5 Ways to Avoid Overuse Injuries

Who else is excited about summer and the summer sports season?  I just hosted a workshop at the office for the endurance athlete, and it got me so fired up for the upcoming season!  As some of you may know, I am an avid motocross racer and have been racing since I was 5 years old.  I look forward to it every year; my season just started last week!  Many summer sports tend to have a long competitive season, which places a lot of demand on the body.  In part from this, overuse injuries are common amongst athletes, and they can sideline you for the year if you aren't vigilant in treating them.

What are Overuse Injuries?

Overuse injuries are a category of injury typically due to too much repetition, improper training, or poor alignment.  They tend to happen gradually rather than traumatically or suddenly.  Most overuse injuries are a form of tendonitis or tendinopathies. These happen when the muscle tendon becomes inflamed and irritated.  Common overuse injuries include patellofemoral pain, iliotibial (IT) band syndrome, plantar fasciitis, and shoulder impingement.

Since the pain will gradually get worse with overuse injuries, most athletes don't take them seriously until the pain becomes unbearable or begins to limit their ability.  The problem with this is that you can risk degeneration of the tendon, causing it to weaken. This puts you at a higher risk for a more serious injury.  Having your pain addressed sooner versus later can help prevent this.

Tips to Avoid Overuse Injuries

The following tips will help you prevent an overuse injury from occurring and keep it from returning if you have a history of an overuse injury.

1. Training Errors

The most common causes of overuse injuries are related to an athlete's training program.  Ramping up your mileage too quickly can lead to overuse injuries because the body isn't ready or able to perform at that level of demand.  In addition, not incorporating any cross-training or adequate rest days into your training program can stress the body more.  For example, if you are a runner, you move in the same patterns repeatedly.  Due to this repetitive movement pattern, the same forces and stresses are placed on the same structures repeatedly, like your plantar fascia on the bottom of your foot.  This can lead to irritation and inflammation, which turn into plantar fasciitis (a common overuse injury).

2. Warm-Up

Be honest. How many times have you stretched for 30 seconds, hopped on your bike, and pedaled away?  I hate to break it to you, but that's not exactly a proper warm-up. And worse, it can put you at high risk for injury.  A proper warm-up will help increase blood to the muscles, increase the heart rate, and also activate the main muscles needed for your sport.  This is called a dynamic warm-up, and it should be specific to your sport.  For example, a cyclist uses their leg muscles and core primarily, so these should be focused on with the warmup and could include bodyweight squats and inchworm.  For more detail on dynamic warm-ups, check out this blog post.

3. Proper Nutrition

With all the training and competition during the season, your muscles need time in between to repair. Eating a well-balanced diet with plenty of protein will help repair your muscles.  Without it, your muscles continue to break down, leading to an overuse injury.  Every sport has slightly different demands for nutrition, and each person's body processes certain foods differently.  However, a good mix of protein, fat, and carbohydrates with each meal (especially pre and post-competition) is ideal for fueling and replenishing the body.

4. Recovery

Training and competing puts high stress and demand on our bodies, muscles, and mind.  We all need proper recovery to avoid overuse injuries so the body has time to heal itself.  The muscles need to be rebuilt and replenished with nutrients to perform optimally at the next training session.  The body also needs to be rehydrated before the next training session to allow the muscles and brain to function properly.  If you lose weight during your training session or competition, you want to regain that water weight before the next training session to be properly hydrated.  Recovery is also the perfect time to loosen up your tight muscles and make sure that your body is moving properly and not compensating due to tightness somewhere.  All of these recovery techniques will help you avoid overuse injuries because you are keeping the body functioning at its optimal level.

5. Eliminate Muscle Imbalances

In my experience, it's very common for athletes to have muscle imbalances in their bodies. This means that one set of muscles may not function optimally, and another set compensates for it.  For example, if the hip muscles are weak or lack neuromuscular control, this creates an imbalance in the trunk. This imbalance places additional demand on the back muscles or leg muscles to stabilize.  These compensations and imbalances are a large risk factor in overuse injuries because the body isn't moving properly and is instead overcompensating.  Working with a physical therapist to identify these imbalances and compensations can help get you balanced and decrease your risk for injury.

A really great way that we work with endurance athletes is by utilizing slow-motion video analysis. It allows us to analyze how your body is aligned while performing your sports skill. Plus, it gives us a better understanding of the imbalances and compensations that may be occurring.  Want to learn more about it?  Check it out here!

Overuse injuries can be avoided for most athletes by following these tips and utilizing guidance from the right health professional.  If you want to ensure you finish your sports season without an overuse injury, start implementing these tips now. Don't wait until you begin to feel pain or limitations.