The biggest thing is to ice after you run! My favorites are to use Dixie cups and a frozen water bottle. Just make sure to apply cold before hot; so do it before you hop in the shower.

Get a paper Dixie cup, or really just a box of them

Fill them up with water ahead of time, ideally the night before

Freeze overnight

Once frozen solid you can pull them out after your run and begin peeling away the paper

Peel it off until only a little remains

Then ice your shins with it! I like to use one per leg and also rub the ice on my ankles, knees, and quads. Shins are the most important to prevent shin splints though

You may want a towel to wipe up all the water

Fill up and freeze a used plastic water bottle (I just keep this one in the freezer and always reuse it)

Use it to roll and ice your arches. I really love this one since I've had issues with my arches getting swollen before

If you have the time it's nice to get rid of knots and lactic acid buildup too!

Lie down against a wall or any flat perpendicular surface or prop your tush up with a yoga block to prop your legs straight up in the air

Just chill out for however long you want; this helps reduce swelling that I get in my ankles and also gets rid of lactic acid build up in your calves to lessen those pesky knots

A great way to really get rid of knots though is to roll them out using a foam roller or "the stick." These can be expensive but some gyms will have the foam rollers so you can use them there!

First up are your calves. I like to prop up on my arms so I can put most of my weight on my calf and really roll it out. It's sort of like taking a rolling pin to roll out your muscles

My quads are always pretty knotted too. Try to ignore the pore strip...I like to multitask whenever possible lol

My IT band absolutely gives me trouble and requires rolling. When I do remember to roll it out I tend to have fewer hip problems though

And it never hurts to roll your booty. I've never actually had trouble if I don't roll it but it can get sore from hill running and it's so nice to lessen soreness

The stick is pretty good at getting out calf muscle knots. It's more painful as far as I've experienced but if you can get someone else to roll your calves for you it works wonders

Let me know what you do to prevent injuries from sports! This is my first snapguide so I hope it's been helpful

How to prevent running injuries

After running xc in high school and now half marathons, these are the tips and tricks I've used to stay as injury free as possible while training.