Running is a popular fitness activity and we all know that exercise in general should be part of everyday life. Exercise has endless proven health benefits from heart and lung health, muscular strength and endurance, to endorphin release and improved mental health. Running in particular is easily accessible, free and great for all levels of ability. All you need is a pair of running shoes, some motivation and you’re set to go. But unfortunately a large number of runners can get injured.
These injuries are either acute trauma type injuries - often as a result of a trip or fall, or a gradual onset of symptoms caused by poor training techniques or doing too much too soon. No matter your level of running ability, a running injury is frustrating, and if you are constantly getting injured or running with pain, something needs to change. Often rest alone won’t be enough and the pain will return when you start running again. An assessment by a physiotherapist who understands running and runners should help to address your issues.
You can run pain free. You don’t always have to be injured. To achieve your best you need to constantly improve, you have to work harder each time you train as your body adjusts to the existing workout routine. But if you push your body too much too soon and it’s pushed past its limits it can start to break down. This usually means pain, frustration and time lost from running.
If you’ve got the running bug, don’t lose time to injuries. Train harder, but train smarter too. See a physiotherapist to address the overuse and mechanical muscle imbalance issues that often lead to injury. Your physio may start looking at the site of your pain, but then often look further out to the surrounding joints to address the bigger picture.
Call (02) 8970 8215 or Book Online for an experienced Physiotherapist to treat your running injury.
The most common injuries found in runners, to name just a few, are
In the past few years running barefoot and or in minimal shoes has been increasing in popularity and in some areas is causing debate. Research is showing that to strengthen the foot and run with a more "barefoot" style is beneficial. ("Barefoot" style means landing with your mid or forefoot first, regardless of whether you have shoes on or not.) But it is important to be aware that to transition to a more minimal shoe/"barefoot" requires a very SLOW and CAREFUL transition, otherwise this too can lead to overuse and acute injuries. There is more to changing to "barefoot" running and or using minimal shoes than just going out and running, as you would in your usual shoes, (unless, of course, you are already using shoes which are already minimal in style i.e. zero or low heel drop). If you are considering trying out or changing to "barefoot" or minimal running shoes, it is important you understand the importance of transitioning slowly to ensure other areas of the body are not going to be adversely affected by the new running style. The body always needs time to adapt to the new conditions and forces being applied to it. Advice from a physiotherapist who knows about "barefoot" running or minimal shoes could help with a smoother transition and help you understand how the body works differently shoed to unshoed.