Running Injuries

If preparing for the upcoming summer sports season or simply aiming to stay active and healthy, running is an effective way to improve your fitness! However, it can also lead to injuries. So why are your legs and muscles sore when you run?? There are several reasons why our bodies can develop soreness after recently taking up running or significantly or rapidly increasing our running load.

Below are the 6 most common risk factors for developing a Running Injury and I explain
how Physio’s can identify them and then address them to resolve the cause of your leg pain:

Is Incorrect Footwear causing my Running Injury?

Do you have flat feet or high arches or are you somewhere in between?

Every individual has a unique foot that needs a particular shoe that best suits their anatomy. Wearing a shoe that is too soft, too firm or does not accommodate your foot shape can increase your chance of injury. 

Therefore, it is important that you are fitted correctly when purchasing a new set of running shoes. 

Foot Type – Does Foot Type Contribute to Running Injuries?

Supinators – Generally if you have a high arch and a stiffer foot you will be a Supinator.  You will have more trouble absorbing shock and be more susceptible to general joint pain and bony stress fractures in your feet, shins or even higher up in the pelvis.  You will therefore need a shoe that has good shock absorbing properties such as a gel or air cushioning system in the heel and will need to be a relatively flexible shoe.  These shoes should bend relatively easily in the mid sole and can twist more easily.

Pronators – Generally if you have a flat foot or fallen arch and a very flexible or hypermobile foot you will be a pronator.  You will tend to have more trouble with your foot rolling inwards and this can contribute to your shin and knee also twisting inwards creating challenges in the shins, knees and even as far up as the hips and lower back.  The type of shoe that best suits pronators is a shoe that is more stable.  It has a good heel counter, cannot be bent very easily through the centre of the sole and does not twist much.  These shoes often have a dual density foam system in the heel where the foam on the outside edge of the shoe is softer and the foam on the inside edge is much firmer.  This helps to reduce the amount the foot rolls inwards.

Neutral feet – Generally people with a neutral foot better tolerate the demands of running.  Footwear tends to be less of an issue with runners who are doing lower kilometres per week but if you are doing more than 30km’s per week you will need a good combination of shock absorption and stability.  These shoes need to be relatively stable in the sole but not as rigid as the pronators shoe and have some flexibility in the midfoot so it can twist and bend a bit but not too much.

Below is video to explain further the type of shoe that suits different foot types.

Are your Shoes Worn Out?

Continuing to wear shoes that are worn out does not provide the same level of stability for your foot and ankle. The shock absorption components of the shoe also compress over time and therefore do not provide the shock absorption that can help to reduce impact. Therefore, it is worth regularly investing in new running shoes to increase the support for your feet.

Has Overtraining Caused my Running Injury?  – Poor Programming

Runners who have dramatically increased their running load, whether that be in preparation for a running race or because they have just recently started running, can also develop injury. Our bodies need time to recover before being loaded again and if there has not been enough recovery our tissues get overloaded, and the cumulative effect is strain and pain. Think about it like a maths test. If you haven’t studied or you try to cram lots of information in the night before a test, you’re not going to do as well as if you studied little bits and pieces gradually in preparation for the test. Running is the same. We need to gradually increase our running by small amounts every couple of weeks to condition our bodies gradually. This will allow us to perform well too!

Essentially if we feel that your injury has been caused by pushing your body too hard and too fast or not having enough recovery in your program we will help you with programming.  Having a well-structured training program and schedule for your running will depend what your end goal is.  It will depend on what your base level of fitness and conditioning is and whether you have other contributing factors that also need addressing.

Is the Running Surface Contributing to my Running Injury?

Hard Surfaces such as concrete can increase the impact force that travels through your body with every stride, People who are not good at absorbing shock well may have an increased susceptibility to injury running on harder surfaces.  

Uneven Surfaces such as rocky or bush tracks or soft sand can create injuries or aggravate symptoms in some runners. People with increased mobility or flatter feet often struggle on softer surfaces.

Hill Running can also create issues if introduced at a high volume and for many it is the running downhill that is as much an issue as running uphill.  Hill running is a higher load than running on the flat and should not be done more than once or twice a week unless you are conditioned to it.

Can my Running technique be the Cause of my injury?

Everyone has their own unique running technique, but it is the way that we run that can sometimes contribute injury. Overstriding or landing heavily are common traits that can increase your chance of developing an injury.  Some runners have a heel to toe gait where the heel strikes the ground first whilst others have a forefoot strike where they run more on their toes.  

There is no perfect style or “Correct” way to run. However, there are some traits that once identified can be tweaked a bit and can make a significant difference. 

Is a lack of Strength Causing my running injury?

Whilst many runners are generally quite fit there can be some strength deficits that are contributing to the development of muscular, tendon or joint type pain.  The strength deficits may be the result of a poor rehabilitation from a pre-existing injury such as a knee or ankle ligament or cartilage issue.  They may also be just the way you have developed or failed to fully develop as you have grown.  It may have to do with your posture or your previous levels of activity or inactivity.

Well, you are in luck, because Physiotherapists are the experts in assessing strength and power.  Our Clinic also has state of the art Strength Testing equipment called the AXIT system.  We can use our computerised strength testing equipment and force plates to assess your strength, power and your ability to absorb shock. We can identify if there are any asymmetries between legs with your muscle strength and balance.  This gives us a very clear picture of if, and where, strength deficits may be contributing to your injury.

This then can also lead us in the correct direction in helping you to become strong and resilient so that you can resume your running and reach your running related goals.

Normally it is not just one risk factor that causes injury but a combination of these 6 risk factors.

The great thing is that Physiotherapists are very good at assessing and identifying the potential risk factors and then developing strategies to address the identified factors.

If you would like a comprehensive Assessment to help you to Diagnose and Manage your running related injury, we can help! 

We will assist in identifying the cause, and not just treating the symptoms of your injury.