Running after injury

[Florentine]

About five weeks after graduation I tripped in my kitchen and injured my knee. Nothing was broken but the swelling was huge and it was badly bruised. I needed crutches for a few days. I was so upset to lose all the fitness I had worked so hard to establish. My knee is a lot easier now but I’m anxious not to overdo my return to running. Any advice on the best way to proceed please?

[UnfitNoMore Graduate]

Looking at your posts, this happened about 3 weeks ago? If so, you won’t have lost any significant fitness.

The only way to find out where you’re at is to go for a relaxed, conversational paced run and see what you got.

Of course, you’ll want to test that knee out first. I usually have a little (literally 20 yard) jog in the middle of a walk to see if there’s any reaction... if not then I’ll walk to a hill and take the same gentle run both up and down it. If all is still well I would consider a short sprint. In all of this, including the gentle longer run, I stop at the first sign of pain from the recovering injury.

Hope this helps.

[Florentine Graduate in reply to UnfitNoMore]

Thank you! Appreciated.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Glad to hear you are mending.

As stated in the guide to the plan, healthunlocked.com/couchto5... you lose no significant condition in the first two weeks of non running.

After that loss of condition is gradual.

All any of us can do after a lay off is to go out and see what we can comfortably manage, then build back up gently, using C25k or something similar as a guide to weekly increase.

Err on the side of caution after physical injury..........we tend to carry them for life and they leave us susceptible to further injury, so take care.