One of the things I love about the Jeff Galloway run/walk method is that is gives you the opportunity to run [mostly] injury free. Research has shown that incorporating walk breaks into your run can help you reduce the probability of injury as you are putting less stress on your structural and muscular systems than straight running.
Galloway is really the expert on this topic, so you'll find his tips below- with my two cents added in!
Training
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JG: Most injuries
experienced by my runners are due to
1) pacing long runs too fast,
2)
increasing the weekly
mileage too quickly,
3) lengthening stride and
4) stretching.
SR:
I would add an additional cause of injury- running as your ONLY activity. My stress
fracture was a direct result of ill-fitting shoes and too much running, not
enough cross or strength training. See also "The 10 Laws of Injury Prevention."
JG: The principle in
staying injury free is to balance gentle stress with the right recovery
periods-allowing for rebuilding. (for more information, see my book RUNNING
INJURIES)
SR: Yup! When I was
over-training in the summer, I did not allow enough rest for my skeletal system
to catch up with my muscles, tendons, and ligaments, thus causing an injury.
JG: Finding the right Run
Walk Run strategy from the beginning of a run has been the best way I've
found to stay injury free, come back from an injury and in some cases,
continue to run while the injury heals. (See my book RUN WALK RUN)
· Are you concerned that running will damage joints, and other body
parts ? I was told this regularly, from my first week of running over 50
years ago but the research shows the opposite result: Runners have
healthier joints, etc. than non runners as the decades go by.
· While researching for my book RUNNING UNTIL YOU'RE 100, I
reviewed dozens of studies and could not find one showing that running
harms legs, feet, joints, etc.
· It may surprise you to know that many studies show that
runners have fewer orthopedic issues compared with non-runners as the years
go by.
· A respected and large population study out of Stanford
following thousands of runners over 50 who had run for more than 20 years
concluded that runners had less than 25% of orthopedic issues compared with
non runners of the same age.
JG: As long as you stay
below the threshold of irritation you can often continue to run while the
injury heals.
SR: My orthopedic doctor and my physical therapist both encouraged me to run/walk as I came back from my stress fracture. And both are huge fans of the Galloway method- they say I'll be able to run well into my 70's as long as I keep taking walk breaks :-)
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What's the best way you've found to avoid injuries?
Isn't he the nicest person? I've been fortunate to meet him a few times and every time he gives me the best advice. And there are some times when I skip the walk breaks- occasionally on short runs or if I'm running with a group. But I definitely feel better when I do incorporate them into the run :-)
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