Loudoun County, Va. — Have you recently started running and are having pain? Increased your mileage and having pain? Increased speed and having pain?
Types of Injuries
All levels and types of runners may experience pain at one point or another. Running injuries most commonly affect the knee, lower leg, and foot. Some of the injuries seen are:
- Knee pain
- ITB Pain
- Patellar tendonitis
- Hamstring strain
- Calf pain
- Achilles Tendonitis
- Plantar Fasciitis
Overuse and training past the point of fatigue, are generally what leads to injury, as the specific structure is unable to perform properly.
Risk Factors
Risk factors for injury that can be modified are a person’s training factors that include the number of days training, distance, and even footwear:
- Lower leg injuries often occur when a runner increases their pace to quickly
- Knee related injuries are often seen when distance or volume of running is progressed too quickly
- Increasing your training load more than 30% over a 2 week period leave you more susceptible to injury
Whether you are new to running or have been doing it for years and you have been experiencing pain, DO NOT ignore it. The longer you wait the more intense the pain may get or may lead to other injuries.
Note from our sponsor: At Loudoun Sports Therapy Center, an evaluation will be performed to assess range of motion, flexibility, strength, and muscle recruitment patterns. The knee joint mechanics are critical to shock absorption with running. It is important that the hip, knee, and ankle are all strong and have the range of motion to support the body when running.
