When I started running years (and years…) ago, I had no idea that I could injure myself just while running. After all, it’s not a contact sport like rugby or handball (the king sports in my family), it’s not as dangerous as skiing (the king sport in my region). Except slipping on a patch of ice, what could possibly happen?
I rapidly understood that I was completely wrong after getting my first injury. And that running injuries are practically an inevitable part of our running lives, since that on average, around 30% of runners are getting injured every year1.
Facing an injury is already hard enough for most runners (what worse could happen than not being able to run?). But dealing with an injury when you are far from home and support from your loved ones, in a medical environment you don’t know (and potentially don’t trust much) is another story. How to deal with an injury abroad? Here are some do’s and don’ts from my (rather extensive) experience in the subject.
Running injuries and I: a long story
- 2018, Berlin: shin splint, 3 months (“ah yeah, I have to change my shoes when the mesh is torn?”)
- 2019, Grenoble/Vienna/Madrid: tendonitis, 9 months (“ah, these Adidas shoes with the white foam? They’re dead after 500 km” )
- 2021, Kampala: kneecap dislocation, 2 months (“sidewalks are overrated after all”)
- 2022, Kampala/Casablanca: second kneecap dislocation, 9 months (“maybe I should consider retraining as a physio 🤔”)
- 2025, Dakar: just another tendonitis (it had been a long time 😒)
How to deal with an injury abroad?
Do’s:
- Be covered
When I was in France I didn’t really think about medical insurance and those kind of annoying paper work, I just gave my social security card and that was it. It’s only when I started to work abroad and get treated that I realised how important it was to have a good insurance and the related administrative joys.
Several scenarios:
- If you have an expat work contract, your employer will most probably supply you with a private insurance that will reimburse your medical expenses (consultations, hospitalisation to a certain extent, medications…). It often goes with a package that includes repatriation.
- If you work with a local contract, either your employer will subscribe to a national insurance, or if not, you’ll have to contract you own insurance.
- If you’re traveling or studying, most private insurances offer packages that extends for some time their coverage to other countries. Otherwise, you can still subscribe to another insurance from scratch, some of them being specialised for abroad.
- Finally, in Europe, the European Health Insurance Card provides access to medical treatment for EU citizens travelling within the EU and it’s available for everyone who’s registered in the French healthcare system.
2. Get proper treatment
Once you know that your medical expenses will be (at least partly) covered, you’ll need to find good professionals. I was lucky enough to live in large cities, but depending when you are, that can be a challenge (if not just impossible). In some countries, public hospitals (or health centers) should be avoided if you don’t want to make things worse. Private clinics have (unfortunately) much more resources and are often a safer bet.
A few tips here:
- Check if your insurance covers the costs if you need to be transferred to the nearest big city
- Worst case scenario (especially if you need surgery), insurance packages often include repatriation
- To find references and specialists:
- Ask recommendations to other healthcare professionals (i.e ask that doctor you saw at the clinic where to find a good physio)
- In some countries there are online platforms that facilitate research and appointment bookings with healthcare professional : Dabadoc in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, Afridoctor in several African countries (Sénégal, Côte d’Ivoire, Bénin, Nigeria, Kenya… wtf Uganda?!)
- Ask for recommendations around (friends, colleagues, in Facebook/expat groups…)
3. Stay in close touch with loved ones
Mental state plays a big role in one’s injury experience and recovery. Being abroad can make it even more depressing if you feel isolated. You’ll need to be well supported, in real life or remotely.
4. Stay away from social media and running content
This is a piece of advice that applies whether you’re abroad or not. When I suffered from long injuries, seeing pics from influencers or people I follow was depressing me even more. So I ended-up unsubscribing or turning down notifications on all social media to stay clear from all sports/running content. Trust me, that helps.
5. Find other occupations
When plans come up, I may often sometimes think “Ah, no, I can’t, I have to go running” or “Hum, but where will I go running on Sunday if I’m not here?”. When you’re injured, you don’t wonder. This is the main “advantage” of being not able to run. You are suddenly gaining so much free time. Take advantage to find other occupations (playing music, painting, cooking, whatever in -ing). You can also get completely smashed on Saturday nights, no long run on Sunday, no consequences (nah, alcohol is bad for recovery 🙄).
When you’re abroad (if you’re not walking with crutches), take this free time as an opportunity to visit and travel. When I was living in Vienna I was almost spending every two weekends traveling somewhere in Austria, Bratislava or Budapest. And you don’t need to pack your running shoes anymore, which saves a lot of space.
Don’ts
That don’ts part applies pretty much to all kind of circumstances. I’ll keep it rather short and straight to the point.
- Call and insult your ex.
After all, this is all his fault, you started running because of him.
2. Throttle all the runners you come across (they’re provoking you right?).
Or at least if you want to do this abroad, make sure to be informed on the local regulations and the entitled legal risks.
3. Stop all physical activities
Don’t run if you experience a level of pain higher than 3-4/10. BUT, that doesn’t mean that you should stay inactive. If you are able to, replace running with “soft” sports like walking, cycling or swimming. Moving is actually one of the best remedies (I can testify with tendonitis). You’ll keep you muscular mass, endurance and cardio, and going back to running will be much less painful.
4. Go back to running just the same
Start slow with a test run of 15 min, during which you can alternate running and walking (don’t start like me with a 40min test run lol). As you are recovering, try to stick to the 10% rule not to increase your weekly mileage too fast.
Most importantly, try to identify what went wrong and what caused the injury. Old or inadequate shoes? Overtraining? Insufficient recovery? Weak muscles? Rethink your training routine to correct that cause and prevent relapses or future injuries. Since my first injury and overtime, I consistently changed my training agenda and exercises. I kept swimming as a cross training activity, reorganised to add an extra recovery day, focused on a few efficient muscle strengthening exercises, added mobility workouts…
And you, what would you recommend to help facing an injury?
- (Van Gent et al. Incidence and determinants of lower extremity running in long distance runners : a systematic review, British Journal of Sports Medecine, 41 : 469-480, 1 May 2007). ↩︎