New Year, New Plan…. New Injury?

The start of a new year is an exciting time for triathletes. Reflecting on your race performances from the previous year, you sign up for new races with big plans to finish a new race distance, beat a certain race time, make the podium, and maybe qualify for Kona. After doing the math, you realize all you have to do is shave 15 minutes off your swim time, spend 4 seconds in each transition, improve your bike time by 30 minutes, and run 6 min/mile pace and you could become a pro! January is the perfect time to restart your training after taking a few months off following your last race, plus you need to burn off those extra calories from the holidays. Your coach puts together a great training plan for the year to help you meet your goals and with a renewed sense of energy you are ready to train. All you have to do is stay healthy and injury free! Uh oh- did someone say “injury?”

Injuries happen in athletes and non-athletes. Rehabbing an injury takes time away from training, and depending on the severity, may lead to a less than optimal performance on a race, DNS, or DNF. To prevent and treat injuries, it’s important to understand what injuries are and why they occur. The musculoskeletal system is composed of many different types of tissue, which allow movement to occur and respond to stress. Dense connective tissue supports or limits motion and is found in bone, ligament and tendons; loose connective tissue is flexible and found in capsules, muscles, nerves and fascia. When a tissue is stressed beyond its tolerance, by either an internal or external load, the tissue fails. Common reasons for injuries in triathletes are training volume, anatomy, mechanics, skill, and bad luck.  

Overtraining in triathletes tends to be more of a problem than undertraining. Interestingly, even though triathlon training volume is often 3-4 times more than runners, triathletes hurt less, their bodies are healthier, training plans often include preventative strengthening, and participating in multisport events encourages cross training. Overuse injuries occur with repetitive loading of a tissue and inadequate recovery time. Most injuries are due to overuse, with the exception of the bike portion, which are more often acute, high velocity crashes. Tissues need time to build up strength and adapt (tissue adaptation time) to loading stresses. Gradually building your training base over the course of several weeks or months, and including rest days, can help prevent overuse injuries.

Triathletes should be strong, with some flexibility, and good training. Weak or fatigued muscles can lead to compensation with other muscles. Training sport-specific muscles to function appropriately is important. Muscle imbalances can impair normal movement patterns and stress tissues beyond their tolerance, causing injury. Additionally, improper technique and mechanics while training can also lead to injury. Consult with a coach who is skilled in analyzing swim stroke, bike fit, and running gait- then follow their instructions. If you have not had a comprehensive bike fit, spend the $200 and get one! Muscle strengthening programs, technique analyses, and proper bike fits should be considered mandatory.

Finally, bad luck can also lead to injury, even when you do everything else right. If this happens to you, keep a positive mental attitude and take the time to rehab your injury appropriately. Staying active through your injury is important for healing, maintaining fitness, and mental wellness.

This article is the first in a series written to educate you on injuries, prevention, and general treatment principles for triathletes. These articles are NOT designed to take the place of a medical evaluation and treatment. Injuries are complex and often the cause isn’t isolated to the site of pain. Thus, treatment should be done under the guidance of a clinician (physician, physical therapist, etc.), preferably one experienced with the demands of endurance sport training and competition. Stay tuned for article #2 where you will learn about swimming injuries, preventative exercises, and treatment principles.