PLAGUED with injuries...will it ever end?

For one thing, it's impossible to heel strike running barefoot. There's a theory that running shoes, particularly the heavily padded, structure shoes, are bad for form and create more problems than they solve. If you run barefoot you have to run with proper form because there's nothing between you and the running surface.

Your situation sounds EXACTLY like mine (16 y/o, 2 tibial stress reactions, ITBS, and weird SI joint/pirifomis/groin pain and alignment issues for the past few months). I went through a couple of PTs before I found the right one, who said that my glutes/core were weak despite tons of core work. Turns out that I was doing a lot of the exercises slightly wrong, reinforcing my inability to fire my glutes properly and resulting in all sorts of other overuse issues. In the recovery process, I also worked on my diet with a nutritionist, making sure that I was getting enough of all the micro and macronutrients I needed. A month and a half or so of muscular imbalance-targeting strength work with a PT/nutrition and my various pains/alignment problems have vanished.

My best advice would be to see the most qualified, strength-based PT you can get to and not to be afraid to try out a few before you settle. I know how rough it is to be an injured HS runner, so I hope you can find/fix the root cause and get to it soon!

oh my goodness! I see a PT but they're not sure what to work on. I already do tons of core work, glute strengthening, and realignment exercises but I still feel off. I have a nutritionist but the numbers seem too high and I don't really know how many calories I burn. What type of exercises did you do? it's been about 8 weeks for me. I've improved a lot, but still feel off.

thank you so much for the advice! I want to run in college so I don't know if I have the time to take a year unless I get onto a team. I'm hoping I can get on a team and the coach will work with me

I've never heard of that. I definitely will try this, thank you!

also, how can I translate that form into running with shoes on?

Just curious, what are your post exercise habits?

In this order:

- what time of day you exercise?

- what do you in next 4-6 hours after training?

I'm injured right now so here's what my schedule looks like:

Mon/Wed/Fri (after 3pm): core, aqua jog/swim, walk, try to run if I feel okay

Tues/thurs/sat: weight lifting, Aqua jog, core (after 3pm, except Saturday's those are mornings)

Sunday: core and Aqua jog

Weight lifting usually takes about 90 mins but it do full body. I Aqua jog atleast 60min. I don't think I over train because I was healthy for a while before this.

So you are exercising mostly in the afternoon.

Probably after that you rest, since is late for eventual physical activities.

I was not thinking that you overtrain.

But at the recovery phase.

Rest is not always the solution.

More recently I understood that post exercise habits have a lot to do with the recovery and now I'm sort of fanatic on this.

Here is my recipe for recovery.

Let's say you exercise between 3-6 PM.

Then you have dinner.

By 9 PM you may feel some soreness, if is the case.

Now is the right time to change something.

If you have a static bike, or bicycle, ride it for 30 minutes, but slow, just not to sweat.

Not very intensive, so you won't add fatigue, but enough to stimulate your cardiorespiratory system to work a bit.

Eventual soreness may disappear right after that. But next day you should feel the differences.

In my case, almost any soreness is gone after that.

The explanation may be that after exercising, your body begins to recover, but if you rest, the cardiorespiratory also rests and the metabolism is slowed down.

Basically you give the metabolism a boost.

For me it did miracles.

Try it once and please tell me if it helped or not.

So tired of it wrote:

thank you so much for the advice! I want to run in college so I don't know if I have the time to take a year unless I get onto a team. I'm hoping I can get on a team and the coach will work with me

Go to a Division 3 school and walk-on.

Yes you have the time to go back to the very fundamentals of exercise. Your best days of running are 10-15 years away.

I do tons of bridges, clamshells, squats, deadlifts, step ups, box jumps (after progressing through squats and step ups), single leg squats, leg lifts and lots of pilates moves (for lower abs), lunges, etc. I also video myself running periodically to see how my form is progressing, trying to minimize a pelvic tilt, heel strike, overstriding, poor posture, etc. It's really incredible to see how much progress strength training can engender.

But if you don't get the nutrition piece in line, then all of the strength work will be futile. If you really exercise as much as you do, at your age, you probably need 2500-3000+ calories (yes, really!) of REAL food including a post-workout refueling snack; my favorite is chocolate milk.

Try your best to appreciate the improvement you've made, because that shows that what your doing is at least somewhat effective.

wow thank you! I do almost all of those exercises since I don't have any discomfort doing them, but low weight right now. my PT doesn't really know what to work on since we don't know what it is. I have filmed myself the past few times and I clearly over stride and heel strike but obviously I haven't been able to work on it because of the injuries but everyone on here has given great suggestions but I just don't know how to translate it into my running form. I am going to try barefoot.

and even when I'm injured I need that many calories? all of my exercise has been very low intensity because of the injury. I probably eat anywhere from 1800-2200 a day using my fitness pal.

again thank you for all the help!

yes, during the school year it's mainly the afternoon. during the summer it's in the mornings. thank you for the advice!

all of the schools I applied to are D1 but maybe I can walk in there

Good luck, 17 yo girl!

I can tell you that what I suggested it works.

Is unbelievable how handy the solution is.

And I can tell why it may happen that piriformis syndrome thing you have.

When you run, pay attention to your arms.

If the pain is on the left side, for example, watch how you swing your arms.

You probably let the left arm to go naturally in front of your body, due to gravity, but you stop your right from going in front of your body, trying to reduce the impact on the left hip. But actually this is what causes the pain.

In my opinion, the water makes runners slower and bulky. Same with strength exercises. Both have their benefits, but not when you are injured.

Thank you! I will definitely be trying this. And yes, the pain is only on my left side. I have had to try to change the way I swing my arms because I used to cross back and forth badly with both and I've tried to keep them in line and close to my sides/hips. The doctor originally had side my piriformis muscle had spasmed and it pulled my pelvis out of line and tilted back.

Just curious, Why do you say that about the pool? Unfortunately it is my only option right now so I can't really control what happens to my size/muscles

So tired of it wrote:

Yes, I've had 2 tibial fractures. I did get a fair analysis and I heel strike very badly and have horrible form. I arch my back and land out way too far causing my glutes/core to never be "fired". I don't know how to land underneath myself/mid foot.

So tired of it wrote:

I have filmed myself the past few times and I clearly over stride and heel strike but obviously I haven't been able to work on it because of the injuries but everyone on here has given great suggestions but I just don't know how to translate it into my running form. I am going to try barefoot.

You need to change form to correct the heel striking. Hard heel striking can cause all the problems you are experiencing. Unfortunately, the approach to recover from an injury is not the same as preventing it from reoccurring. I'll deal only with prevention and changing your form.

Find some artificial turf. Run barefoot (or in a pair of old socks). I suggest back and forth down a football field a couple of times at your normal training pace. Once you get the feel for that, immediately put on your shoes and try to recreate that feeling of landing on the forefoot. It may require you to shorten your normal stride a bit and it may feel unnatural. Don't worry. That will go away with practice.

Next, you need to switch to a shoe with a low heel-to-toe lift. Regular running shoes have a 10mm drop from heel to toe. You want to try a 6mm or even a 4mm. A 0mm might be too much and result in achilles problems. A knowledgeable running store rep can help with this. Brooks, Saucony, and Newton make shoes like this. The Newton Distance would be a good choice because it has very little heel cushion. Thus, you're forced to land more on the midfoot or forefoot.

I could try to explain why you need this type of shoe, but it would be confusingly complex. Suffice to say, you need a shoe that encourages rather than hinders a forefoot strike.

Stay off pavement until you figure this out. Train on soft terrain, trails, or track. It will not come overnight. Run with your new form for 20 seconds, jog normally to recover and repeat. Gradually increase the time you are running on your forefoot to a minute, then two minutes. Then more. It took me 6 months to figure this out on my own, but the "barefoot to shoe" drill going quickly from barefoot to recreating the same form in shoes will speed this up a lot. So will shoes that encourage a forefoot strike. - Good luck.

So tired of it wrote:

Thank you! I will definitely be trying this. And yes, the pain is only on my left side. I have had to try to change the way I swing my arms because I used to cross back and forth badly with both and I've tried to keep them in line and close to my sides/hips. The doctor originally had side my piriformis muscle had spasmed and it pulled my pelvis out of line and tilted back.

Just curious, Why do you say that about the pool? Unfortunately it is my only option right now so I can't really control what happens to my size/muscles

Here's an article about pool running that may pep you up.

Overstriding is often the result of a lack of specific strength. In addition to the recommendation of some barefoot running, you might also try some hill work. Find a short hill on which you can do 20-30 second repeats -- not all out, but hard enough.

And you can go to the gym. I'd suggest that you stick with mostly bodyweight exercises -- pull-ups/pushups for upper body / core, and

squat/lunge/stepup for lower body. What you want to do is to start with a few exercises, and gauge the effect that they have on your running.

Wow, thank you for all of that info- very informative. I am currently in a saucony triumph 11 and the offset is 8mm. A PT from the gait clinic gave me some exercises that are supposed to help change my form (not really sure how though). If I ever figure this injury out, I can't wait to try this. Thank you so much.