Common Springtime Sports Injuries for Runners

The weather is getting nicer and shelter in place COVID-19 rules are slowly lifting, which means many runners will be leaving their homes behind in favor of the open road, trails, and fresh air. Whether you are hitting the road for the first time as a new runner or a lifelong runner, please make the transition smoothly to avoid common springtime sports injuries for runners.

Doing too much too fast greatly increases your chances of a running injury. Here’s a great article in Shape Magazine to help you get started, “The 3 Injuries You’re Most Likely to Get This Spring.” The article gets into common injuries for runners, including straining the plantar fascia, stiffness in the Achilles tendon, as well patella tendonitis. It also gets into how to prevent these things from happening. As you get started, make sure to recognize the symptoms of overuse injuries, which are generally treated by RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) + AR (Anti-inflammatory medication and Re-conditioning).

Don’t Run More if it Hurts, Try Pedaling Too

For those who are looking for exercise or rehab products that can help runners prevent injury and / or manage running related injuries, many rehabilitation protocols include riding a stationary exercise bike. A stationary exercise bike is non-weight bearing and is usually a safe knee rehab exercise to help restore and improve knee joint mobility, stability, flexibility and strength. While people love the benefits of stationary exercise bikes in a clinic or gym, most would rather be outside in the fresh air! That’s why we’d love for your to get your Excy outside as much as possible when pedaling. If you can’t get outside, try to pedal next to a window. Also, if you need to give your running legs a rest, don’t forget to explore Excy as an arm bike for upper body cardio and strength training.

Here are a few quick videos for how Excy customers who are runners use Excy today!

Runner and Former Collegiate Athlete Uses Excy to Cross Train at Work:

Runner and Long Boarder Uses Excy to Recover From Hip Surgery

Busy Runner/Mom Uses Excy to Cross Train at Home

Former Marathon Runner Uses Excy to Safely Cycle and Exercise at Home with Parkinson’s Disease

Returning to Running After an Injury

Injury is the inevitable side-effect of being a lifelong runner, but it’s essential to return cautiously to avoid further injury. Runner’s World has a great article titled “7 Athletes Reveal How They Manage Chronic Knee Pain—and Still Stay Active.” The article gets into targeted exercises, diet, stretching, foam rollers, ACL surgery and extended rehab, knee replacement surgery, and working with a physical therapist on a little bit of everything to focus on recovery and prevention methods. If your pain alarm repeatedly keeps going off and your brain keeps telling you to do something about it, don’t ignore yourself and consult with your doctor and physical therapist to create a personalized plan that works for you.