Injury prevention
Ben Barwick is a UKA Coach in Running Fitness and works for Mind’s training partner, Full Potential. The team at Full Potential are on hand to help #TeamMind get ready for their active challenges.
The main cause of injury is inappropriate training load – doing too much when the body isn’t ready for it. Any training should build up gradually. Everyone is different, so you need to make sure your training is right for you and your body.
Am I injured or just sore?
Being sore is something every endurance athlete experiences. You can often still train, and once you’ve warmed up you might not even feel it.
But if the pain gets to the point where you’re moving differently to compensate for the pain or you’re noticing it every time you train, then you probably have an injury. The best thing to do is see a sports physiotherapist or your GP as soon as possible to get them to diagnose the injury. If you can, ask people you know for recommendations of good sports physiotherapists near you.
When you see a physio, you want to find out:
- What the injury is
- What treatment looks like
- What alternative exercises you can do
- What cross-training you can do
- How long until you can return to training
If you’re using a Full Potential training plan, you can get in touch with us and tell us about your injury. We’ll adjust your plan to include recovery time and suggest cross-training that’s safe to continue in the interim.
Top tips
Avoid searching your symptoms online – professional support is really needed here to get a proper diagnosis.
By training smartly, listening to your body and living a healthy lifestyle, you can reduce the chance of getting injured. Although we understand it might be tempting to run extra miles on top of your normal training, it makes it more likely that you’ll pick up an injury.
You’re the expert on your body. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s important not to ignore it. Too often, we see runners just pushing on, hoping the pain goes away. This can often make things worse.
The mental side of injuries
Getting injured can really affect your outlook, not only on running but also on your life, especially if exercise is a key way you manage your mental health.
It’s important to take a day or so to have a break from your sport and give yourself some space. It's understandable to feel frustrated or disappointed to not be able to train the way you'd hoped. Try to focus on what you can control. This may be a chance for you to work on other areas of your training that you might have been neglecting.
If you do the rehab work and keep up with your fitness with cross-training, you’ll be amazed at how little fitness you’ll have lost. Plus - it’s a great chance to try something new.
Other ways to support your mental health during this time
Keep a diary to record your physical activity and articulate your thoughts, feelings and motivations for training. This can always be helpful, but especially when you are injured, focusing on:
- How training or not being able to train is making you think and feel.
- Identifying what is in your control at this time and focusing on positive steps you can take towards your recovery,
- Balancing the different type of activities across the week and noting how much time you give to each of them. Are there other areas of your life that you could focus on during this time?
Build in rest days. This may start with active rest, which can be described as taking part in light or easy activity where you’re still moving but not at the intensity level you normally move or doing something different to your usual routine.
Identify other self-care activities: Mind’s self-care library has lots of ideas to get started.
Find ways to stay in touch with your training buddies or running groups. It can be incredibly isolating when you are injured and in turn being disconnected can further impact our mental health.
Exercise and mental health
Getting injured regularly and exercising even when unwell or injured can be a sign that your relationship with exercise is becoming unhealthy. Mind has lots of information about signs and symptoms and how you can develop a healthy relationship with exercise on our website.
Getting injured can have a negative impact on your mental health, Mind can help you seek help for a mental health problem.
Side by Side is Mind’s online peer support community where you can talk about your mental health and connect with others who understand what you're going through. You can search ‘physical activity’ or ‘sport’ under the interests tab or ‘exercise problems’ under the experiences tab to find connect with others.
Important: disclaimer
Please read this information carefully:
Full Potential is an independent service provider. Mind does not endorse or guarantee the services of Full Potential, and you take part in a training programme recommended by Full Potential at your own risk.
It’s your responsibility to consult with your GP to make sure that you’re medically and physically fit and well enough to take part in a Full Potential training programme and – as per our terms and conditions – your fundraising challenge. Mind will not be held responsible for any injury or illness related to your training or taking part in a fundraising event.
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