Injury Myths and Running Smarter with Brodie Sharpe

Get Fast Podcast, Ep 46, with Gerard and Jordan Donnelly and guest Brodie Sharpe, physio and host of The Run Smarter Podcast

Brodie Sharpe says the most common injury mistake is resting completely, then jumping straight back in. His view is that most running injuries come from training errors and spikes in load, and that the first few days matter.

This is general education from a podcast conversation. For your own injury, see a health professional.

Should you completely rest a running injury?

Usually only briefly, in Brodie's view. He often sees a week or two of rest, a return to training, then symptoms that come on sooner or feel worse. He says an injury slightly weakens the area, and complete rest weakens it further. "Complete rest isn't always best," he says.

For a severe flare-up he's fine with a day or two of complete rest, three or four days at most. After that, find a level the area can tolerate. His examples include a swim, a 45-minute walk or body-weight lunges. If symptoms flare, rest for a day and drop to something easier.

Is RICE out of date?

Brodie says RICE (rest, ice, compress, elevate) should no longer be commonplace. He prefers a newer acronym, PEACE and LOVE.

• PEACE covers the first day or two of an acute injury with inflammation: protection, elevation, avoid anti-inflammatories, compression, education.
• LOVE comes next: load, optimism, vascularisation (blood flow) and exercise.

How do you tell soreness from injury?

Brodie separates good soreness, or delayed onset muscle soreness, from an injury developing.

• When it starts. Good soreness: the next day or the day after. Possible injury: during the session or as you cool down.
• Where you feel it. Good soreness: vague, around the muscle belly. Possible injury: local to a joint, tendon, bone or ligament, and you can point to it with one finger.
• How long it lasts. Good soreness: settles in two to four days. Possible injury: more than a week if ignored.

Early symptoms that clear with a day or two of rest are okay, so long as they don't keep popping up. If you're constantly sore, Brodie would question your training intensity.

What causes running injuries?

Brodie says the majority come from training errors and spikes in load. Sudden changes count too, including hills, lighter shoes at the same mileage or a new bike position.

He cites an article, from around 2014 as he recalls, in which 95 recreational runners blamed things like foot shape and flexibility. Brodie says science doesn't support those. If you blame flat feet, you can miss the real cause, such as strength, load or intensity.

Does strength training help endurance athletes?

For performance, Brodie says yes. Speaking from running research, he says heavy work, meaning added weight on lunges, squats and calf raises, improves running economy. He suggests twice a week to build strength and once a week to maintain it. He says you won't bulk up, because your body prioritises the aerobic side.

On injury he's more careful. He says the research can't conclude that strength work reduces injury risk, though it makes sense to him.

Gerard asked why Ironman athletes need heavy lifting when they do strength work on the bike. Brodie says he knows less about cycling, but bike work doesn't cover heavy or plyometric loading.

Does mindset affect injury?

Brodie thinks so. He describes a study where people high in "perfectionism concerns", a fear of not being good enough, were 17 times more likely to develop an injury. With long-term injuries, he works on focusing on what you can do now, and says that shift can help physically too.

How do you lower your injury risk?

• Follow a well-designed program and avoid spikes in load.
• Be kind to yourself and celebrate small wins.
• Prioritise sleep and nutrition. During a house move, a new baby or a stressful job, hold off on high-intensity sessions and high-mileage weeks.
• Favour consistency over a session that needs three days of recovery.

You can't get the risk to zero. Knowing what to do from day one can make it "a one week injury instead of a three month injury".

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