Injured on run 2 of week 1!

[RevChris]

😩 oh dear - run 2 of week 1 and i’ve Injured my knee and have a swollen ankle! Finding it hard to walk this morning. Bought new trainers after having my gait measured and spent a lot of money on them so as to look after myself - so not sure what I’ve done wrong. So disappointed.

[Holsmols]

RevChris I have also just got to my first run of week 2 and was shocked to hear Laura advising people to make sure they strike with their heel first - this goes against all advice I’ve ever read about how to run safely (including the NHS website) and everyone else suggests avoiding heel striking and aiming to land in the middle/balls of your feet. Do you think this may have contributed or did you sensibly ignore that little bit of ‘advice’? Otherwise maybe just try jogging much slower - I am a reasonably fit person and cycle/walk a lot but every time I try running I injure myself (usually my back) which is why I’m now trying the C25k and forcing myself to get into it a bit more slowly. if you’re reasonably fit to start with I think the temptation is to push yourself a bit early on as it feels ‘easy’ but the fact is that your body isn’t used to running yet, so even when it feels easy I think it’s probably important to still take it slow early on. Also make sure you stretch afterwards - there are some useful links in one of the intro posts. Hope that helps!

[RevChris in reply to Holsmols]

Thank you so much. My mistake was not to stretch before I went out. I did a 2.5 mile walk to church yesterday evening and felt fine, sat through Evensong for an hour and then did C25k training on the way home - but I didn’t stretch before. I have been told that I have arthritis in my knees - but I know people who do run with arthritic bits and pieces. I’m going to book in to see a physio this morning - thanks for taking the trouble to reply.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

You say in your reply above that you are going to see a physio, which is certainly the best approach.

There are links in the guide to the plan healthunlocked.com/couchto5... to both dynamic stretching for pre run and static stretching for post run.

There is an outside chance that it is your shoes causing the problem.

[RevChris]

Thanks for your reply - I bought a really good pair of shoes after having my gait analysed in a specialist shop, so I don’t think the shoes can be the cause. The physio thinks the injury was probably caused by running over uneven land on a Farmer’s field. She also said that as I have arthritis in my knees, running might not be good for me, because there’s nothing much in the knee to absorb the impact - just bone on bone😒