At some stage, everyone will experience soreness and soft tissue injury as result of training. The impact nature of running leads to the connective tissue of muscles and tendons being stressed. When we push our bodies past the point at which the muscles and tendons can cope with, injury occurs. Injury is a common occurrence in any recreational athlete's development. One of the biggest learning curves for recreational athletes is how not to injure themselves and what to do when they are injured. Injury management is a key concept to master for all athletes. In the western world we have enormous resources to help manage injury. Usually the key to managing injury is finding people who understand running. Our links will provide you with a range of professionals who know how you think, why you think it and how to help you.

Injury prevention

Experienced runners learn what to do and what not to do in training and competition. Injuries occur due to asking the body to do something it is not able to. "Straining" instead of "training" is a good way of describing how an inexperienced athlete approaches their running program. Below are some simple guidelines for preventing soft tissue injuries.

• Initially seek medical advice
• Assess your potential.
• Understand the risks involved in the activity.
• Always use a cool down procedure after an event, either training or racing.
• Make sure the training load is appropriate for your fitness level.
• Always use gentle static stretching before commencing weight bearing activities.
• Plan a fifteen minute cardiovascular warm up, aim for a slow increase in heart rate from resting levels to around seventy five percent of estimated maximum heart rate. If you are planning an intense training or competition you may need to gradually build your heart rate to approximately eighty five percent of estimated maximum heart rate.
• Use appropriate equipment and clothing for the event and environment.
• If you have existing injuries have them analysed by expert professionals.
• Stick to the program.
• Monitor your recovery from previous training. See The key to success below.
• Begin with a low intensity