Running Injuries

That horrible pain on the sole of your foot that makes you dread putting your foot down first thing in the morning. Plantar foot pain has many risk factors such as training error, load capacity, flexibility, foot posture, footwear, recovery strategies, lower limb biomechanics, other co-morbidities, and more.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome or ‘runner’s Knee’ is a pain that presents at the front of your Knee. Often when running, sitting with your knee’s bent for long periods, using stairs, or walking on hills.

Like plantarfasciopathy there are any risk factors that can contribute to this, some are congenital such as the size of your Patella (your Kneecap) or where it sits on the front of your Knee. But many are acquired and can be treated such as Glutes or Quadriceps function, shock absorption, footwear, training structure, or lower limb biomechanics.

Formally known as medial tibial stress syndrome. This presents as pain along the inner edge of your shin and is commonly associated with increased training load which results in a stress response along the edge of the bone. A very painful condition which is aggravated by impact.

Shin splints need to be managed carefully with a structured programme to help offload the bone, particularly to avoid the risk of a stress fracture.

Pain which presents on the side of the hip. Commonly referred to as gluteal bursitis or greater trochanteric pain. We now know that the pain is most commonly associated with the gluteal tendon, hence we use the term gluteal tendinopathy. It is an irritation of the gluteal tendon, which can result in pain when running, or when lying on the affected side.

A stress fracture differ from typical broken bones, in that the bone breaks down slowly rather than from a distinct traumatic episode. Stress fractures are rare but must be identified early to prevent the condition worsening and hindering long term outcomes.

There are several risk factors beyond training overload, these include sub-optimal nutrition, low BMI, chronic poor sleep quality, smoking, excess alcohol intake, and other health conditions.

These can affect many areas but common sites include the hips, the metatarsals of the feet, the shins, and the heels. If you have focal bone tenderness, pain on your first step of running, and pain at night you should have this assessed before you continue running.

The Achilles is the strongest tendon in the body and connects your calf to your heel. It acts as a spring when we run and absorbs huge amounts of load. When the Achilles becomes irritated it can cause pain, stiffness, and thickening of the tendon. As with most tendon pain it feels worse in the morning when you first get up and tends to be more painful after running.

Tendons require specific load management. Rest will calm them down but structured rehab is what gets them back to full capacity and what gets you back to running pain free.