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What to know before
you go.....
by
freddy
One thing that can stop your tri career before it gets started is a serious
injury or a constantly nagging injury. I have found a few of the most common
injuries that are associated with triathlons. Here I will give you a brief
description of the injury, some forms of treatment, and prevention.
Rotator cuff tendonitis or as it is also known as "swimmer shoulder", is
an inflammation in muscles due to microscopic muscle tears and stress on the
four major muscle groups that make up the rotator cuff. Treatment for minor
cases is rest, ice, and compression with an elastic wrap. In major cases
orthopedic surgery is needed. Prevention may be to develop balanced strength in
shoulders by weight training, also learning proper swim strokes will help.
Plantar Fascitis is a ligament that runs through the arch of the foot and
spreads over the sole. During impact of running the ligaments are stretched.
This is caused by overtraining, foot imbalances, and running on hard surfaces
with worn out shoes. Treatment may be to ice the plantar fascia and take
anti-inflammatory medication. Prevention of this injury is to avoid running on
hard surfaces all the time and avoid running in worn out shoes.
Shin splints and stress fractures are common injuries. Shin
splints usually develop from vague discomfort experienced during exercise and if
not treated may lead to severe pain that will hinder proper training. Stress
fractures occur in the metatarsal (toe bone), fibula (small calf bone), femur
(thigh bone), and navicular (ankle bone). Both of these injuries may be caused
by on hard surfaces, starting speed work to soon, or having muscle imbalances .
The treatment of shin splints is to apply ice to the area for 30 minutes two to
three times per day. And depending on the severity of the fracture, with stress
fractures you should abstain from running anywhere from 3 to 6 months.
Prevention for both injuries may be the changing of your shoes. Also be
sure to run on softer surfaces.
By no means are these all of the injuries, preventions, or treatments, but
knowing these things will allow you to train safer. Good luck training and stay
injury free.
FrEdDy
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