How to avoid foot pain when running
Don’t increase your distance too quickly. Rapidly increasing the number of kilometres you’re running each week is one of the biggest causes of running injuries, particularly stress fractures and overuse injuries. We suggest increasing your load by no more than 10% a week.
Always warm up, cool down and stretch. Warming up is very important but not taken seriously enough. You should always warm up thoroughly before a run and cool down and stretch or foam roll immediately after your run to aid your recovery.
Work on building your strength. Many runners neglect strength and conditioning. Instead, they focus on only achieving longer or faster runs. You should follow a strength and conditioning program that involves full body workouts like lunges and squats, as well as core work. This lessens your risk of injury.
Manage your training load. To reduce your risk of injury, you need to manage your training load. Periodise your training program with the help of a coach or professional to maximise results and avoid overloading.
Wear proper running shoes. Your runners need to be fitted according to your foot and running type. Our physios can help you with is. Get in touch to find out more.
Our Sports Focus physiotherapists can help you return to optimal health – and remain pain-free. We offer biomechanical analysis to help ensure that your running technique is suited to you and that you don’t have any muscular imbalances that may affect your form. We can help refine your technique to reduce your chances of sustaining an injury. Book online to see us at Sports Focus or find out more about foot physiotherapy.
