Running injuries usually happen when you push yourself too hard. The way your body moves also plays a role.You can prevent many of them. Here’s how.
1. Runner’s knee. This is a common overuse injury. Runner’s knee (often called Patellofemoral syndrome) has several different causes. It often happens when your kneecap is out of alignment.
Over time, the cartilage on your kneecap can wear down. When that happens, you may feel pain around the kneecap, particularly when:
- Going up or down stairs
- Squatting
- Sitting with the knee bent for a long time
2. Stress fracture. This is a small crack in a bone that causes pain and discomfort. It typically affects runners in the shin and feet. It’s often due to working too hard before your body gets used to a new activity.
Pain gets worse with activity and improves with rest. Rest is important, as continued stress on the bone can lead to more serious injury and slow down recovery.
3. Shin splint. This is pain that happens in the front or inside of the lower leg along the shin bone (tibia). Shin splints (also called medial tibial stress syndrome or MTSS) are common after changing your workout, such as running longer distances or increasing the number of days you run, too quickly. Painwise, they can be hard to distinguish from a stress fracture of the shin, but the pain is usually more spread out along the bone. Also, an xray is normal to determine which you have.
People with flat feet are more likely to develop shin splints.
Treatment includes: