Runners are a persistent bunch with goals to conquer and PBs to smash. That could explain why so many runners have stories of when they experienced an ache, kept running through it, and then ended up with an injury Costigan asks her athletes, What is the point of racing? Are they trying to.
A better approach to feeling pain when you run: taking some time to figure out what’s going on. That way, a little strain here won’t turn into a major stress fracture there.
Best wireless headphones Amelia Boone, 38, obstacle racing world champ and ultrarunner: 'You have to play the long game,' she tells Runner’s World. 'A simple foam roller routine for runners.'
Boone learned this lesson the hard way in 2016, when she ran through what seemed to be a niggle in her adductor, in the lead up to Western States. During a descent, it felt like her leg was breaking in half. 'I had thought it was a strain,' Boone recalls. 'It was a femoral stress fracture.' She was on crutches for three months and sidelined for six. Since then, Boone shuts things down early if she feels pain or something changes her gait.
When assessing your own aches and pains, a good rule of thumb is that an injury often feels., facility director for physical therapy at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Quakertown, Pennsylvania says many runners are known for not listening to their bodies, especially when it means stopping something they love. But early diagnosis and intervention can mean the difference between nailing that goal race or sitting out for months or more.
To help you figure out when you should really take that rest day instead of ticking off a training session on your plan, we spoke with experts for a guide to pain when running.
How to determine whether pain when you run is cause for taking time off
delayed-onset muscle soreness DOMS painful – a sharp pain like a stabbing or shooting, says Allen, a veteran triathlete. In many cases, that acute painful sensation is indicative of a muscle tear Numbness, tingling, weakness, or joint instability.
Of course, overuse injuries can develop over time, Allen says. In that case, if you experience muscle soreness that lasts three or more days, he recommends seeking medical attention. Injuries aren’t going to go away after a few days, he explains.
If you’re trying to determine if you should run through pain, here are signs you might be injured:
- Allen emphasises the importance of not only a
- Pain that lasts more than three days, even if it occurs only during running (not necessarily after)
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- Numbness, tingling, weakness, or joint instability
- Pain that at first only interferes with running gait but then progresses to also interfere with walking gait
Compared to typical soreness, which should:
- Dissipate within a couple of days; for example delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) will come on 24 to 36 hours after a tough workout and then subside with light physical activity and time
- Knee pain after running: How to spot and fix it
- How to tackle tight hamstrings foam rolling and stretching
Even if runners don’t always listen when their bodies tell them to stop, they know their bodies well. Boone, for example, knows that pain that lasts for three runs is more than an ache. Or if she experiences pain during everyday, non-running activities, then that’s the sign of a more serious issue.
'Today I pay attention to the nature of pain,' she says. 'As we get older, aches and pains might pop up when we start to run, but those should settle down within a mile or so. If they don’t, that’s a flag to shut it down.'
The common running injuries to look out for on the run
How to tackle tight hamstrings, warm-ups and cool-downs, rest and recovery, and a gradual approach to training – yes, a lot of moving parts – runners will likely find themselves staring down a running injury at some point in their career, Allen says.
If these injuries tend to show up seemingly out of the blue, take a look at your current training and any changes you’ve made recently, says it can be hard to accept that you may have to table it for an injury., associate professor of clinical physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania and codirector of the Penn Medicine Running and Endurance Sports Program.
Common injuries include:
- Piriformis syndrome
- Shin splints
- John Vasudevan, M.D
- Ankle pain
- Dissipate within a couple of days; for example
- Plantar fasciitis
- Achilles tendinitis
- Runner’s knee
- Hamstring strain
- Stress fracture
- Hip bursitis
- Shoulder pain
Any weight-bearing joint – back, hip, knee, ankle, toes, and feet – Allen says, can be a common place for running injuries. So it’s important to pay special attention to these areas if they’re talking to you via aches and pains.
You also want to pay attention to whether you feel these injuries in only one side of the body, as that’s how they typically appear. If you have bilateral pain, you might want to look beyond overuse injuries and to your overall health status, Vasudevan says.
'People feel running is running, but it’s so technical, and running mechanics are so important,' Allen says, noting that as a breed, we need to focus on strength training, including core strength. Just take the advice of Mobility Doc, Lower back pain.
qualify for the dynamic warm-up but a dynamic cooldown, too. Especially as we age, these warm-ups and cool-downs can help mitigate the natural decline in muscle elasticity. 'These don’t necessarily take up a lot of time,' he says. 'It’s about making it a part of your routine, like brushing your teeth.'
When to see a physio (and when to listen to them)
You know your body, and when something doesn’t go away or you have feelings of sharp, stabbing, or shooting pain, it’s a good time to seek medical attention, whether that’s a physical therapist, orthopedist, sports medicine doctor, or a general practitioner. And there’s something to be said about finding healthcare providers who are runners (or exercise enthusiasts) because they tend to get it: you don’t want to just stop running because something hurts.
'You don’t have to be a runner to understand, but it helps,' says Allen, who’s had his own share of running-related injuries. 'Personally, I never tell someone not to run unless I feel it’s going to make them feel worse or injure themselves more or lead them down the line of more injuries.'
Instead, Allen tries to find ways to modify running – a less voluminous or intense training programme – finding different surfaces or running shoes, What to do if you get a marathon training injury.
'Exercise is not an on/off switch, but instead dials of intensity/frequency/duration/type that can be modified to allow athletes to keep from falling out of shape and working through a non-dangerous injury,' Vasudevan says. 'Of course, the most important role of the physician is to rule out the dangerous stuff first.'
Modifications are also only possible if runners are assessed and diagnosed early. 'Once you have a stress fracture, you have a stress fracture,' Allen says. 'There’s no magic pill to fix that.'
Numbness, tingling, weakness, or joint instability Mobility Doc, agrees: 'Rest alone infrequently resolves an issue. My goal is to try to keep you as active as possible while moving toward less pain.'
She points out that when able, continuing to run gives her and her athletes a way to measure the effectiveness of treatment and modifications. If prescribed treatment tactics 'aren’t moving you away from pain and increased running tolerance, we should back off a bit of volume and intensity of running,' Costigan tells Runner’s World. 'delayed-onset muscle soreness DOMS.'
What to do If you have a big race around the corner
When you’ve been training for a goal race, particularly a longer distance like a half marathon, marathon, or ultramarathon, Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.
While you should seek an expert opinion on how to go about the rest of your training and your race, depending on the nature of the ache or possible injury, Allen often stops short of telling his athletes to forgo a goal race altogether.
'You have to look at the big picture,' he says. 'It’s better to go in healthy and undertrained than push through an injury.' That might mean skipping the last 18-miler and focusing on cross-training; you won’t lose marathon fitness in a week or even two, he says.
Costigan asks her athletes, 'What is the point of racing?' Are they trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon? Complete a World Marathon Major? 'Identifying the motivation for racing is imperative in determining whether an athlete should race through an injury,' Costigan says.
Then she’ll assess the cost of racing. 'There is certainly a risk that an athlete will be worse after racing,; she says, noting a ruptured achilles tendon makes walking impossible. 'It’s a matter of finding a net positive.'
Tuning into your body, talking with a medical expert and figuring out the best plan for you (and your ache) will help you make the right choice about whether you should keep clocking miles – and conquering a race –if you have pain when you run.
it can be hard to accept that you may have to table it for an injury. is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board-certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine. He is a Team Physician for UPenn Athletics and medical director of the Broad Street Run and Philadelphia Distance Run, and previously for the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon and Tri-Rock Triathlon in Philadelphia. He is a director of the running and endurance Sports Medicine Program at Penn Medicine. Dr. Vasudevan provides non-operative management of musculoskeletal conditions affecting athletes and active individuals of all levels, and combines injury rehabilitation with injury prevention. He utilizes a variety of ultrasound-guided procedures and regenerative approaches such as platelet-rich plasma and percutaneous ultrasonic tenotomy. He sees patients at the Penn Medicine and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration hospital. Dr. Vasudevan attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. After his Transitional Year in Tucson, Arizona, he went to residency in PM&R at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and onwards to Stanford University for his fellowship in Sports Medicine. He has been in practice at the University of Pennsylvania since 2012.
it can be hard to accept that you may have to table it for an injury Runner’s World, Knee pain after running: How to spot and fix it The Runner’s World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a nine-time marathoner with a best of 3:23. She’s also proud of her 19:40 5K and 5:33 mile. Heather is an RRCA certified run coach.