Sick and Tired

So week 7 done and dusted and we are over half way through our training programme! I have to say it has been harder than I thought. My running group have been struck down by the dreaded Sick and Tired disease. Symptoms include:

1.     Sore legs

2.     Extreme fatigue

3.     Excessive sweating

4.     Poor performance

5.     Low mood

6.     Sore legs (need to list it twice for emphasis)

My whole running group (except for Richard who seems to have been born with immunity) have been struck down to a greater or lesser degree. Sore legs is the worst and most common symptom. We have a range of sore knees, sore ankles, sore heels and sore toes!!!

Patellofemoral Pain syndrome or Runner’s knee.

Runner’s knee is usually caused by either a mal tracking patella or poor biomechanics. The patella sits in your quadriceps muscles and if one of the quads is stronger than another it can result in a pull of the patella causing it to mal track in its groove causing pain. Poor biomechanics can be a result of issues coming from the feet or from the pelvis. Your physio should be able to determine the likely cause and address it. The treatment initially is RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). Compression is usually in the form of taping to relieve the pressure on the patella and reduce swelling and pain. Ongoing rehab will include exercises to address the under lying cause so if muscle imbalance is the cause then your physio will give you specific exercises to correct it. Similarly if poor biomechanics are to blame specific exercises can help as can properly supportive shoes or orthotics.

Achilles tendonitis

This is usually an overuse injury, very common amongst runners due to the repetitive nature of running. It can also be caused if you up your training too quickly or suddenly add hill sprints into your routine. Like Runners knee, weak muscles can play a part and in the case of Achilles tendonitis it is usually the calf muscles that need strengthened. In the early stages RICE is the best treatment. Ongoing rehab will consist of concentric and eccentric strengthening exercises which, take it from me, definitely help in the management of this condition. Check out this article on how to perform the eccentric strengthening exercises for Achilles tendonitis

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/injuryprevention/qt/Achilles-Strengthening.htm

Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis or joggers heel is a common cause of heel pain in runners. It is caused by an over stretching or tearing of the fascia on the sole of the feet. This can be because of over use, tight calf muscles, overzealous hill sprints or wearing the wrong or old trainers. As with all these inflammatory conditions RICE is the first line of treatment, then stretches for the calf and the plantar fascia. A common way of stretching the fascia on the sole of the feet is to get a plastic coke bottle (a 600ml one), fill it with water and put in your freezer. Once is has frozen roll the arch of your foot on it (place a thin towel between your foot and the bottle first), use gentle pressure to get a good massage to the foot.

One thing I have noticed about all these injuries is the cause is usually tight or weak muscles and or the wrong shoes. So we need to get to strength training, do our stretches and buy lots of new trainers!!! Must show this to dear hubby now that I have a medical reason why I have to buy so many shoes!!

 

So when treating the Sick and Tired disease we have the following treatment plan:

SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT  

 

1.     Sore legs

RICE, strength training, stretching, lots of new supportive trainers preferable in really nice colours

2.     Extreme fatigue

Get a good night’s sleep otherwise suck it up! We are training for a marathon of course you’re tired!

3.     Excessive sweating

Apparently the fittest people sweat the most so bring it!

4.     Poor Performance

See number 2

5.     Low mood

Buck up we only have 6 weeks to go!!! Yay!!!

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