There’s no doubt that running is a fantastic form of aerobic exercise. It’s also a high-impact athletic activity that can strain your feet and ankles.
Whether you’re starting a running routine or already have one, sports medicine podiatrist Thomas Rambacher, DPM, FACFAS, FAPWCA, from Podiatry Hotline Foot & Ankle in Mission Viejo, California, suggests actively preventing running injuries and treating problems quickly. This is what you need to know about running and foot and ankle stress.
The speed at which you run causes running to put much more stress on your body than lower-impact activities like walking. Every time your foot strikes the ground during a run, it takes up to three times your body weight.
High-impact running offers benefits for your feet and ankles. Running can strengthen your feet, ankles, and bones, helping prevent injury. It also increases blood flow to your feet.
Other times, though, running can cause problems. Runners are prone to aches and pains in their feet and ankles, as well as being at risk for several kinds of injuries.
The majority of foot and ankle running injuries are overuse injuries caused by improper training. These occur from problems like overtraining, wearing the wrong shoes, and training on unsafe surfaces.
Other injuries occur from the high impact of running or from weak foot, ankle, and leg muscles.
Some of the most common injuries runners develop include:
Most running injuries are overuse injuries that develop gradually, rather than sudden injuries like fractures. Increased foot and ankle pain, swelling, bruising, numbness, and redness can all be signs that you’re developing an injury.
You can prevent most running-related foot and ankle injuries by being careful with your training. When you run, be mindful of:
Ramping up your running routine too quickly can cause overuse injuries. Try not to increase your distance or speed by more than 10% every week.
The best surfaces for running are even and soft. Pavement is very hard on your feet and ankles, and uneven surfaces can cause you to twist or sprain your ankle.
Aim to run on running tracks, treadmills, and well-maintained, clean dirt and grass trails.
Wearing improper or overly run-down, running shoes for your foot type can cause injuries. Your shoes need to accommodate your running surface, arch type, and running stride, and be replaced regularly.
If you have injuries or biomechanical problems, you might need to wear medical-grade custom orthotics when you run.
Our team recommends a treatment protocol for running injuries based on the type and severity. Some minor injuries respond well to rest, pain medication, foot or ankle braces, and changing or adding custom orthotics to your shoes.
Often, we recommend a stretching and physical therapy program to rehabilitate injuries. This also helps improve the strength and flexibility of muscles and ligaments in and around your feet and ankles.
More severe injuries can require minimally invasive surgery or reconstructive surgery to repair problems like stress fractures or ankle sprains that don’t respond to more conservative measures. Some injuries also respond to pain injections and regenerative medicine treatment like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections.
No matter how severe your running injury is, our team can develop a plan to heal your foot and ankle and prevent it from happening again. Contact us to make a sports medicine appointment.
