HOW RUNNERS AND ATHLETES CAN AVOID CHAFING

Chafing is most common in long-distance runners, cyclists, triathletes, or other endurance athletes. The hot weather and humidity can really affect us to get chafing so often when we run or train. Personally, I use Gurney Goo anti-chafing oil for every long-distance runs.

What Is Chafing?

Chafing of the skin is caused by friction or rubbing. 

The friction can occur in areas with skin-to-skin contact, such as between the inner thighs, as they rub against one another as we run.

Chafing can also be caused by our running clothes, running gear, or cycling gear.

If we wear a cotton t-shirt, or uncomfortable fabric t-shirt or tank top, we might get underarm chafing.

Chafing is particularly common during running or exercising, because sweat increases friction. Sweating also will make chafing much more painful.

Symptoms of Chafing Include Hot, Painful, or Even Blistered Rash.

Sometimes, the skin is also worn away, exposing delicate layers of deeper skin, leading to bleeding and the chance of infection.

But most chafing while running progresses from mild skin irritation to more severe chafing symptoms.

Where Can Chafing Happen?

Chafing occurs anywhere with skin-on-skin contact or when our skin rubs against our clothing. 

Blisters and hotspots on the feet and toes can occur if our socks get wet while we run.

The most common areas of the body where chafed skin is likely to occur from running include the following:

• Inner thighs or groin area

• Armpit or underarm area, especially alongside a sports bra

• Under boob chafing, or the area just below the sports bra strap or under the breast tissue

• Upper thigh and buttocks chafing

• Nipple chafing

• Feet and toes, which may experience blisters, which is essentially another form of chafed skin

While it is true that chafing can occur when there is repetitive skin-to-skin contact, chafing while running can also occur when the fabric is rubbing against our skin.

This cause of chafing can be affected from our choice in materials or the fit of our sports bra, running shorts, t-shirt.

Many triathletes, long-distance runners or cyclists who have large quads may have a low body fat percentage, but the large muscle mass will still cause skin-on-skin rubbing as the inner thighs move back and forth past one another.

Similarly, we could still have inner thigh chafing without carrying excess body weight if we have narrow hips. 

We should not feel bad about our body shape or body size if we are experiencing chafing while running,  it is a rather universal problem with long-distance running.

How To Prevent Chafing And Running And The Best Anti-Chafing Products For Runners

1.     Choose The Right Clothing

Running clothes that shift and rub against our skin can cause chafing, especially if you wear cotton or other fabrics that don’t breathe.

For compression shorts, tops, sports bras, and tights, we should make sure that the compression gear is tight enough, so that the fabric isn’t moving and rubbing our skin with every stride.

2.     Anti-Chafing Products For Runners

We should apply an anti-chafing balm before running or training on any areas with skin-to-skin contact where chafing occurs and areas of the skin rubbed by our running and training clothes. 

We can use a product specifically designed for anti-chafing for runners or cyclists.

Anti-chafing products smooth and moisturize the skin to allow a gliding against our skin.

Many people suggest using Vaseline, but using petroleum-based products on our skin can be harmful, so I recommend these anti-chafing products.

• Body Glide

• Gurney Goo

• KT-Tape

• Run Guard

‌For male runners, using a Band-Aid on your nipples can be an effective way to prevent nipple chafing in runners or other athletes who do not wear sports bras.

How To Treat Chafing From Running?

1. Clean the area with warm water and mild soap, especially if the skin is open, and then gently pat it dry. 

2. Apply an antiseptic cream, such as Neosporin to the irritated skin.

3. Do your best to cover the affected area with Band-Aids. Or you can also use adhesive tape KT Tape Pro if the chafed area is larger than the gauze part of the Band-Aids.

4. We should allow the affected area to heal before we run again.

Chafing may take up to a couple of days to fully heal, especially if we have open sores.

If we really need or want to stick with our training plan, keep running or have a race, it’s certainly possible to run with chafing, but we need to be careful not to affect the chafing.

We should chose tight running clothes that don’t allow skin contact (such as in the groin area or between the inner thighs). 

Focus On Using Anti-Chafing Balm, Cream, Oil Or Gel To Avoid Chafing When Running, And Wear Good Tops And Shorts With High-Quality Fabric, Feel No Chafing, Great, Nice And Comfortable Runs!