Running - Injury
Written by Physiotherapist and runner Becky Sutton
There is a range of different injuries but there are a few that rear their ugly heads more often than others, most commonly affecting the lower limbs.
As mentioned last week, injuries can often (but not always) be attributed to training error - too much, too soon or too much change, too close together.
Other areas to address are muscle imbalances – our bigger powerful muscles have a tendency to take over, leaving our crucial stabilizing muscles flagging behind. The gluteal muscles are a prime example of this. When not at optimum strength, the pelvis is not as supported as it needs to be during movement which can lead to more pressure on the hip, knee, ankle or foot ultimately presenting as pain. Weak tired muscles can also become tight and painful over time.
Likewise, our calves may not have sufficient power and control in them for what we are asking – combine this with sprinting or hill running where we use our calves more and you may find they start to get uncomfortable. This can then impact on your Achilles (tendinopathy) or foot arch (plantar fasciitis).
Sometimes, we can put a bit of blame on running style. Overstriding puts more pressure on your knees (patellofemoral pain at the front of the knee), while scissoring or knocking knees can also stress knees as well as hips.
Occasionally a runner may develop a stress fracture – typically affecting the shin bone (tibia), small bones in the feet (metatarsals), the thigh bone (femur) and sometimes other areas. It is important to get checked out if you are worried about this – it may not be obvious and you may even still feel able to run initially, albeit with pain.
So lots to think about, but many of these things can be addressed with simple, specific exercises. Some niggles will settle as quickly as they started, while other issues can be a little more stubborn, so keep at that rehab and give it time!
Next week – what else affects our running? Time to talk about stress and sleep.
