Common Running Injuries

In the next few weeks and months, those training for this years Edinburgh Marathon (May 26th) will be upping the mileage on their feet  substantially and some may encounter pains and strains as a result of faulty biomechanics or simply overuse. What you wear on your feet could make all the difference!

Running

A common trend throughout all these injuries however is poor foot mechanics due to flat arches. Your feet support your entire skeletal system, slight changes within your foot mechanics may lead to a collapsed arch, muscles strains, poor posture and thus possible development of pain into many areas including ankle, knee, hips, back, neck and shoulders. Therefore it is important to have a thorough assessment to determine if your pain may be attributed to flat arches in part as well as many other possible causes such as tight leg musculature, poor spinal and/or joint mechanics, posture or training errors.

If this is the case a possible solution/aid could be foot insoles or orthotics which provide support to your arches and thus improve foot biomechanics and in turn decrease the stress and tension throughout your body.

At Morningside Chiropractic we have seen great results in our clinic using Superfeet insoles. There are many brands and similar products available but we recommend  you see a health professional or running shoe specialist before experimenting yourself.

Listed below are some of the symptoms and causes of common foot, ankle and knee injuries associated with runners.

Plantar Fasciitis

Common symptoms:

  • Heel pain especially in the morning
  • Pain into the sole of the foot

Causes:

  • Flat arches
  • Tight calves and hamstrings
  • Walking/standing on flat surfaces
  • Wearing shoes with little/no support
MRI Foot

Metatarsalgia

Common symptoms:

  • General pain and tenderness into the soft tissue in the ball of the foot

Causes

  • Abnormal weight distribution throughout the forefoot normally due to flat feet
  • Sometimes exacerbated by wearing shoes with poor support

Bunions

Common symptoms:

  • Reduced range of motion into the big toe
  • Deformation and inflammation of the big toe

Causes:

  • Flat feet, leading to irritation on the inside of the big toes joint
  • Badly fitting shoes can accelerate its development

Morton’s Neuroma

Symptoms:

  • Pain and burning sensation into the forefoot in between the 3rd and 4th metatarsal (middle-outside)
  • sensation of a stone in your shoe

Common causes:

  • Flat arches can lead to improper foot biomechanics and thus irritation of the nerves which run between the metatarsals
  • Narrow/tight fitting shoes

Achilles tendonitis

Common symptoms:

  • Pain/burning sensation into the back of the heel

Common causes:

  • Increased loading into the achilles because of poor foot mechanics due to flat arches
  • Tight calves and hamstrings

Shin splints

Common symptoms:

  • Pain on weight bearing impact
  • Pain/discomfort into the front or side of the shin

Common causes:

  • Flat arches
  • Increases in training loads
  • Running on hard surfaces
  • Tight calf and hamstring muscles

Iliotibial band syndrome

Common symptoms:

  • Pain into the outside of the knee which typically comes on at the same distance every time you run

Common causes:

  • Flat arches – leads to some slack into the IT band (tendon which runs down the outside of the thigh) causing irritation at the fibula head (outside of knee)
  • Running on crowned roads

Patella Femoral Stress Syndrome

Common symptoms:

  • Pain and or stiffness in and around the knee on activity
  • Often sore going down the stairs

Common causes:

  • Increased loads from poor foot mechanics due to flat arches
  • Tightness into the thigh and calf muscles

This is by no means a definitive list and please do visit a health professional for a consultation if you do suffer with any of the above mentioned symptoms as there are a range of treatment options available.