Running injury prevention
Most running injuries are load errors, not technique flaws: too much, too soon, too often, with too little recovery. Progress volume gradually, keep easy runs easy, do two short strength sessions a week, replace shoes before they are dead, and treat any pain that changes how you run as a stop signal.
Lire en françaisThe four load rules
Spikes matter more than totals. Going from 25 km to 45 km in one week is more dangerous than running 60 km you have built up to over months.
- Add about 10% to weekly volume, then hold a week before adding again.
- Change one thing at a time: distance, intensity, terrain or shoes — never two in the same week.
- Keep hard days genuinely hard and easy days genuinely easy; the grey middle is where overuse injuries grow.
- Take a lighter week every fourth week, and a real rest day after your hardest session.
The usual suspects and what they usually mean
This table orients you; it does not diagnose you. Pain that persists beyond a week of reduced load, or that wakes you at night, belongs to a physiotherapist or doctor.
| Where it hurts | Common cause | First response |
|---|---|---|
| Front of knee | Volume or hill spike, weak hips | Cut volume 30%, flat terrain, hip strength |
| Outside of knee | Sudden mileage increase, cambered roads | Reduce distance, vary the route side |
| Achilles | Speed work added too fast, tight calves | Drop intensity, daily calf loading |
| Shin | New surface or shoes, cadence too low | Rest days, revert the change |
| Heel / arch | Long-run jump, unsupportive daily shoes | Shorter runs, calf and foot work |
| Hip / glute | Weak posterior chain, long sitting | Strength twice a week |
The strength work with the best evidence behind it
Twenty minutes twice a week is enough. It is the highest-return non-running thing a runner can do, and it protects speed as well as tendons.
- Calf raises: straight-leg and bent-knee, 3 sets of 10-15 heavy, twice a week.
- Single-leg work: split squats or step-downs, 2-3 sets of 8 per leg.
- Hip abduction: side-lying or banded, 2 sets of 15 per side.
- Hamstring loading: Nordic curls or single-leg bridges, 2-3 sets.
Shoes, surfaces and sleep
Rotate two pairs of shoes if you can, and replace them when the midsole feels flat rather than when the upper looks worn — commonly 600-800 km. Vary surfaces: mixing road, path and track spreads load across tissues instead of hammering one pattern.
Sleep and food do half the prevention work. Chronic under-fuelling raises injury risk sharply, especially bone injuries, and shows up first as stalled progress and constant heavy legs.
Niggle or stop?
FitPal plans training; it does not diagnose. When you report pain the plan gets easier and you get told to see a doctor or physiotherapist — that advice is not a formality.
- Keep running, reduced: mild, symmetrical soreness that fades within the first ten minutes and does not change your gait.
- Stop and reassess: pain that increases during the run, is sharp, is on one side only, or makes you limp.
- See a professional now: bone-specific pain you can point to with one finger, night pain, swelling, or pain that returns at the same point in every run.
Frequently asked questions
- What causes most running injuries?
- Load errors: volume or intensity rising faster than tissues adapt, plus too little recovery. Technique matters far less than most people assume.
- Can I keep running with a niggle?
- If it is mild, symmetrical, fades in the first ten minutes and does not change your gait, usually yes at reduced volume. Sharp, one-sided or limp-inducing pain means stop and see a doctor or physiotherapist.
- How often should I do strength work?
- Twice a week, twenty minutes, focused on calves, single-leg work, hips and hamstrings. It is the highest-return non-running work a runner can do.
- Does FitPal give medical advice?
- No. It plans training. If you report pain it reduces load and tells you to see a doctor or physiotherapist.