Tata Mumbai Marathon: How you can prevent an injury during the event

Representational ImageThe Tata Mumbai Marathon is around the corner and if you are planning to participate in any part of the run you probably already understand that there are a number of risks involvedin taking part in this endurance event We spoke to Santosh Kumar Dora Cardiac Electro Physiologist Asian Heart Institute who told us about the common ailments that could hinder a persons performance and even ability to run in the marathon Heres what he had to sayWhat are the medical conditions that prevent a person from running a marathonMarathon is a serious athletic activity To run 21 or 42 km at a stretch needs a lot of physical training and endurance One should be absolutely fit health wise to run a marathon However fit one may be he should undergo a routine medical test before deciding to participate in the training program for a marathonA lot of medical conditions may make a person ineligible for a marathon Preexisting heart and lung diseases are of primary importance Heart diseases include blockages in the heart arteries reduced heart pumping valve diseases hypertrophic and restrictive heart muscle diseases various kind of heart rhythm disorders uncontrolled hypertension etc After the heart condition is fully treated however one may participate in marathon training once the treating doctor is satisfied with the cardiac condition Similarly some of the untreated or poorly treated bronchial asthma restrictive lung disease interstitial lung diseases also make a person unfit for running Medical conditions like diabetes thyroid diseases anaemia and many other metabolic and hormonal problems need to be well controlled before marathon trainingWhat medical tests should be done before running themarathonA routine health checkup is mandatory before deciding to start practising for a marathon The tests will include blood count lipid profile renal function test blood sugar evaluation thyroid evaluation electrocardiogram chest Xray echocardiogram and stress test Further additional tests may be needed depending on a given personrsquos medical profile All the test reports should be analyzed by a qualified physicianIs there a way to run even with one of the risk factorsMarathon running is pretty popular these days Last year alone close to 40000 people were a part of the dreamrun half and full marathon This is a massive number The worry is whether all these people have had proper training Absence of proper training makes a person very prone to issues like muscle injury dehydration vertigo stomach upset etc Very rarely it can also lead to serious conditions like sudden cardiac arrest The good thing is many marathon events including the Mumbai Marathon has a strict criteria for inclusion ie one must have run marathon before with a satisfactory timing That makes the marathon population a safe running population One also should remember that having run a marathon a year ago does not make a person fully fit for the next marathon There has to be rigorous training process before every marathonYou may also like to readHow to prepare for the upcoming Mumbai marathonCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news current affairs from Mumbai local news crime news and breaking headlines hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go