Injuries are an athlete's worse nightmare. Months of hard training can be brought to an end without sometimes been given a chance to prove all the hard work that's been done. However, better knowledge of one's own body and its signals can often lead to less injuries and better overall training. Most of the knowledge I have learned on this topic has come from personal experience and the experiences of fellow athletes that I have trained with. The most important point to note before going any further is that in most cases the body gives warning signals to the athlete before he or she gets injured. It is up to the athlete to listen to these signals and act upon them. Otherwise, it is inevitable that the runner will become injured and remain out of action for a period of time. However, with a muscular or physical injury an athlete can resort to aqua training to prolong his or her fitness level.
When racing and training performance start to deteriorate the first place to look is at the runner's health. Check the intake of vitamin B and C and the level of iron in the body. These can be corrected by the use of vitamin and iron tablets. Often an athlete will need more of these than the regular person due to the demands running puts the body through. Next, check the resting pulse rate and compare it with previous pulse rates when the runner was feeling good. If there appears to be a significant difference it usually indicates an infection and a doctor should be consulted.
Stress is a common factor that can decrease a runner's performance. A number of possible reasons such as pressure from work, school or home, or all three can cause stress. Also, stress can be linked to excessive training and/or racing, lack of sleep or irregular and incorrect feeding. Symptoms of stress are weight loss, swollen glands, recurring sore throat, mouth ulcers, insomnia, loss of running form, skin rashes and backache. If an athlete suffers from one of the above symptoms he or she should immediately rest from all training and racing and look into the possible causes of the stress so that it can be corrected. Resting will decrease ones stress level, however, the athlete must find the cause of the stress so that it will not persist and can be avoided in future.
Following is a list of the most common injuries amongst athletes, their causes and the best treatment for recovery. Note however, the list should not be used for lengthy home treatment without early professional advice. The basis of treating injuries are correct first-aid, early medical advice from a professional, good home therapy, eating the correct food to help speed up the injury process, and gradual rehabilitation.
Achilles Tendon
Causes