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Beat running pain: any of these four cardio killers can impede your aerobic efforts. Here's how to stay on the fat-burning track, whether you favor a treadmill or the open road - Cardio Clinic

Men's Fitness, Sept, 2002 by Bob Cooper

If you do any running, you're all too familiar with those annoying afflictions that can turn a relaxing romp or fat-burning drill into an achy, often abridged shuffle. We're not talking major injuries, but their irritating quartet of kid brothers--muscle cramps, blisters, stiffness and bellyaches. These seldom warrant a doctor's visit or even a break from your running routine, but they're still a pain in the (check one): legs, joints, feet or gut. Here's how to stop the big, bad four from ruining your next run.

1| ACHES

Aches and pains are the body's initial warning signals, like those instrument-panel icons that light up when your car is low on various vital fluids. Fail to heed any one of them for long, and you'll wind up stranded on the road shoulder, wondering which podiatrist (or towing company) to call.

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"For new runners, especially, aches and pains are quite common," says Jeffrey Ross, D.P.M., former president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine and a longtime marathoner. Whether the culprit is mild shin splints, an Achilles tendon or ankle strain, or a tweaked knee or heel, these are nuisances you could ignore. But should you?

"A twinge that comes and goes usually doesn't indicate a problem," says Ross. "But if you start a run with it, and it persists, this could foreshadow a chronic overuse injury." If something hurts throughout the first mile of a run, walk for a few minutes. If the pain is still there after you resume running, call it a day. If you still feel discomfort after a week or two, see a podiatrist or a sports-medicine physician.

Treatment: Even a subtle, intermittent ache should be iced ASAP after a run to reduce inflammation. Slap on an ice pack or rub the afflicted area with an ice cube for 20 minutes. An anti-inflammatory such as Aleve or Motrin taken post-run can help if the pain demands it.

Prevention:

* Limit mileage increases to 10 percent per week.

* Add speed-oriented training in small doses.

* Don't overstride; develop a short, economical stride.

* Stay off the hardest and softest surfaces, like sidewalks and tall grass.

* Replace shoes within every 500 miles.

* Regularly strengthen and stretch your running muscles and tendons, especially those you've injured before.

2| BLISTERS

Minor blister pain can advance from a low simmer to a fiery torture in the space of a few miles, so don't let it get a toehold in the gap between your feet and your socks and shoes. "Blisters are caused by chronic friction, most often on the toes or balls of your feet," says Ross. This friction shreds the outer layers of your skin, initially causing a "hot spot"--characterized by redness and a slight burning sensation--before it evolves into a blister. Blood blisters and black (or blood-blistered) toenails are colorful variations of the common water blister.

Treatment: Protect hot spots and blisters with moleskin, medical tape or good ol' duct tape. Even a smooth leaf, inserted between your sock and your skin at mid-run, can work--assuming, of course, you know how to rule out poisonous sumac, ivy and oak. After the run, water and blood blisters should be lanced at the side with a sterile needle, drained, then covered with a Band-Aid and antibiotic cream. Repeat the process if the blister refills.

Prevention:

* Buy shoes with a thumbnail's width of wiggle room in the toe box for all 10 toes. Bear in mind that your feet swell a little when you run, so err on the "long" side when choosing between two sizes.

* Slather toes and other blister-prone areas with an anti-friction cream such as Vaseline or Body Glide before long runs and when breaking in new shoes.

* Switch from cotton to synthetic socks. Cotton socks retain moisture and bunch up, producing blisters at the socks' folds.

* Overpronating adds friction as your feet roll inward, increasing the likelihood of blisters. Try store-shelf or podiatrist-made orthotic inserts, which can reduce both blisters and biomechanics-related injuries.

* If you don't overpronate, add a drugstore foot pad made of gel or some other anti-friction material to add an extra layer of protection between your feet and the ground.

3| SORE MUSCLES

Like cholesterol, muscle soreness comes in two kinds: one "good," one "bad." Knowing how to tell them apart, says exercise physiologist and Portland Marathon Clinics co-director Patti Finke, is crucial. "Mild stiffness after exercise is not only normal, but necessary to the process of getting into better running shape," she says. "It's caused by microtears of muscle tissue and should dissipate within 24 hours."

A training "error"--going too far, too fast, too hard on consecutive days, or down too many hills--can produce "bad" soreness, a.k.a. delayed-onset muscle soreness. With DOMS, tissue is more severely damaged, and the pain actually worsens for 24 to 48 hours after the workout. The remedy is rest.

Treatment: While DOMS runs its course, typically lasting three to five days, don't risk a full-blown injury by running. (Your compromised muscles will shift the load to more, easily injured tendons and connective tissue.) Instead, trim recovery time by doing three things that accelerate blood flow to your sore muscles and flush waste products out of your system:

Beat running pain: any of these four cardio killers can impede your aerobic efforts. Here's how to stay on the fat-burning track, whether you favor a treadmill or the open road - Cardio Clinic

Men's Fitness, Sept, 2002 by Bob Cooper

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