Recently I have had an increased number of clients presenting to the clinic with running related injuries. Many of these clients have been presenting with overuse related injuries that have occurred due to an increase in training load, poor footwear, running on hard surfaces and a lack of warming up and cooling down. The most common injuries presenting have been achilles and calf muscle soreness, iliotibial band soreness and knee pain.

Warming up and cooling down are essential when it comes to running as it will reduce the risk of developing overuse related injuries. The warm up could be as simple as a jog for several minutes, followed by some gentle stretching of the lower limb muscles. Cooling down is much the same, with foam rolling out the tension points in the legs also helping greatly. For those of you that live by the water, spending 20 minutes in the bay following a hard session will aid in the recovery process.

Footwear is another important factor when trying to reduce the risk of injury. Clients who are wearing inappropriate shoes i.e. running shoes are now made for the over pronator, neutral foot and supinating foot. So wearing the wrong shoe whilst running can increase your risk of injury.

Training intensity, frequency, distance run are also things that need to be considered when increasing your running load. For those individuals who are preparing for a specific event i.e. triathlon, marathon and fun runs, it is important not to increase too many training variables each week. I always recommend those who run regularly to increase their training distance gradually. The 5 – 10% rule is always good to follow, in that if you run 10km week 1, only increase the training load by another km the next week. Increasing the training distance from 10km to 15km is a 50% increase and if you continue to do so this week after week, then you are only setting up yourself up for an injury and are likely to break down.

If your currently suffer from any musculoskeletal injuries or suspect that you might be wearing the wrong shoes, then make an appointment at Principle Four Osteopathy for a full musculoskeletal review. Principle Four Osteopathy is located in the heart of the Melbourne City CBD 3000 at 29 Somerset Place, Melbourne City CBD 3000 (near the corner of Little Bourke and Elizabeth St). To find out more about Principle Four Osteopathy, please check out www.principlefourosteopathy.com. To speak to an Osteopath or make an appointment, please call 03 9670 9290.