proteins and fats) through "normal" nutrition.
With the shakes it is important that this is matched to your needs for nutrients, minerals, fats and carbohydrates. Combinations are a good option here. The combination also makes it easier for your body to absorb the macros you need.
When it comes to micronutrients, only creatine has been shown to be effective in weight training.
Conclusion: What is really useful for the prevention of running injuries
- Stretching: Definitely useful to prevent injuries during running. This is especially true for active-dynamic stretching before training. Passive stretching improves your flexibility and should be considered as a single training session.
- Compression socks: No, they don't make sense. They rather improve the "feel-good factor", but have no proven influence on regeneration or performance enhancement.
- Strength training: This is even important to prevent injuries in running. Here, exercises with maximum strength in the complete ROM are particularly suitable.
- Barefoot shoes: Only useful in fine doses. Basically, strength training is more efficient and reduces the risk of flooding, which reduces the likelihood of a running injury.
- Supplementation: If you are not involved in competitive sports, a wholesome diet is completely sufficient. If you want to take micronutrients via supplements, you should have a blood test done by a doctor beforehand.
