Injuries and pain from running?

I have been running for 30-45 minutes for about the past two weeks, and olast Thursday my right upper leg started having pains. Now they are even worse and I don't know what to do. Is this a sign of something bad, or does that just happen to runners sometimes? I'm not having knee or foot pain, just pains in my upper leg.

This is a link that was posted somewhere in the forums. *points to the 'Oh, the injuries!' section*

Don`t get me wrong, I love runnning, I do HIIT every other day and every once in a while jog in the evening, but reading this article was a bit of an eye opener, to say the least.

very likely you pulled a muscle which is a small injury in a muscle fiber..I assume it's on the front side of your upper leg (extensor) right? can turn into a very persistant annoying condition if you don't let it heal completely. Even atheletes have to deal with this. I'd suggest switch to exercise that uses different muscle groups than this (e.g swimming) for a week or so than try again.

best prevention: warm up with lots of stretching, for each individual muscle groups! I am not compliant with this myself and thus suffer from the same occasionally, in my calves, on the flexor side of my upper leg :-)

hope this is of help

It's around my inner upper leg and groin area and it's just getting worse and worse. It hurts to even walk now and sometimes it hurts when I'm not even doing anything at all, although not as severely.

It sounds like you have a groin injury.  This can happen from sprinting or running fast, especially if you didn't warm up or haven't been stretching.

You really need to take some time off running or you will make it worse.  A groin injury is a torn muscle fiber.  You need to ice it and give it time to heal.  If you don't give it time to heal, it will get worse.  I would also go see your doctor if it hurts to walk and have him refer you to a physical therapist. 

I had a groin injury a few years ago and it's something you really need to take care of.  It's the worst injury I ever had from running and I've been running for over 15 years.

Sorry this happened to you, but running really is great normally.

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/1 054-groin-strain.htm

oh wait! what you describe now makes a difference...can you palpate something int that area? do you recognize a bulging thing?

just thinking of ruling out hernia! better go see a doc...physical exam+ultrasound gives you peace in a minute

if it IS a hernia AND it hurts even at rest...then it's serious matter

Oh come on! I think you're just having muscle pains! I've been running on and off since middle school (I'm in my early 20's now) and did track in high school and all, but even so if I took an extended amount of time off and then got back into it, especially if I wasn't careful about getting back in gradually, it hurt! Often, I'm usually fine for the rest of the day after a long, hard run, but the next day, there's pain and it can hurt quite a bit, and I mean so bad sometimes it hurts to walk and it's almost impossible to go up and down stairs.

Of course there may be a slight injury if you've been pushing hard, but I wouldn't freak out about it yet. Muscles hurt when they're getting stronger. Take it easy for a couple days, take ibuprofen/Advil (it's anti-inflamatory AND helps with pain), try some ice packs if it's really bad, and obviously, don't run for a couple days. You're using muscles that aren't used to this kind of work, and it takes a while for your body to get used to that. Give it time.

I would also do some long stretches that focus on the sore areas. In general, though, if you're really trying to get into running, make SURE to stretch before and after a run. It's easy to brush off/forget, but it makes a huge difference. If you don't have a good stretching routine down and you're pushing yourself on a regular basis you're paving the way to chronic injury. Do some research on stretching for running, there are lots of good sites out there, and don't forget quads, calves, glutes, and everything in between. Also, make sure to take a rest day at least once or twice a week and don't shy away from doing shorter or slower runs. It's good to have about 2 or 3 days a week that are really challenging when getting into running.

Oh, and WEAR GOOD RUNNING SHOES! The shoes control how your weight distributes and where the stress goes. Makes sense that having bad ones could also really mess you up.

Sorry for the wordiness, I guess I've had this shoved down my throat enough times and am willing to pass it along. I swear though, it's all helpful when you pay attention to it.

If it's getting worse with rest then by all means go in and get seen.  That's my test for anything now... soreness that doesn't clear up with rest and then hurts with normal or no activity is something I'd rather be safe then sorry on.  I seriously injured my knee and didn't go in right away and it locked up on me.  I lived in agony for 2 days and wonder if things would've been different had I gone in right away.

If resting it, ice and ibuprofen help then could very well be nothing other then a pulled muscle.  If not... not a chance worth taking.

Original Post by ily51:

This is a link that was posted somewhere in the forums. *points to the 'Oh, the injuries!' section*

Don`t get me wrong, I love runnning, I do HIIT every other day and every once in a while jog in the evening, but reading this article was a bit of an eye opener, to say the least.

 I could not disagree more with this link. I think that it is poor advice to advise women not to run. You can run a 6 minute mile or a 14 minute mile. You can run 10 miles or 1 mile. Hills or flat. Hard surface or grass. I mean, the possibilities are endless. It is a great way to get in/stay in shape. You can get hurt doing any exercise but is that a good reason not to exercise? I think this link is one of the most ludicrous pieces of advice I have ever seen from a fitness professional!

The article isn't saying "don't run at all" - it's saying "if you want to be a runner, be sensible about it or you'll get hurt"

 Admittedly, Cosgrove could have made the case in a less confrontational manner but it's clearly true that a whole lot of people have no business running until they've a) lost enough weight they they won't pound the unholy hell out of their joints, tendons, ligaments and bones with every step they run, and b) have performed a sensible running-specific strength training program like the one she outlines in the article so their muscles and not their bones take the brunt of the impact.

 Running while more than 50-75lbs overweight equals a statistically unacceptably high likelyhood of exercise-induced arthritis, bone spurs, joint/tendon/ligament damage, stress fractures and other nasties. It's not automatic but the risk level is far too high to be acceptable in my book - at least when the people at risk can a) do something of less impact to lose the weight until they're not in the risk class anymore and b) do the running-specific strength training to be ready for it.

 I mean - pick up and head out the door without proper shoes for your gait, you're gonna get hurt. Pick up and head out the door with too loose running form and you're gonna get hurt. Pick up and head out the door with too much body weight, you're gonna get hurt.

 The solution in all cases isn't to stop running permanently, it's to fix the issue that sets you up for injury - get proper shoes, have someone teach you proper running form(Chi running, or a running room clinic both work), stride length and lose the weight putting your joints at risk so you can keep on running for longer than the 3 weeks to 4 months it would take you to get injuried otherwise.

 Same as with any other sport - running is a skill and novices should learn how to do it right from the start; it's why I have the Learn To run II thread pinned  ;)

Original Post by bembrey:

Original Post by ily51:

This is a link that was posted somewhere in the forums. *points to the 'Oh, the injuries!' section*

Don`t get me wrong, I love runnning, I do HIIT every other day and every once in a while jog in the evening, but reading this article was a bit of an eye opener, to say the least.

 I could not disagree more with this link. I think that it is poor advice to advise women not to run. You can run a 6 minute mile or a 14 minute mile. You can run 10 miles or 1 mile. Hills or flat. Hard surface or grass. I mean, the possibilities are endless. It is a great way to get in/stay in shape. You can get hurt doing any exercise but is that a good reason not to exercise? I think this link is one of the most ludicrous pieces of advice I have ever seen from a fitness professional!

 I believe every word she says....been there and done that with the injuries--a really bad shin splint that put me out of the running game for almost six months.  This time I'm going about it the smarter way and I'm not going to be running (much) until I've lost a good 10-15 pounds more.  I'm doing the strength training workout she has there for runners...I mean, why not?  It makes sense that you need to be stronger and lighter so you put the least stress on your body that you can while running. 

Try RICE (& ibuprofen) - Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation. In a few days you should be able to run again. In the meantime, you can try other exercises that don't hurt. If you don't take care of yourself, you risk serious injury.

I think I'm just going to take it easy for a couple days and see how things go. Walking typically doesn't hurt (unless I'm running up stairs or something!) so that would probobly be the best thing.