RETURN TO RUNNING PROGRAM AFTER INJURY

If I had to tell you one thing about returning to running after an injury, what would it be? TAKE IT SLOW, FOR GOODNESS SAKE.
Far too often, I see a runner that successfully made it through rehab and recovery for their injury before seeing me, only to get re-injured after one month of returning. 


I quickly found that they almost immediately returned to their prior running speeds and amount of mileage. For example, this runner went from running 5 miles a week while injured to 30 miles a week with ONLY 3-4 weeks to build up to that amount. It is not surprising that they reinjured themselves. But, unfortunately, returning to activity after a long lay-off from an injury must be slower than that. 

How much should you try to increase your mileage each week, then? 
A good rule of thumb is to only increase your mileage by 10% each week after returning to running. Of course, some runners may be able to increase more than that each week, and some less. I would lean towards less.

If after you recover from your injury, you are able to run 5 miles but want to increase your mileage further, the first four weeks should look like this:

Week 1: 5.5 miles
Week 2: 6.1 miles
Week 3: 7.2 miles
Week 4: 8 miles
I know this may seem painstakingly slow to you; however, TRUST ME! Your body will thank you in the long run. (Get it…long run…)For a more in-depth look at your running programming after injury, you can read our blog or book an appointment with OrthoSport HQ to get back to doing the thing you love.    Written By: Kyle Ditzenberger, DPT

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