INJURY
PREVENTION
GUIDE
WRIT TEN BY JOSH MUSKIN
ON AVERAGE, 80% OF ALL RUNNERS GET INJURED AT
LEAST ONCE PER YEAR. BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE
THAT WAY. MOST INJURIES ARE 100% AVOIDABLE WITH
A LITTLE PREDETERMINED EFFORT AND PLANNING.
HERE IN THIS GUIDE, YOU’LL LEARN WHAT TO DO
BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER YOUR RUNS TO GIVE YOU
THE BEST POSSIBLE CHANCE OF AVOIDING INJURY ALL
TOGETHER.
MAKE
SURE TO
ENJOY THE
JOURNEY
EVERYONE IS ON A JOURNY UNIQUE TO THEMSELVES.
SOME RUN TO ESCAPE THE STRESSES OF DAILY
LIFE. SOME RUN TO PUSH THEMSELVES PHYSICALLY.
SOME RUN FOR FUN, OTHERS FOR FITNESS, AND
OTHERS ARE SIMPLY STRIVING TO COMPLETE THEIR
FIRST 5K, 10K, HALF OR FULL EVEN MARATHON.
NOTHING CAN DERAIL A JOURNEY FASTER THAN
AN INJURY, AND NO INJURY IS MORE FRUSTRATING
THAN ONE THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED THE
WHOLE TIME.
THIS GUIDE WILL TEACH YOU HOW IN AN EXTRA 1020 MINUTES PER RUN CAN KEEP YOU ON THE ROADS
LONGER, AND EVEN BOOST YOUR PERFORMANCE,
ALL WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT EFFORT OR BURDEN.
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Contents
Philosophy
p.4
Joints & muscles
p.0
- Hips
p.7
- Knees
p.10
- Lower legs
p.13
Pre-run warm-up
p.13
Post-run cool-down
p.13
The detailed routine
p.13
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PHILOSOPHY
Prehab vs Rehab
Like most things in life, it’s
better to be prepared than
forced to react.
severe it might be when it
occurs.
Reacting to an injury takes
not only time and effort, but
also substantial opportunity
cost, by keeping you from
running while dealing with
the injury.
This guide will focus
almost exclusively on
something called pre-hab.
Pre-hab is the proactive
avoidance of injury through
strengthening, stretching
Pre-hab on the other hand,
and otherwise maintaining a allows you to work in a
muscle or joint.
designed warm-up and
cool-down so you can avoid
Proactively avoiding injury,
injury on your terms and
can be planned for, and
schedule.
worked into a routine (a
designated warm-up and
If you do get injured
cool-down for example).
If you do happen to get
injured, the most important
This stands in stark contrast thing to remember is that
from having to react to an
simply doing nothing to
injury, whereby you’re never “rest” typically won’t result
certain when, where, or how in recovery.
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PHILOSOPHY
Despite focusing mainly on
prehab in this guide, the
exercises and stretches here
should also be considered
proper rehab protocol.
This is because most
injuries in the world of
running happen because of
a muscular imbalance. One
muscle group is too weak
to maintain proper form,
causing the breakdown of
a joint or tangential muscle
group.
Invest the time now
An added 10-15 minutes
pre and post run can do
wonders in keeping you
healthy, and allowing you
to progress through your
training. Pre-hab might be
the best investment you
can make into your running
future.
When one of these injuries
occurs, it’s imperative to rehab by strengthening the
weak muscle group, so it can
support sustained activity in
the future.
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THE 3 JOINTS IN NEED
OF THE MOST TLC
In this guide we’ll be specifically focusing on the hips,
knees and lower leg (calf, ankle, foot). While there are
some relevant notes to be made about the upper body,
99.9% of all physical effort exerted during a run comes
from the navel downward. Our hips, knees and ankles
take a beating on long runs, and any overly relaxed
muscle groups can put these prime joins in compromising
positions. To avoid this, we need strength, flexibility, and
consistency in movement.
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HIPS
The purpose of the hip
muscles are reponsible
• Stabilize the bodies center
for pulling the upper leg
of mass over the foot
forward, preparing it to
• Keep the knee from
extend to the next step in
buckling inward
your gait.
• Cycle the leg between
• Adductor longus,
steps
pectineus & gracilis
- AKA the groin, these
Common hip injuries
muscles are responsible
• IT-band tendonitis
for some of the leg drive
• Groin pull or tightness
in each step, but also for
• Hip flexor pull or tightness
keeping the knee from
flaring outward.
Areas of emphasis for
prehab
• Tensor fascia latae - AKA
the IT-band muscle. This
muscle is responsible for
keeping the knee from
buckling inward as well as
stabilizing the body over
top of the foot.
• Illiacus & psoas major AKA the hip flexor. These
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KNEES
The purpose of the hip
lateral knee pain.
The knee is arguably
• Quadriceps femoris the most critical joint for
AKA the quad, these four
running. Serving as the point
muscles are responsible
of stability between the foot
for extending the leg
and the hip, there’s a lot
between steps, but more
the knee is responsible for.
importantly putting power
Consider mainly:
down to the ground when
• Transferring power from
pushing forward.
the thigh to the foot
• Hamstring femoris - AKA
• Directing power output
the hammy, these three
• Aligning the hip and ankle
muscles assist mainly in
power output and cycling
Common hip injuries
the leg.
• Patellar tendonitis
• Lateral (MCL, Meniscus)
damage
Areas of emphasis for
prehab
• Tensor fascia latae - Also
mentioned for the hip, the
“IT-band muscle” is the
culprit for many cases of
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LOWER LEG
The purpose of the hip
• Transferring power to the
ground
• Adjusting to terrain
• Determining direction
foot and providing power
to the ground.
• Tibialis anterior &
Fibularis longus - Two of
the primary muscles on
the shin & outer calf are
Common lower leg injuries
responsible for raising the
• Calf strain
foot and maintaining the
• Achilles tendonitis
arch of the foot.
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Soleus - AKA the achilles
• Shin Splints
muscle, controlling the
large tendon responsible
Areas of emphasis for
for finishing the power
prehab
transfer from the lower leg
• Gastrocnemius - AKA the
to the foot.
calf, used for flexing the
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THE WARM-UP
Warm-ups don’t have to be an hour long, or overly
complicated. You don’t have to feel exhausted after
they’re over, or consider short-changing them so you
can “save some energy” for the actual run. No, they can
be simple, mindful, and purposeful. In our case, they can
be specifically geared to preparing your lower body for
the stresses it’s about to endure, and simultaneously
strengthen it for the future.
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WARM-UP
What is a warm-up?
“Prepare for physical
exertion or a performance
by exercising or practicing
gently beforehand.”
Each phase serves a
unique purpose. Rolling,
for example, breaks up
any lingering scar tissue
remaining from previous
workouts or runs.
I prefer this definition:
Strengthening, while
“Prepare for physical
seemingly self explanatory,
exertion or a performance
doesn’t involve heavy weight
by stretching, strengthening lifting. Instead, it involves
and mimicking upcoming
simple, direct isolated
movement to boost
movements designed to add
performance and longevity.” strength and endurance to
the areas of emphasis for
What makes a warm-up?
each major joint.
A warm-up designed to
stretch, strengthen and
Lastly, mimicking is an
boost performance &
activity whereby the muscles
longevity, is broken up into 3 begin to experience the
distinct phases:
movement of running, before
• Rolling/smashing
the run actually begins.
• Strengthening
• Mimicking
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ROLLING/SMASHING
The routine
with your leg to smash the
1.) The shin roll - Using the peanut into the fibularis
peanut roller, place it on
longus.
the ground and place your
shin in the center recess.
Proceed by rolling the
peanut from knee to ankle
(by moving your shin back
and forth). When doing
this, make sure that the
outer balls of the peanut
are putting pressure on the
muscles on either side of the
shin.
2.) The fibularis smash Locate the muscle on the
outside of your calf, just
below the knee. Lay the
outside of your calf parallel
to the ground with the
peanut directly under that
muscle. Apply pressure and
slowly create mini circles
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ROLLING/SMASHING
3.) The calf roll - Lay the
foam roller perpendicular to
your leg on the ground, and
place your calf directly on
top. Roll your leg over the
roller from knee to achilles,
gently rotating your leg as
you do so to roll both the
outside, back, and inside of
your calf and lower leg.
4.) The thigh roll - This is
almost identical to the calf
roll, except we’re focusing on
the upper leg, or the thigh.
Start with your hamstrings in
contact with the roller, and
roll from knee to buttocks.
Then, begin to rotate one
side at a time to also hit the
outer thigh (IT-band area)
and eventually being fully
rolled over to roll the quad.
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STRENGTHENING
1.) The clam - Lay on your
side with your hips stacked,
knees bent at 90*, and hips
at 45*.
Keeping your feet touching
and your hips stacked, you’ll
raise your top knee as high
as you can, hold for a 1
second squeeze, and return
to it’s resting position.
Do 15-25 reps per leg
2.) The tuck to extension In the same position, pull
your knee inward to your
chest, then extend your leg
both away from you, and up
towards the ceiling. Rotate
your foot upward to the
ceiling during the rep.
Do 15-25 reps per leg.
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STRENGTHENING
3.) The single leg toe
Then raise your heel as high
touch - Standing upright, lift as it will go and count to 10.
one leg off the ground.
Do 10-15 reps per leg.
Shift your hips back and
shoulders forward.
Keeping your standing leg
only slightly bent, reach
down and touch your toes.
Then, return to a standing.
Do 10-15 reps per leg.
4.) The calf raise - Find a
raised surface and place
your foot on it with your heel
hanging off the edge.
Shift all of your weight to
that foot, and lower your
heel as far as it will go and
count to 8.
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MIMICK
1.) The butt kick - Staying
up on your toes, begin
running forward where every
time one of your feet leaves
the ground, your heel makes
contact with your butt,
“kicking” it.
to bringing your knees up to
your chest on each step.
Again, keep a quick
cadence. It should be just a
tap of the toe on the ground,
then a swift raise of the
knee, and repeat.
Make sure to keep your
knees under your hips so the Repeat 10-15 times per leg.
quads are stretched each
kick.
Pushing the knees forward
in front of you will negate
the stretch.
This can be done 10-15 times
per leg.
2.) The high knee Immediately after the butt
kicks are done, shift from
kicking your feet backward
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MIMICK
3.) The scissor run - Face
sideways, keeping relatively
straight legs, use the groin
of your forward most foot
to ‘pull’ your body forward,
while crossing your back leg
in front.
When the back leg makes
contact, use the back hip to
‘push’ your body forward.
Repeat 5-10 times per side.
4.) The squat jump - With
feet shoulder width apart,
squat down (hip crease
below knees), then explode
upward, jumping off the
ground. When you land
again, go right back into a
squat and repeat.
Do this 10-15 times total.
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THE COOL-DOWN
Cooling down after a run is equally (if not more) important
than warming up before one. At this point, your muscles
are tired, tight, and stiffer than they were when you
started. This fatigue and tightness only increases as you
increase the time and effort in each of your runs. Taking
time to stretch your muscles here, will go a long way to 1.)
preserving their flexibility in the future, 2.) ensuring proper
recovery, and 3.) avoiding future injury caused by unknown
or unprepared for tightness.
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COOL-DOWN
What is a cool-down?
“An easy exercise, done after
a more intense activity, to
allow the body to gradually
transition to a resting or
near-resting state. While
also preparing the muscles
in the body for proper
recovery and future injury
prevention.
What makes a cool-down?
A cool-down works in the
exact opposite order as a
warm-up. You can mimic
your movement (i.e. walk
a little) and then end with
some stretching.
Differently, however, a cooldown is not the time for
building strength, as that
is what your body has just
done.
Here it just needs some help
to recover.
A cool-down is an effective
stretching and mobility
program, performed after a
very, very long and difficult
warm-up (i.e. your run itself).
When the body is this warm,
the muscles tend to be the
most playable.
This physical state lends
nicely to stretching and
lengthening the muscles,
which goes a long way to
avoiding future injury. As
many injuries are caused
because a muscle is pushed
beyond it’s limits in either
strength, or flexibility in the
first plave.
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THE COOL-DOWN
1.) The calf stretch - Find a
step or raised platform and
stand on it with both feet,
letting your heels fall off the
edge.
With straight legs, bend over
towards your toes, keeping a
relatively straight back.
2.) The standing straddle Spread your legs wide apart,
toes facing forward.
First, stand tall and squeeze
your butt, stretching the
inside of the groin and hip.
Second, bend forward
to stretch more of the
hamstring and posterior
chain, moving gently from
left foot, to middle, to right
foot, and back again.
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THE COOL-DOWN
3.) The dragon - Place one
foot forward, flat on the
ground, and the other leg
extended back behind you.
The front knee should be
right over the front ankle,
and the back leg stretched
as far back as you can put it.
the stretch.
If you can’t get your
forearms to the ground, just
lean forward as much as you
can. Placing your arms on
something can help you to
relax as well.
From here, keep your chest
tall, and drop the hips down
in the direction of the front
heel.
4.) The lizard - In the same
leg position as the dragon,
round the spine, and drop
the forearms down towards
the ground, on the inside of
your front heel.
From here, you can flare the
front knee out to enhance
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THE ROUTINE
A lot has been covered here. 12 exercises in the warmup, 4 in the cool-down, all targeting 3+ critical joints.
The promise was made that all this would take only 10-15
minutes extra per run so in this next section, you’ll see
exactly how this all comes together. The question of how
many of each exercise should you do in what order and for
how long, will be answered, and you’ll be one step closer to
running injury free.
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THE ROUTINE
The pre-run warm-up (8 minutes)
Rolling ~2 minutes
• The shin roll - 5 rolls from knee to ankle
• The fibularis smash - 5 circles
• The calf roll - 5 rolls from knee to achilles / side of the
lower leg (outer, inner, rear)
• The thigh roll - 5 rolls from buttocks to knee / side of the
thigh (hamstring, IT-band, quadricep)
Strengthening ~3 minutes
• The clam - 15-25 reps per leg
• The tuck to extension - 10-15 reps per leg
• The single leg toe touch - 10-15 reps per leg
• The calf raise - 10-15 reps per leg
Mimicking ~3 minutes
• The butt kick - 10-15 reps per leg
• The high knee - 10-15 reps per leg
• The scissor run - 6-12 reps per leg
• The squat jump - 10-15 reps
The post-run cool-down (7 minutes)
Stretching ~7 minutes
• The calf stretch - 1 minute hold per leg
• The standing straddle - 1 minute hold (30 seconds
upright, 30 seconds bent over)
• The dragon - 1 minute per leg
• The lizard - 1 minute per leg
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GO FORTH
ON YOUR
OWN TERMS
YOU’VE SET A GOAL, YOU HAVE A PLAN, AND YOU
NOW HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE TO PREPARE YOUR
BODY TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THAT PLAN.
YOU AND YOU ALONE CAN DICTATE YOUR PROGRESS.
YOU CAN CHOOSE TO PROPERLY PREPARE AND
RECOVER YOUR BODY FOR THE TASK AHEAD, OR
NOT. THE CHOICE IS YOURS.
GO FORTH, AND VENTURE OUT ON YOUR JOURNEY.
DON’T LET INJURY OR SETBACK DICTATE WHAT YOU
CAN OR CANNOT DO. GO FORTH AND DICTATE THAT
THERE WILL BE NO INJURY, NO SETBACK, AND YOU’LL
REACH YOUR GOAL WHEN YOU DECIDE TO.
MAKE THE CHANGE, MAKE THE COMMITMENT. GO
FORTH, AND DOMINATE.
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MUST-READ DISCLAIMER
This document presents information accumulated through personal
experience, research, and consultation with other fitness professionals.
Josh Muskin (acting in accordance with JMFitness) is not a certified
physician or nutritionist, nor shall any information presented herein be
construed as medical advice. Followers should consult a physician and
obtain permission before starting any new exercise program or diet.
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