By far the most common injuries associated with running are plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, ITB friction syndrome and stress fractures.
The risk of injury obviously increases with the more miles you do in your training each week, this is not rocket science, the longer you run the more steps you take so the risk of an overuse injury rises. The problem with only running is that you tend to over load areas that are already struggling, and don’t address the biomechanical issues that you might need to in order to run more efficiently and pain free.
Common issues are poor ankle mobility and calf weakness which can be linked with Achilles and plantar fascia overload. Another common issue in the foot is limitation in the big toe mobility (halux) due to bunion formation. If we make our way up to the knee the ITB can become a concern when it persistently rubs against the lateral epicondyle (bony ridge on the outside of the femur). This is commonly linked in with core and gluteal weakness (lack of hip strength).
Another common issue is maltracking of the kneecap. Commonly this is due to weakness in the quadriceps, particularly the inside muscle called the VMO.
So to help avoid a lot of these injuries runners must get to know their body well and more importantly know what their weak areas are. Key areas to address with runners is tightness in the soleous (calf muscle), lateral (outer quad), ankle mobility, first toe mobility, quadriceps strength, glute med and max strength and of course your core stability.
