Muscle soreness occurs as a result of a process called “oxidative stress.” When running, the muscles use oxygen to produce the energy needed to propel the body forward. However, these chemical reactions have the side effect of producing substances called “free radicals.” Free radicals damage muscle tissue and are responsible for much of the muscle soreness that runners feel after races and workouts.

In order to combat free radicals, runners need to make sure that they eat foods high in antioxidants, including tea, berries, garlic, whole grains, and carrots. One food that has been proven to especially help runners with muscle soreness is cherry juice.

In a 2010 study, fifty-four runners were placed into two groups. One group drank cherry juice twice a day for a week leading up to Oregon’s Hood to Coast Relay race, and one group drank a placebo cherry drink. The study found that runners who drank the cherry juice had far less muscle soreness during the Hood to Coast race than runners who drank the placebo. The antioxidants in the cherry juice reduced the number of free radicals in the body and protected the runners from the debilitating muscle soreness felt by runners in the other group.

The finding of this study is very important because runners should know that taking anti-inflammatory medication like Ibuprofen, which can have serious side effects, is not the only option for reducing muscle soreness. Eating and drinking high antioxidant foods like cherry juice is a natural and effective way to run without muscle soreness.

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Researchers have studied this precise question. In a 2008 study, nine runners ingested vitamins and twelve runners ingested mineral supplements during a four week period before an ultramarathon. The vitamins included A, B, C, and a multivitamin, and the minerals included magnesium, zinc, iron, calcium, and a multi-mineral.

The authors compared the performances of these runners with runners who did not consume vitamin or mineral supplements. Based on the times run in an ultramarathon, the authors found no evidence that a certain vitamin or mineral actually improves a runner’s performance.

It is important to emphasize that this study had a very small sample size and it would be interesting to research whether taking vitamins and minerals for a period longer than four weeks affects performance. Nevertheless, it appears that runners should not expect a huge gain in performance from taking vitamins and minerals.

With that said, I still believe that vitamin and mineral supplementation is an important part of a runner’s diet. While they may not directly improve performance, they may allow a runner to train hard without getting injured. For example, studies have shown that an intake of calcium helps prevent stress fractures, and there is some evidence that Vitamin C helps prevent a cold or flu, which can stop a training program in its tracks. Therefore, while vitamins and minerals may not directly improve running performance, they may have indirect benefits that are very important for runners.

Photo courtesy of Ragesoss

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Health Factors

Perhaps the most obvious risk factor for running injuries is a history of past injuries. Study after study have found that runners who have suffered an injury in a specific location are at a greater risk to have a future injury in that location. This is especially true for lower extremity injuries (achilles, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, etc.).

It is difficult to know why lower leg injuries re-occur so often in runners. One reason might be because many runners do not understand the need to address muscular imbalances in the lower leg. Committing to an routine that includes such exercises as calf and toe raises, walking on your toes, and walking on your heels can help develop your stability muscles and cut down on the risk of shin, achilles, and other injuries.

One intriguing finding was that runners who had past knee injuries decreased their chances of future knee injuries by increasing their training mileage. The knee was the only part of the body that had less injuries as the weekly mileage increased. One explanation is that running more miles increases the muscles of the knee, which helps prevent knee pain.

Lifestyle Factors

In an interesting finding, the study’s authors discovered that drinking alcohol put runners at risk of incurring blisters and front thigh injuries. Additionally, runners who participated in cycling and gym aerobics had a higher rate of front thigh and hamstring. This is probably related to muscle imbalances caused by these activities, which can strengthen the hamstrings or the quadriceps, but not both muscles. Runners who participate in a lot of cycling, aerobics, or other cross training should make sure that those activities are not creating muscle imbalances.

Conclusion

The main takeaway from this two part series should be that there are definite risk factors for running injuries. Runners that have these factors should pay careful attention to injury prevention: greater age, lower leg length difference, greater height in male runners, drinking alcohol, participation in cycling and aerobics, and a history of past injuries. There was also evidence of increased injuries for: greater training distance per week in male runners (but not knee injuries), participation in races of greater distances, and running on concrete surfaces.

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