The most common running injuries, and how to lower your risk

Most running injuries, likely more than 80 per cent, are the result of repetitive stress rather than a single event. A sudden injury such as a slip, a muscle tear or a sprained ankle can happen, but it is less common.

Where runners get hurt

A 2015 meta-analysis (a study that pools the results of many earlier studies) found the knees, lower legs and feet to be the most common injury sites in runners. By location:

1. Knee: runner’s knee (patellofemoral pain), bursitis, meniscal tears
2. Lower leg: Achilles tendinopathy, anterior compartment syndrome, shin splints, calf strains
3. Upper leg: IT band syndrome, hamstring injuries
4. Foot: plantar fasciitis, stress fractures, ingrown toenails
5. Ankle: sprains
6. Hip, pelvis and groin: hip flexor and groin strains, gluteal tendinopathy
7. Lower back: mechanical strains

Six ways to reduce your risk

1. Always warm up. A short dynamic warm-up is a sensible way to start, although research on warm-ups preventing running injury is limited.
2. Work with a professional on a tailored programme. Plan your training in blocks rather than week to week.
3. Add strength and conditioning. Strength training can improve running economy and may lower injury risk. A strength and conditioning coach or a physiotherapist can help you set one up.
4. Target your weak spots. Within that routine, include drills for your weaknesses or nagging problems, and keep working on running technique over time. A physiotherapist can help you find those areas.
5. Vary the surface. Some runners like to vary surfaces; there is no strong evidence that any one surface prevents injury.
6. Cross-train. Swimming, cycling and other lower-impact exercise can make you a better runner too, and are especially useful at certain points in a training cycle.

Reference: the review cited in the original post is available at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4338213.

If something is already bothering you, book an assessment and we can work out what is driving it.

Written by Roman Izquierdo, PT, MSc PT, BSc Kin, registered with the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario. General information only, and not a substitute for individual assessment.