The following injuries do not constitute medical advice and do not direct you to do any specific exercises. The article is meant as a guide only and you should always consult your GP or medical professional before undertaking any physical activities.
Common Injuries – Shin Splints
Description: This is pain and inflammation along the inner border of the shinbone. Symptoms: Tenderness along the length of the shinbone, especially during or after running.
Common causes: A sudden increase in training, or too much training on hard surfaces. Weak or tight muscles around the foot, shin and calf. Poor technique over striding in particular.
What to do: Ice and massage of the sore area and / or calf areas. Address any strength or flexibility issues in the muscles along the front and back of the lower leg and foot. Consider having your running gait and shoes assessed.
Common Injuries – Plantar Fasciitis
Description: Degeneration or inflammation of the plantar fascia, a web-like ligament that links the heel to the toes.
Symptoms: Pain under the heel or towards the back of the foot arch, especially on your first steps of the day.
Common causes: Stiff, immobile feet and calves, weak foot muscles, poor running technique and inappropriate footwear are frequent contributing factors.
What to do: Plantar fasciitis is really nasty as the onset can be quite slow then its so difficult to get rid of. You need to stop running and get specialist treatment as soon as possible. Swimming and cycling are good alternatives to keep fit. It is essential to get treatment as the injury can be still there after rest. The problem often stems from tight calves so you should see a sports massage therapist or a physiotherapist. They will apply deep massage to all areas of your calf and you need to have this done frequently at first then fairly regularly to keep your calves supple. You can also get a “night splint” or “night sock” online which can help. You will almost certainly find it painful when you take your first steps on a morning. During the night, fascia is tight it pulls on the calcaneus bone in your heel. Your brain sends a message that makes you scrunch your feet up whereas what is really needed is it to be stretched so that your foot goes upwards towards your leg. The scrunch movement makes it worse. The night splint keeps the foot stretched in the right way and the foot becomes less painful when you first walk. You can also massage the fascia itself to loosen it. Rolling it over a baseball is effective for this.
Common Injuries – Achilles Tendinopothy
Description: Inflammation of the rope-like Achilles tendon that attaches to both calf muscles and the heel bone.
Symptoms: stiffness and tenderness along the back of the ankle, especially in the morning. It tends to ease off during running but returns afterwards.
Common causes: Tight calf muscles or stiff, inflexible feet or a sudden increase in training or too much speed work (especially on an athletics track).
What to do: Use ice to reduce inflammation, especially after running, and stretch your calves with both a straight and bent leg. Avoid running hills and speed work. Do some eccentric calf exercises to help the tendon to heal.
Common Injuries – Runners Knee
Discussion: More properly called patellofemoral pain syndrome, this is basically pain and inflammation behind the kneecap.
Symptoms: a persistent or throbbing pain behind the kneecap, often with heat or swelling. Tends to get worse after long periods of sitting or walking downstairs.
Common causes: Maltracking of the kneecap due to an imbalance in the muscles surrounding it (most commonly, weakness on the inner side of the quadriceps muscle and tightness on the outside). Tight quads or calves. Inappropriate running shoes.
What to do: Ice and anti-inflammatories can help to ease the pain. Taping (by a sports physiotherapist) can take the pressure off the sore area. Longer term, the aim is to strengthen the weak muscles and stretch the tight ones to prevent recurrence.
Common Injuries – Stress Fractures (aka stressey)
Description – Excessive force on bone causing a hairline crack to appear.
Symptoms: A very specific area of pain and tenderness that will normally feel worse on weight bearing but may also hurt when not weight bearing (even at night). The most common sites for a stress fracture in runners are the inside edge of the tibia (shin bone) and the metatarsals (the long toe bones).
Common causes: Overtraining doing too much, too soon. Poor technique, muscle weaknesses, or imperfect biomechanics can also be a factor.
What to do: Seek medical advice for a diagnosis if you suspect a stress fracture. Do not run, or you risk a full-blown fracture and much longer away from your running.
Common Injuries – Piriformis Syndrome
Description: Inflammation of the piriformis muscle, a small but important hip rotator in the buttock.
Symptoms: Soreness in the buttock often accompanied by pain or pins and needles along back of the thigh.
Common causes: An excessively tight piriformis, tight inner thigh muscles and weak outer thigh (hip) muscles. Over striding (strides that are too long), running on cambered roads or excessive downhill running.
What to do: Use a tennis ball to massage the sore area and apply ice. Stretch and strengthen the appropriate muscles.
Common Injuries – ITB Syndrome
Description: This is irritation of the long fibrous band of tissue, the iliotibial band (ITB) that runs along the side of the leg from the hip to just below the knee.
Symptoms: Pain is most commonly felt on the outside edge of the knee. You sometimes feel a ‘flicking’ sensation as the ITB passes over the outer edge of the thigh bone. Pain is exacerbated by downhill running.
Common causes: Poor running technique, weak gluteal muscles, sudden increases in training and inappropriate running shoes.
What to do: Ice and anti-inflammatories can help alleviate the pain. A foam roller can help ease out tightness in the ITB, or get a sports massage therapist to ‘strip’ it (painful but worth it!). Strengthen the glutes and stretch the ITB religiously.
