Runner's World Guide to Injury Prevention: How to Identify Problems, Speed Healing, and Run Pain-Free

by Dagny Scott Barrios, Runner's World

The last word on preventing and treating running injuries-from the magazine known the world over as the most reliable and authoritative source of running know-how

The world of running-and running injury prevention-has evolved greatly in the last decade. New thinking on injury and recovery suggests that runners can continue to train while injured. And alternative practices-such as acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage-are now virtually mainstream and an essential part of any runner's injury arsenal. Not only is the sport dramatically more popular, but women runners and beginning runners-who are a large part of the growth-have very different needs in the areas of injury and health that have not been covered adequately in previous books. Research in sports medicine also has advanced.

All this-and much more-is covered in Runner's World Guide to Injury Prevention by Dagny Scott Barrios, quite simply the best, most authoritative guide in the field.

Here you'll find:
- The most important stretches for runners-and why you should not stretch an injured muscle
- How (and why) to change your biomechanics and stride length
- How to incorporate cross-training to prevent and heal injury
- The most important strength-training exercises for runners
- How to cope with the mental side of injury
- Special concerns for young runners, women, and older Runners
- The newest thinking in hydration

Beginners and veterans alike will benefit from this expert guidance from the cutting edge of sports medicine and science.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sports, Fitness, Health

224 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

Dagny Scott Barrios is a writer, editor, and public speaker specializing in running and women's sports.

Reviews

[John Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started running regularly when I was 19 years old, over 30 years ago. In the beginning I ran to lose weight, but I continued to run throughout the years to maintain my weight. After all those years, last year for the first time I suffered a running injury and had to reduce my running drastically (but I didn't stop altogether) to heal. My achilles tendon was hurt. I found out that I wasn't immune to injury, after all. I'm not going to say that if I had read this book beforehand I would not have been injured, but I probably would have been smarter about training and I would have known better what to do to heal after the injury occurred.

This book gives an introduction in injuries, compared to just typical aches and pains. It covers in great detail methods to prevent injuries, and then it provides information on how to treat them when they occur. It offers several different exercises for cross-training than can also help you to avoid running injuries, and it has chapters specifically for certain people and how they might be different. By different, I mean it has a chapter dedicted to children and another dedicated to women, and another dedicated to older runners. I think that last one should be very helpful to me as I approach retirement age.

I found this to be a very interesting read and I intend to keep it for reference. Barrios has done an excellent job covering this subject.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure this is "the last word in preventing and healing injuries" as claimed in the promo, but it is a useful overview. I'm on the tail end of recovering from IT band syndrome that presented as hip bursitis rather than the more typical knee pain, so I'm looking for ongoing strength training. This included some of the same exercises my PT has given me. On the other hand, the Strengthening chapter (Ch 5) does not do a very thorough job of explaining the importance of strong glutes in avoiding overuse injuries such as ITBS. Also, the injury chapter does not address hip pain *at all* and does not mention it wrt ITBS. 2.5 stars.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An average book on running. It does a fairly good job of describing injuries, what to do if you get one (of the few it lists), and how to prevent them. With that being said, there are not a lot of injuries listed in the book. I would suggest reading several other books on running to get a better idea of injuries as a whole. It does a good job of listing nontraditional methods of fixing/preventing injuries.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a novice runner, this is an excellent resource and, perhaps, even required reading. Learn how to get the most out of your running without needlessly breaking yourself or further exacerbating your injuries. She also has some great stretching and strength programs that I'm going to photocopy and keep next to my exercise ball. Anything to fix my stupid hamstring.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

First running book I've read. Consequently, I learned a lot. I thought it was easy to read and understand and the principals taught were good to know! Not much in there about HOW to run well or even HOW to train, mostly just what NOT to do, thought that was kind of annoying. Overall, glad I read it, but it's not all-encompassing by any means so I plan to read more running books.

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! It really opened up my eyes to what I've been doing wrong which causes me to get injured in the first place. This book isn't just for injury treatment but it talks heavily on injury prevention or at least serious injuries that can result from ignoring the warning signs. A must read for every runner.

[Kristin Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book from the library. It was a good reference book and could be worth checking out again.

[Cherie · Rating 3 out of 5]

B+ A great book with a lot of impt information for runners trying to avoid running injuries, prevent them, and deal with injuries.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not too much new information for me -- I've already read a lot of the info in Runner's World and on forums.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great info for runners out there! Learned a lot!

[Maria Tsilimidou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Food for thought and easy to read book.

[Will Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not very detailed. Here is a brief synopsis. Small running injuries can worsen if you do not rest properly and address the cause. I just saved you $10.

[ranbir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good reference wish I had read it earlier

[Jason Bannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great primer for the new(ish) runner. If you’ve been doing this for a while and have read other generalized running health books, you may not find this one revelatory.

[Kenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just okay, nothing new. I was hoping to find the key to being a healthy, life-long runner.

[Hollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful tips!