RUNNING INJURIES ARE MORE COMMON THAN WE THINK…

Do you enjoy running, but find that when you’re finished or during your run, the onset of pain occurs in your joints?

If you feel like you have to cut your runs short because of pain, that’s not a good sign and more importantly, do not run through it! The amount of stress and impact that running creates on the body, can be quite damaging for joints and soft tissues over time. As a runner, we have narrowed down the 5 most common injuries that we come across:

  1. Runner’s knee
  2. Shin splints
  3. Hamstring pulls
  4. Achilles tendonitis
  5. Piriformis Syndrome

As you can see in the list above, the main parts of the body affected by running generally tend to be the feet, ankles, knees and hips. These body parts are all connected in the one link, when you are tight in one area other parts will overcompensate meaning injuries happen here. For example, if you do your knee it usually means that either your hip or muscles around your knee are too weak to support the movement of running.

We’ve gathered our top tips to help you try and minimise these ongoing joint paints yourself first:

  • For knee pains, strengthen those muscles around your knee with eccentric training (slow lowering tempo squats) this will strengthen the tendons around the knee
  • Rest up and make sure you are fully recovered before attempting to run again
  • Ensure you have a gradual increase with running distances and running times (if you go too hard too soon, it will spark injuries/inflammation!)
  • Know your limits and don’t push through the pain! Make sure you STOP when the first onset of pain occurs
  • Stretch regularly to loosen the tightness of your muscles
  • If pains continue, make sure you see us to get you back up running faster!

It is incredibly important that if your pains aren’t just a one off, and you begin to feel them every time you move, it will only make matters worse and lead to a more serious injury! With this, it means that your running days are temporarily put on hold (and no one wants that!).

If you feel like you’re running injuries just won’t go or are becoming worse over time, our friendly team will be able to help assess and accurately find the source of your pain. We pride ourselves on being able to educate our clients with specific tips to improve their injuries while providing relief and restore the injury site to allow you to be back to your usual routine.

 

Elin, is an alumni of St. Edward’s University and holder of a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, furthered her academic journey by attaining a Doctor of Physiotherapy from Macquarie University in 2022.

Her passion for sports, particularly football (soccer), is evident in both her academic pursuits and personal endeavors. Specialising in the comprehensive well-being of athletes, Elin focuses on restoring them to peak performance while actively preventing future injuries.

Elin’s professional expertise is centered on musculoskeletal rehabilitation, with a specific emphasis on addressing and preventing knee injuries. Her approach integrates expert treatment with a commitment to educating and empowering patients, fostering their active involvement in enhancing their health and overall quality of life.

As an active participant in NPL football with SD Raiders, Elin brings firsthand experience and a profound understanding of the sport’s demands. Beyond the field, she extends her influence by contributing sports coverage over the weekends.

Christopher (Chris) Han graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapy, and then completed the Doctor of Physiotherapy program at Macquarie University in 2018. Chris is currently undertaking his PhD at the University of Sydney and Institute for Musculoskeletal Health in the field of low back pain and is due to complete this in early 2024. 

Chris is currently an assistant Physiotherapist for the NRL Referees. Chris has previous experience as the head Physiotherapist at Panthers Premier League Netball and a number of elite sporting athletes in the private setting.

Through Chris’ experiences, he has a particular interest in all areas of the body and musculoskeletal physiotherapy, sports, vestibular rehabilitation, and Men’s Health (pre and post prostate surgery).

Suzanne graduated from Western Sydney University with a Bachelor of Health Science (Sports and Exercise Science) in 2015. She then went on to continue her studies at Macquarie University graduating from the Doctor of Physiotherapy post-graduate degree in June 2019.

Since graduating, Suzanne has worked in the local Penrith area in both private practice and Sports Physiotherapy. Suzanne has worked with sporting teams including Penrith District Netball Association, Mt Druitt Rangers (NPL), Penrith Valley Figure Skating Club, and local dance and cheer schools. 

Suzanne has a particular interest in working with artistic athletes including cheerleaders and dancers. She has a professional background in both cheer and dance and has previously worked as both a cheer coach and dance teacher. Suzanne’s previous experiences are an invaluable resource to her as a physiotherapist, as she has a thorough understanding of the level of physical fitness and skill acquisition that these athletes must have in order to be successful on stage and in competition.

Suzanne’s other areas of clinical interest reside in lower limb musculoskeletal injuries, spinal pathologies and women’s health.

Nathanial graduated as a physiotherapist in 2012 which saw him work in private practice and hospital settings gaining experience in all areas of physiotherapy including hand therapy, splinting/casting, pre/post-operative care, Men’s Health and general musculoskeletal, occupational and sports physiotherapy. Since then he has gone on to complete further studies in physiotherapy enabling him to be the only dual titled Musculoskeletal, Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist in Penrith.

Nathanial has a strong background in sports physiotherapy achieving accreditation with NSWIS as a service provider and working with many elite sports teams.

Nathanial has a particular interest in working with elite athletes, complex cases and in particular assessment and management of knee, hip and shoulder pain.

Andrea graduated from the Australian Catholic University completing her Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science in 2018 and Master’s of Clinical Exercise Physiology in 2020. After graduating she attained accreditation with ESSA as an Exercise Physiologist.

During her studies she gained clinical experience in both hospital and private practice settings, in cardiac rehabilitation, neurological conditions, cancer and chronic musculoskeletal injuries.

Since working at Progressive, Andrea has a specialist interest in treating musculoskeletal injuries, helping people in the mid-late stage of rehab to get them to return to sport or work. As well as helping people manage chronic conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis and diabetes.