Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Marine Corps Times

6 tips to prevent triathlon injuries

Listen up, triathletes. A stiff neck may be a telltale sign you’re overdoing it. A healthier diet can be the answer to a cramp in your calf. And a blister on your foot might be begging for new shoes.

“Listening to your body is really important,” said Diana Palmer, athletic trainer for USA Triathlon. “Some athletes try to train through it, but if they catch it early and listen to the fatigue, lack of ability to perform, joint and muscle aches, they can get healthy much more quickly.”

Palmer estimates 70 percent of the injuries she encounters among athletes competing in triathlons — typically a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike ride and 10K run — could be prevented through better-fitting equipment, better nutritional and hydration practices, balanced training programs, adequate rest and thorough stretching.

“In terms of acute trauma — bike wrecks, accidents coming out of the water — we don’t really see that many,” Palmer said. “Instead, we see more (cases) where someone has been increasing their mileage, or didn’t realize that if they’re just starting to run, they shouldn’t bike at the same time.”

A 1998 study reported in the International Journal of Sports Medicine found that elite male triathletes and those on developmental squads suffered from overuse injuries at the same rate, 75 percent over a five-year period.

Club-level triathletes had a rate of 56.3 percent.

All three groups are susceptible to swimmer’s shoulder, a term used to describe sore rotator cuffs, runner’s knee and Achilles tendinitis.

Other ailments are more prevalent at specific skill levels.

“With the national team athletes, I’m seeing two things,” Palmer said. “They get upper hamstring, lower glute pain. Another common injury is right at the base of the neck, because of the way that they’re on their bike and looking up, and how much they have to rotate their head during swimming.”

Nutrition plays a significant role in the performance of less experienced triathletes.

“Where they’re going to get hurt is that they didn’t eat enough or drink enough fluid,” Palmer said.

Matt Reed, the 2004 national champion, stresses diversifying your workout.

“I definitely think you can get more injuries, but on a different scale,” he said. “We’re not swimming as much as a swimmer. We’re not biking half of what a cyclist bikes, or a runner is running.

“So the chances of injuries in each sport is a little bit less.”

Using proper equipment also decreases the strain.

“You have to have the right gear,” Reed said. “You have to change your shoes out every month. You’ve got to get fitted on the bike properly, make sure your position is good.”

Stretching is another crucial step. Reed stretches before and after training.

“Most of all, you need to make sure and work on your recovery,” he said. “Stretching or massage, it all helps.”

Advice for triathlon success

Palmer offered the following tips:

1. Train slowly: Too often, people start out with one of the three disciplines and then decide to “launch” into triathlons. Build a base slowly. Often, the errors you make at this beginning stage will show up as injuries months later as the body “gives up” from too much volume at the beginning of the program.

2. Learn your body’s caloric needs: Make sure you combine carbohydrates and proteins in snacks. Snack every three to four hours. Get in your fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy proteins. Many athletes wait too long between meals and underestimate what they need overall.

3. Hydrate often: Powerade, Gatorade and active.com all have user-friendly Web sites with hydration and nutrition guidelines. Make sure you get fluids with carbs. Practice hydration habits during practices, not just on race day.

4. Beware of “fad” supplements: Triathlons require so much training that multivitamins and athlete-specific supplements may be needed. But they should be athlete-specific based on their preparation rates, altitude of training, etc. There has to be a solid nutritional base or the body cannot sustain the training required for triathlons.

5. Build your core: Your legs and arms give power, but your core is the true “power zone.” The body’s core includes the muscles of the shoulders, the chest, the abdomen, the hips, the pelvis and the back muscles. A strong core helps your extremities do a better job while exercising. A large number of injuries come from a weak or “discoordinated” core.

6. Choose your coach or personal trainer wisely: Don’t be tempted to pick a “great athlete” who now coaches. Check credentials carefully. Do they have a college degree in the area? What level of credentials do they have? What specialized coaching certificates do they have? Are they attending seminars and sharing information with other professionals in an effort to continue their learning process?

Andrew Logue writes for The Des Moines (Iowa) Register.