Of all the injuries that can affect runners, ankle injuries are one of the most common. Even professional runners like Olympians Usain Bolt and Paula Radcliffe have dealt with ankle injuries that negatively affected their careers.

Whether you’re an Olympic hopeful or just someone who runs for fun, it’s crucial that you take steps to keep ankle injuries at bay. Not only can an injured ankle prevent you from running consistently, but it can also negatively affect your movement patterns and make other forms of exercise more difficult.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about preventing ankle injuries while running.

Common Ankle Injuries for Runners

The following ankle injuries are probably the most common ones that can affect runners:

Ankle Sprains

An ankle sprain occurs when the ligaments of the ankle are damaged or torn.

In runners, ankle sprains are often the result of a misstep when coming down from a curb, or from tripping over rocks or cracks in the road or sidewalk.

Often, sprains do not cause lasting damage, particularly if they’re mild and diagnosed early. They’re typically characterized by swelling and constant pain, even when you’re at rest.

Overuse Injuries

As their name suggests, overuse injuries are the result of overuse.

In runners, some common overuse injuries include posterior tibial tendonitis, which affects the back of the ankle, and peroneal tendonitis, which affects the inside of the ankle.

With overuse injuries, you’ll likely feel pain during activity, but not when you’re at rest.

Stress Fractures

Stress fractures are small cracks or severe bruising that affects the bone. Stress fractures can be brought on by an acute injury, like a fall, or by overuse. Runners are particularly prone to stress fractures in the ankles and the feet.

How to Prevent Ankle Injuries

In order to avoid these common ankle injuries, it’s important to take the precautionary measures. They’ll help you strengthen your ankles so that you’re more resilient. They can also correct improper movement patterns that increase your injury risk. Read the rest of this entry →

If you’re a sports lover, then you might have noticed something: it’s not always the cheapest activity on earth. From the equipment to the clothes to supporting your local sports team, there’s always one cost or another to pay. But can we call it ‘expensive’? We’re not too sure. After all, there are millions – billions? – of people around the world who engage in some sort of physical activity, and most of them are not rich. Below, we take a look at the various costs attached to sports and try to come to some conclusion about the matter.

The Equipment

You need some equipment to play sports, even if that’s just a car to take you to the track. But most sports require much more than this. Let’s take, say, soccer. You’d need a ball, the right footwear, and a goal if you’re going to play a version of the sport that looks like the real thing. The ball will be cheap, but everything else? Those costs add up, and in the case of the footwear, will need to be replaced over time. The good news is that you generally only need to buy the bulky, most expensive pieces of equipment once.

Having the Right Gear

You can’t go out to engage in your favorite sport wearing your everyday clothes! You need the shorts, shoes, and shirts – not to mention various other apparel – that has been custom made for sports. And generally, you want to buy the best stuff: the sport is more comfortable to play if you’re wearing high-quality clothing that was designed for top-end performance. Walk into a sports store, and you might blink twice at the cost of these items, but there are cheaper ways to buy. Take a look at Nike discounts and deals, and you’ll be able to make big savings on your essential sportswear. The best clothing only looks expensive to begin with. Once you know where to look, things become much more manageable. Read the rest of this entry →

Alan Webb

Nobody would ever argue that their flat feet offered any physical advantage to their fitness regime. Instead, the postural deformity of fallen arches is known to cause an array of uncomfortable complications, including Achilles tendonitis, arthritis, plantar fasciitis, or shin splints.

However, in modern times, flat feet are no longer considered to be the immovable obstacles that they once were, and these troubles are hardly enough to prevent ambitious runners from reaching their full potential. In fact, many of the world’s greatest runners who were seemingly cursed by flat feet still managed to find a way to move faster than anyone else. To celebrate these triumphs, here is a list of three highly impressive flat-footed athletes, who will hopefully motivate you to keep your own arches marching.

Saïd Aouita

Considered one of the first famous Arab sportspeople, Moroccan born Saïd Aouita boasts an extensive list of achievements which left his competitors in the dust. His passion was firmly fixed to the track and field events, and he left his permanent mark on that scene when he won the 5,000 meters at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Saïd’s impressive résumé doesn’t end there either, as he’s set many world records too, including the fastest time for the 1,500 meters (at 3:29.46), 2,000 meters (at 4:50.80), 3,000 meters (at 7:29.45), and twice for the 5,000 meters (at 13:00.40 and 12:58.39). What’s more, these are only a small portion of the man’s complete accomplishments.

Despite attaining such monumental successes, Saïd Aouita admits that his fallen arches have been an issue during his entire career. ”My only problem is that I have flat feet, which promotes tendinitis,” he admitted to French newspaper L’Equipe. Since then, Aouita has credited his special shoes for providing the additional support he needs, which is the same solution that many similar runners have discovered for themselves. Supplementing fallen arches with an orthotic insole can help balance out the pressure on your feet and better support the adjoining ligaments and tendons.

Alan Webb

In 2007, American track and field athlete Alan Webb broke the U.S. Record for the fastest mile time ever, clocking in at 3:46.91. Said record still remains unbeaten to this very day. Alan is also known for his representation of the United States during the 2004 Summer Olympics where he ran the 1,500-meter race. Due to such an impressive biography, it’s no surprise to anyone that Nike hired him to represent their brand from 2002 – 2013. Read the rest of this entry →

There’s something exciting about getting back into the habit of working out. Before you begin comparing what different fitness equipment stores have to offer, set some ground rules for choosing only the best. Here are a few tips that will help.

Start With the Basics

It’s been a long time since you worked out regularly. Now is not the time to invest in a lot of equipment that is beyond your ability. Focus instead on basic equipment like benches, weights, and other resources that you can use to tone those muscles and build endurance. The day will come when you can add more equipment and take advantage of the great pricing for new exercise machines for sale. For now, simple and basic will serve you well.

A Little Fun Won’t Hurt

While you may be sticking with the basics for now, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun at the same time. You’ll find that the better fitness equipment stores offer equipment that almost makes it seem as if you are playing instead of working out. Remember how much fun it was to jump rope when you were a kid? Consider adding some time jumping rope to your workout routine. It’s a great stress reducer and works out more muscles groups than most people realize. Jumping rope is also a lot of fun even if you aren’t particularly stressed right now. Read the rest of this entry →

Each sport has its own personal risk of injury, even the sports where you may think a problem is highly unlikely.

Darts, for example, is not exactly what you may call ‘high intensity’ but players often fear the dreaded Dartitis which is when the players lose the ability to allow the dart to leave the fingers effectively. This is also known in other sports, especially golf, as the ‘Yips’. It is essentially the loss of fine motor skills in athletes and can occur completely at random.

Dartitis is a psychological disorder and very real, but there are sports injuries and sayings that need dispelling as pure fantasy as we look at cracking some of the myths surrounding sports injuries.

No Pain No Gain

Let’s start with a famous saying that is repeated in every single gym around the world. However, strictly speaking, no pain no gain is the opposite of the words uttered.

Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Continuing through sores or cramp is not an immediate problem but if there is acute pain (something sharp and severe) or a clear indication that something is not right (a sprain for example) then it is time to stop immediately and seek medical advice.

Injuries heal fastest when rested

Football injuries cost clubs millions of pounds a year by having to pay injured players and in some cases, when key players are absent, it has a direct impact on a team’s ability on and off the pitch. Read the rest of this entry →

Back injuries are a common issue among athletes, especially those who compete at a high level.

For example, before he retired, Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt had to take a significant amount of time off from his sport to deal with severe back pain. Professional golfer Tiger Woods also had to take time off as he underwent surgery to repair a damaged disc.

You don’t have to be a professional athlete to suffer from a back injury, though. Whether you’re an amateur or a seasoned pro, it’s important to know how to treat and prevent these common back injuries.

Common Back Injuries

The following are the most common types of back injuries that athletes tend to experience:

Lower Back Injuries

Many athletes struggle with lower back injuries. The following are some of the most common injuries they experience:

• Back strains (injuries to the soft tissues — muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, blood vessels, etc.)

• Spondylolysis (stress fractures in the lower lumbar spine)

• Herniated discs (the nucleus — center of the discs of the spine — ruptures outside of the normal place)

Runners, golfers, gymnasts, and weightlifters most frequently experience lower back injuries. Read the rest of this entry →