How to Avoid the Most Common Runner’s Injury

Posted on By Alex Wasserman
Common Runner’s Injury

More and more people are turning to running for fitness. With an increase in running comes an increase in running injuries! Fortunately, you can take steps to decrease your risks while getting in shape!

Plantar Fasciitis: This is the most common injury that runners get, and it is characterized by three main signs:
– heel or foot pain after getting up in the morning
– foot pain that begins when running but decreases as you continue
– tight calves

The most important factor in avoiding this injury is to properly stretch muscles in the calf and lower leg before and after training. This may seem obvious at first, but most don’t realize that there are many muscles that need to be stretches and only doing one type of stretch doesn’t stretch them all! Try the two below:

Common Runner’s Injury Exercise Stretches the Deeper Muscle

The first exercise stretches the gastrocnemius, your top calf muscle. It crosses over the knee and thus can only be stretched if your knee is straight! Hold for 15 seconds.

The second exercise stretches the deeper muscle, the soleus. This muscle does not cross the knee and thus should be stretched with a bent knee in order to isolate it from the gastrocnemius. Hold for 15 seconds.

You should do these stretches before and after running in order to keep the muscles from becoming too tight. If you’re already suffering from foot or calf pain, you may have this condition. Give us a call so we can help you get out of pain and back to running!