Training season has begun for me and many other area runners with spring races happening between March and June. The trick to training and running healthy is to not let these injuries linger. As a runner myself, I can attest to experiencing these issues. With the first 2 weeks of my pre-training season, (I started in December), I remember taking a step in the morning and feeling the bottom of my foot twinge! I knew it was the start of plantar fasciitis. The muscles and tendons were being used more than they had been because of my increase in running, and they were letting me know!
The back of legs and bottoms of the feet are two of the three most common locations for developing running injuries. The 3rd most common injury location is the front of the knee. These last two injury types can often be managed with treatment of the muscles in the back of the leg and feet. I began performing self treatment of massage and stretching more frequently after and before runs and during off-running days. Gradually the symptoms of soreness and pain went away and my early morning walking was pain free.
If you are beginning to feel symptoms of pain during walking, tightness in you legs and achiles tendon or plantar fascia, then call Advance Physical Therapy to consult about whether physical therapy is appropriate for you. In my experiences helping many local runners, these issues don’t linger and should gradually be getting better. My role is to help runners become empowered to identify these issues and manage them, so they can experience the Ups of running.
Matthew Harwood, PT, DPT, OCS
