Running yields many positive benefits that can contribute to an overall healthy lifestyle, but did you know that 60 percent of runners will experience an injury that will make them seek treatment for recovery? What running injuries are most common and what can you do to prevent yourself from falling into that 60 percent? The more we can understand about injuries and how they occur, the more aware we are of injury prevention. At Results Physiotherapy, we believe that nobody should live with pain and we are here to help!
Injuries fall into two different categories: acute or chronic. An acute injury happens suddenly like a broken bone or a strained muscle that happens on impact. Most often, running injuries will fall into the chronic, or consistent overuse of the muscle, category. There are many different factors to describe those who might suffer from chronic running injuries like: the condition of your running shoes, decreased strength/flexibility, poor running biomechanics and flat feet.
If you’ve been feeling pain for a long period of time, you might consider consulting with a physical therapist who can assess your injuries and teach you preventative measures to avoid either an acute or chronic injury. It’s important to not ignore your pain and try to run through it because that can lead to more severe injuries.
Shin Splint
Shin splints, or medial tibial stress syndrome, occur most often whenever an athlete suddenly changes and intensifies their exercising routine. A few examples of this can look like adding more weight to strength training, increasing the frequency of exercises or adding extended periods of time to their running route. Due to the increasing intensity or frequency, the muscles, bone tissue and tendons become overworked and result in pain, swelling or tenderness around the shinbone and into the lower leg. If shin splints are left untreated or the condition is ignored, the overuse and stress on the area can develop into a stress fracture.
Achilles Tendinopathy
Achilles tendinopathy, or irritation of the Achilles tendon is a pain that is located behind the heel and up the back of the ankle. This injury affects 24% of athletes and is estimated to affect 50% of all runners at some point in their lives. Achilles tendinopathy occurs when the tendon is unable to support the demand that is placed upon it and therefor, reduces the function. Pain in the Achilles tendon is typically the outcome of continual stress on the tissues and can result in the slow breakdown of tendon tissue, also known as Achilles tendinopathy.
A lot of running injuries can occur from overuse and pushing your body past the limit of what your muscles and tissues can handle at the time. Runner’s knee occurs when the kneecap is out of place due to the cartilage breaking down from overuse. A symptom of this injury is typically pain around the kneecap area whenever your knee is bent for extended amounts of time or in quick movements like squats or climbing stairs.
Although every injury is different, there are a few common prevention techniques to prevent running injuries. The first one is to support your foot arches and consider purchasing orthotic insoles to provide support and less strain on your feet. Second tip for prevention is to gradually introduce new workouts and listen to your body if it’s telling you that you might be overstressing certain areas.
If you do indeed fall into the 60 percent of runners who are suffering from an injury, there are a few options to consider when treating the injury. There are a few positive self-treatments, along with external resources like physical therapy which can help you identify the root issue of injury, recover with hands-on therapy and learn how to reduce your chance of further injuries.
A few self-treatment options to soothe running injuries include adding gentle stretching to your daily routine that can help stimulate the area without overworking. Additionally, icing the injured areas of the body is a good way to reduce inflammation.
As with all injuries, the first line of defense is always to rest and allow your body to recover. A lot of times people will ignore running injuries and try to power through another day or another workout, which can do more harm than good.
If you have a running injury concern, consulting with a physical therapist is a great first step. A trained physical therapist will be able to assess your injury by examining your heel, ankle and calf to see where the issue is originating. Your therapist will likely ask you to move into a few different positions like a heel raise or a squat so they can better assess the mobility of the area.
After an initial assessment, a physical therapist can better understand your medical history and active background by asking an assortment of questions. These questions can help your therapist to understand how you might have injured yourself or if you fall into a certain risk factor category. From here, your physical therapist can educate you on future injury prevention, introduce new exercises, teach you pain management techniques and help you physically recovery with mobilization techniques.
If you’re interested in meeting with one of our expert physicians, please contact a clinic near you. At Results Physiotherapy, our goal is to help you feel better, faster! Our physical therapists treat a variety of conditions and pain areas with a hands-on manual therapy approach. Check out our website for more information!
