Injuries lurk in spring marathon

By Song Sang-ho

Spring is approaching and several marathon races are expected to attract scores of enthusiastic runners.

Many people try to complete races, regardless of their age or experience in long-distance running.

Marathons stimulate all muscles of your body and help you to keep in shape. The sport is especially helpful for women hoping to lose weight as well as address depression.

However, running a long distance — from a split run of 5 kilometers to the full distance of 42.195 kilometers — is even tough for experienced runners.

In the case of novices, a sudden increase in work rate will affect their bodies, especially their feet. Regardless of runners’ experience, there is a high risk of foot injury since they absorb the impact of running directly.

Ankle sprains are one of the most common injuries for novice runners, who often fail to warm up properly before running.

The symptom, often described as a “twisted ankle,” causes ligaments on the outside of the ankle to stretch or tear. If there is pain while lifting toes and swelling on the outer ankle bone, a sprain is suspected.

As first aid, it is important to apply ice packs near the sprained ankle and wrap the injured area with compression bandages to prevent further swelling.

Acute pain will likely be relieved through cooling, but it is always advised to visit the nearest orthopedic clinic for check-ups to prevent further damage or recurrence.

Even experienced runners are prone to injuries.

While running, knees have to cushion double the amount of pressure. This can result in a meniscus injury.

The meniscus is a crescent-shaped cartilaginous tissue that lies between the femur and tibia. It absorbs shocks and provides structural integrity to the knee when it undergoes tension and torsion, as well as reducing friction while moving.

With damage to the meniscus, patients may experience pain and swelling. In case of a sudden injury, blood may pool in the injured knee.

If the damage is a small tear or an incomplete one, two to four weeks of physical therapy will help. In the case of severe damage, arthroscopic surgery is often required.

Arthroscopic surgery is a surgical procedure in which doctors evaluate the condition of an injured meniscus through an arthroscope — a type of endoscope inserted into the joint through small incision — and suture or trim the injured part.

Preventing injuries are more important than treating injuries. For runners, it is advised to start with split runs and gradually increase the distance to the full-length marathon, to get your body accustomed to the lengthy and heavy exercise.

To avoid injuries, you need to learn proper posture to run long distances, as well as stretching your muscles before and after the run. Proper warm-up and cool-down exercises will ease your tense muscles.

While running, try to keep your eyes focused on 18 to 20 centimeters forward and maintain the straight alignment of your shoulders and hips. Lightly swing your arms forward and back and run in short strides, since taking wide strides makes it more difficult to run long distances.

Also, try to step on the ground starting from the heel or the entire foot because it reduces the stress and the pressure applied to the knee.

As the number of people who enjoy sports and do workouts for their health grows, the risk of injury increases. From the experience of an orthopedic surgeon, many patients tend not to get timely treatment and visit clinics only after their condition has worsened.

Recently, however, techniques in arthroscopic surgery have developed and shortened the period of treatment and patients’ stays in the hospital.

This might convince young patients who put off treatment due to concerns over long treatments, or those suffering relatively minor pain, to visit clinics in a more timely fashion.

Since problems in joints in your younger age may haunt you down the road, it is strongly recommended you receive treatment from an orthopedic surgeon immediately after getting injured.

The writer is the president of Wellton Bone & Joint Hospital.