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Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury?
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 2009-09-04 9:28 PM |
Veteran 142   South Jersey (Cherry Hill) |  Subject: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury?This forum does a tremendous job of enhancing discussion of the benefits of tri training and participation. Folks look better and feel better about themselves. However, could there be a downside to rigorous training? Will training and participation hurt the knees, for instance, such that one might become somewhat lame and in need of surgery in the latter years of life? |
| 2009-09-04 10:23 PM in reply to: #2390845 |
Master 1411 Lexington, KY | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? I wouldn't be entirely surprised if years of strenuous exercise had some negative consequences. But as far as knees go, running doesn't seem to be as bad as people often assume: link. |
| 2009-09-04 10:31 PM in reply to: #2390845 |
Expert 658 | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? I'm 20. My ankles, knees and spine is quite frankly f***** Swimming and cycling are all good. Running is where the injuries come for me. |
| 2009-09-04 10:38 PM in reply to: #2390845 |
Member 210 | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? It seems to me that a more active lifestyle would reduce the chances of obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma, and 100 other things that are known to be detrimental to one's health. The benefits from proper exercise now would far outweigh the risk of injuries later on down the road. That being said, there is a thing called over training, which leads to muscle, tendon, bone and joint injuries, but that's why we have things like rest days, 10% rule, etc. There's a man in Austin who runs many of the local fun runs (mostly the 5k's) He has a race number pinned to the back of his shirt that says, "In Denial at 86!" Next time I see him, I'll try to remember to ask him how his knees are doing!  |
| 2009-09-04 11:35 PM in reply to: #2390893 |
Master 3127 Sunny Southern Cal | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? supa-powa - 2009-09-04 8:31 PM I'm 20. My ankles, knees and spine is quite frankly f***** Swimming and cycling are all good. Running is where the injuries come for me. x2 |
| 2009-09-05 12:16 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
Member 313 Ventura County, California | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? I was just speaking with a doctor in my facility on this issue. He is a podiatrist and does a lot of work with runners and triathletes. He claims that triathletes have far fewer injuries (1/3) than those who run alone. He says that triathletes by definition cross-train which helps immensely. So while we do tend to train a lot, we are helped by the fact that we mix it up. |
| 2009-09-05 5:17 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
Pro 3906 Libertyville, IL | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? The thing with running is that being an impact sport, its just going to beat you up. There are too many people who dont know the proper times in their growth as runners to even begin to think about speed work and or increase volumes too quickly. With the triathletes schedule and the quest for improvement, this can lead to not enough miles with too many of them being faster than they should be for healthy development. I understand some folks have their own issues this way, but have seen many cases of too much too soon. RE the OP, more prone to injury vs who? Someone playing bball or soccer or whatever (as I have in the past) is subject to ankle sprains and breaks, knee injuries, etc, etc. I dont know the percentages, but it seems that all sports have their risks but I would think the severity of issues with endurance athletes wouldnt be as bad as something one can incur in a team sport which also risks the every so often aches and pains tri folks see. |
| 2009-09-05 5:42 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
Champion 10154 Alabama | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? Injury vs heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stress, etc Certainly biking and running have the potential for injury - not sure I've ever heard of anyone injurred while swimming - but I think that risk far outweights the potential for a litney of other ailments associated with a sedintary lifestyle. But actually, I think triathletes are less prone to injury than coach potatos. I believe in the body's incredible adaptive ability and so pounding on the road and hours of spinning on a bike makes our bones tougher and our ligaments stronger. ~Mike |
| 2009-09-05 9:02 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
| Tyler, | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? |
| 2009-09-05 9:40 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
Extreme Veteran 336 Chicago | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? Triathletes and runners suffer more acute injuries (like sprains, muscle tears, etc..) then people that don't exercise. Most chronic conditions are results of genetics, being over weight, or people's own stupidity. Some people are just going to get arthritis no matter what they do. As long as you are consistent with your training over your whole life you'll be better off for having exercised. If you are going to weigh 300lbs and go from couch potato to IM in a year then yeah you're asking for serious problems. |
| 2009-09-05 9:54 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
Coach 10487 Boston, MA | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? At the level most of us around here the answer is no. Besides, while injuries can be related to genetics or mechanical deficiencies I would say in general most chronic related injuries for endurance athletes are as result of improper training (i.e.d doing too much too soon) rather than caused by muscle imbalances. What is still unknown are the health risks of rigorous training for someting like an IM or ultra distance running can have on the long run on the individual... |
| 2009-09-05 10:12 AM in reply to: #2391131 |
Expert 1170 Southern Pines, NC | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? JorgeM - 2009-09-05 10:54 AM At the level most of us around here the answer is no. Besides, while injuries can be related to genetics or mechanical deficiencies I would say in general most chronic related injuries for endurance athletes are as result of improper training (i.e.d doing too much too soon) rather than caused by muscle imbalances. What is still unknown are the health risks of rigorous training for someting like an IM or ultra distance running can have on the long run on the individual... Agreed... I have a coworker who's training for a marathon and was saying she had to ice her legs after every run and feels fatigued and miserable... I asked her when her last rest day was and she said "I don't take rest days." Hmm.... She didn't believe me when I told her to rest, so I told her to hire a coach to tell her she needs to rest.  Edited by DrPete 2009-09-05 10:13 AM |
| 2009-09-05 10:24 AM in reply to: #2391094 |
| New user 219 | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? triritter - 2009-09-05 9:02 AMwho visits their P.T. the most, the sedentary or the athletes? I have to say that as a WeightWatchers Lifetimer member for the past 5 and a half years... I see countless sedentary people trying to lose weight and it seems they are always injured even before they try to add in exercise. Just walking to their cars is difficult. They can't do stairs. They have back problems. Etc. Etc. Then add in trying to start a simple, easy exercise plan and half of them can never even get started. |
| 2009-09-05 10:27 AM in reply to: #2391169 |
Expert 1170 Southern Pines, NC | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? chasing3 - 2009-09-05 11:24 AM triritter - 2009-09-05 9:02 AMwho visits their P.T. the most, the sedentary or the athletes? I have to say that as a WeightWatchers Lifetimer member for the past 5 and a half years... I see countless sedentary people trying to lose weight and it seems they are always injured even before they try to add in exercise. Just walking to their cars is difficult. They can't do stairs. They have back problems. Etc. Etc. Then add in trying to start a simple, easy exercise plan and half of them can never even get started.Let's not forget that "injury" to a triathlete is PF, achilles tendinitis, ITBS, or knee problems. "Injury" to lifetime sedentary people means diabetes, high blood pressure, peripheral vascular disease, and heart attacks. |
| 2009-09-05 10:31 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
Pro 6520 Bellingham, WA | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? I switched to tri's mainly because I could not endure the daily pounding of running. With Tri you are less likely to develope an overuse injury by cross-training. I also believe the cross-training strengthens supporting muscle groups that also reduces injuries. |
| 2009-09-05 10:33 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
| Member 195 Akron, OH | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? Like any endurance sport, triathletes are subject particularly to overuse type injuries if they do not train properly by starting slow, building a base, progressing at a reasonable pace, resting appropriately, etc. I see much worse injuries from contact sports and more agressive team sports where traumatic injuries are much more common. The problem with those traumatic injuries, like ligamentous injuries of the knees, etc, it that even when repaired, the joint is forever altered and often see premature arthritis in those joints. |
| 2009-09-05 11:00 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
| Tyler, | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? yeah you need to always start gradually, too many people try to do something too fast too soon. For example, this lady was asking me how much she should increase her walking speed and incline and I was like never both at the same time when your starting out or re-starting. Most people should follow the 10% rule and also it's the recovery techniques that will keep them from getting injured such as ice baths after tough days, epson salt baths, elevating legs, massage, and stretching. Most us aren't pro's and we have full time jobs so we actually need more rest days than the pro's do, because after the pro's finish their work outs the rest of their day is spent doing recovery techniques and plus getting 8-10 hours a sleep and night with naps during the day. |
| 2009-09-05 11:03 AM in reply to: #2390845 |
| Tyler, | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? 10 things for recovery from lifesportcoaching.com http://www.lifesportcoaching.com/tips_article.php?id=60 |
| 2009-09-05 7:49 PM in reply to: #2390845 |
Expert 769 Alpharetta (until we find a home) | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? I started doing tri's because I had a half of my meniscus cut out of my knee when I was 26. I was a runner only at the time. If I would run more than 3 days in a row my knee would ache. Triathlons allow me to exercise as much as I want and the "downtime" of cycling and swimming results in no pain while or after running. |
| 2009-09-05 8:57 PM in reply to: #2390845 |
| Veteran 142 South Jersey (Cherry Hill) | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? So, what I am gathering is that running long distances seems to pose the most problems for triathletes. It also seems that the cross training benefits of swimming and cycling may actually help to prevent running injuries. I would suspect that those who participate in HIM and full IM are the most likely to experience injury, likely because of the long distance running part which can be in most people grueling on the joints. |
| 2009-09-05 9:23 PM in reply to: #2390939 |
Veteran 393 The Beautiful San Fernando Valley in Sunny L.A. | Subject: RE: Are Triathletes More Prone to Injury? TaylorB - 2009-09-04 10:16 PM I was just speaking with a doctor in my facility on this issue. He is a podiatrist and does a lot of work with runners and triathletes. He claims that triathletes have far fewer injuries (1/3) than those who run alone. He says that triathletes by definition cross-train which helps immensely. So while we do tend to train a lot, we are helped by the fact that we mix it up. x2 |
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