Injured runners make up a huge proportion of the people we help here at goPhysio. The repetitive nature of the activity inherently makes it a sport where injuries are quite a common occurrence.
In this blog, I will share with you some insider information built up over a lifetime of clinical practice in the sports injury sector, treating 1,000’s of active patient’s with overuse, lower limb injuries.
I’d like to shed some insider light on the 5 most common running injuries and debunk some myths, helping you understand these injuries better, and give you some guidance on how to prevent and manage them if they do occur.
5 Most Common Running Injuries
The 5 most common running injuries we see here at goPhysio are:
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Achilles Tendonopathy
- Calf Tears and trigger points
- Anterior Knee Pain
- Gluteal / Piriformis syndrome
Interestingly enough, all these injuries can originate from a similar movement dysfunction.
Starting at the foot with flattened foot arches or over-pronation, there is often a chain of biomechanics events leading up the leg to the trunk.
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar-fasciitis is a fancy, latin word for inflammation of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a thickened sheet of fascia (connective tissue) on the sole of the feet, it’s elasticity gives us a spring in our step when walking or running. The cause of plantar-fasciitis is linked to it being on an excessive stretch for prolonged periods of time, when the arches in your foot are too flat. So on push off when walking or running it’s excessively overloaded and stretched and overtime micotrauma, inflammation, pain and injury can result. Read more about plantar fasciitis here.
Achilles Tendonopathy
Flattened foot arches results in an inwards collapse of the heel bone (calcaneum) into which the achilles inserts. Thus with each step the heel bone excessively moves side to side, in a side-to-side whipping type motion of the achilles resulting in a build of force, overuse, microtrauma, inflammation, pain & injury! Read more about achilles tendon injuries here.
Calf Tears & Recurrent Myofascial Trigger Points
Again a similar mechanism to above. Over time, the calf muscles become tense and tight, they tend top hold a long term dull background contraction in an attempt to control the inward collapse of the heel bone. This increased tone is aggravated by running (we take approx 1,000 steps per km, per foot), resulting in tense, tight, overactive and painful muscles, which worsen with running and can become a long term or chronic issue. It feels especially tight after hill sessions, when the calf or achilles is also on stretch. Read more about calf tears here.
Read more about the treatment of calf tears here.
Anterior Knee Pain
Anterior knee pain is an umbrella term, used to describe a wide range of injuries causing pain in the front of the knee. Although everyone is unique, in runner’s it is often linked to flattened foot arches and the inward collapse of the heel with it’s knock on effects felt through the whole kinetic chain (as per the diagram above). This inward heel collapse causes the shin bone (tibia) to rotate inwards and the knee will fall inwards, resulting in an asymmetrical build of of forces in structures around the front of the knee and some of the most common running knee injuries, namely; Infra-patellar tendonopathy, Patello-femoral joint map-tracking and Ilio-tibial Band friction syndrome (ITB syndrome). Read more about runners knee here.
Gluteal / Piriformis Syndrome
So, as the heel collapses inwards, we get internal rotation of the legs and hips. Subsequently, the gluteal (buttock) muscles become tense and tight in an attempt to control the inward rotation and movement of the leg and hip. This increased tone over a run (approx 1,000 steps per km, per foot), can result in tense, tight, overactive painful muscles. This often worsens with running and can become long term or chronic, which often results in referred pain travelling down the leg mimicking sciatica. Over my career I’ve even seen patients with this condition that mistakengly have been operated on, (the Surgeon thought it was a disc injury causing the sciatica) when it was merely this “Piriformis syndrome” referring into his leg.
The Solution
With all of these conditions, it’s crucial to understand that……..
the injured structure is actually the victim, the true cause is the uncontrolled movement!
Effective management of such injuries therefore needs to address the following:
From the foot upwards – Fully assessing foot position and biomechanics, looking at incorporating custom orthotics to correct the foot positioning and alignment and control excessive movement and rotation from the foot up the whole lower limb.
From the spine / “core” downwards – This is a crucial and often forgotten element, improving muscle stability and movement control throughout the body. clinical pilates is great for this.
Reduce inflammation – Ice and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories are an effective way to reduce inflammation in the early stages.
‘Hands-on’ Physio treatments – In the early stages, massage and acupuncture to normalise muscle tone, taping to correct alignment and ultrasound to stimulate natural healing, can all be effective ways to help ease pain and discomfort to help you quickly progress into active recovery.
Selective rest – Means to just rest from the aggravating (pain causing) activities, whilst actively participating in non-aggravating activities such as swimming or cycling to maintain movement and fitness. As we’re designed to move, movement in itself is therapeutic. We can really help guide you on this, as many people think if they have an injury they just need to completely rest.
Running Rehabilitation – Specific exercises, training advice and a return-to-running programme are all crucial to ensure a positive, long term return to running injury free.
Preventing these Injuries
We are our own normal
I want to reassure you that we are all different. We all have biomechanical differences that our bodies cope just fine with, we are our own ‘normal’. So, if you have ‘flattened arches’ but are able to run a marathon with no issues, nothing needs to change! You don’t need to address this ‘just in case’. Pain or injuries, such as those above, often arise when we are demanding too much of our body too soon, without giving it time to adapt to the demands – so in running, increasing distance or speed too quickly, changing the terrain etc. So much of the skill in preventing these injuries comes down to our training technique and running habits, combined with our body’s own ability to adapt.
However, what we often see is that a small biomechanical issue such as those explained above, combined with demanding too much of our body too soon, results in the body complaining with one of these injuries. Runners then get stuck in an injury cycle, where they can’t run without getting pain. By fully understanding and addressing the combination of biomechanical issues and training, this is the most effective way to overcome the injury and continue to enjoy a lifelong love of running!
By Paul Baker MCSP, goPhysio Clinical Director