NAGGING RUNNING PAIN? Let’s fix it.

Running season is officially here! With races happening almost every other weekend in Vancouver, kicking off with the Vancouver Sun Run this Sunday, you can’t turn a corner without seeing people training on the tracks, the Stanley Park Seawall, or local hill repeats.

While running offers incredible benefits for your wellbeing, the physical toll is real. Research shows that with every step, your body absorbs ground reaction forces averaging 2.5 times your body weight, leading nearly 40% of runners to experience injuries. Furthermore, a 2023 study found that 84% of runners report a history of injury.

To help you stay on the road (and out of the clinic), we’ve narrowed down 8 of the most common running injuries and how to manage them.

1. Piriformis Syndrome

  • The Feel: Pain or tingling in the glute that may extend down the leg.
  • The Cause: Weak glutes or repetitive movement compressing the sciatic nerve.
  • The Fix: Sciatic nerve flossing. Sit on a bench, extend one leg and flex your foot while tilting your head back. Then, bend the leg, point your toes, and tuck your chin. Do 2 sets of 10.

2. Shin Splints

  • The Feel: Nagging pain along the front or outside of the shin bone.
  • The Cause: Repetitive stress and microscopic muscle tearing, often from upping mileage too quickly.
  • The Fix: Ankle/foot strengthening. Loop a resistance band around your feet and perform controlled “toe lifts” (lifting toes against the band’s tension) to improve eccentric control.

3. Lower Back Pain

  • The Feel: Spasms or aches on either side of the lower spine.
  • The Cause: Tight hamstrings and a weak core/glutes that cause the pelvis to rotate forward.
  • The Fix: Targeted foam rolling. Roll your glutes, quads, IT bands, hamstrings, and calves for 60 seconds each to release the tension pulling on your lower back.

4. IT Band Syndrome

  • The Feel: Aching or burning on the outside of the knee, usually appearing a few minutes into a run.
  • The Cause: Overuse or weak glutes causing the leg to turn inward, irritating the thick band of connective tissue.
  • The Fix: Hip hikes. Stand sideways on a step with one leg hanging off. Lower and raise your pelvis using only the hip muscles of your standing leg. 3 sets of 12.

5. Plantar Fasciitis

  • The Feel: Sharp stabbing heel pain, especially during those first steps in the morning.
  • The Cause: Overloading the tissue along the bottom of the foot due to tight calves or sudden mileage increases.
  • The Fix: Toe Yoga. Stand barefoot and practice lifting just your big toe while keeping the others down, then switch. Repeat 20 times to strengthen the arch.

6. Runner’s Knee

  • The Feel: Aching behind or around the kneecap, especially when running downhill.
  • The Cause: The patella tracking incorrectly, often due to a weak gluteus medius.
  • The Fix: Clamshells. Lie on your side with a resistance band above your knees. Open and close your knees like a shell, keeping your ankles stacked. Do 3 sets of 10.

7. Hamstring Strain

  • The Feel: Pain at the top of the hamstrings near the glutes, often during speed work.
  • The Cause: Quad dominance or weak glutes forcing the hamstrings to overwork.
  • The Fix: Bridge walkouts. From a glute bridge position, slowly walk your feet out until your legs are almost straight, then walk them back in. 3 sets of 8.

8. Stress Fracture

  • The Feel: Localized, aching bone pain that hurts to touch and worsens while walking.
  • The Cause: Too much loading force on the bone without adequate recovery.
  • The Fix: Mandatory Rest. These can take 4–8 weeks to heal. Switch to low-impact activities like swimming or cycling and consult a professional to check for nutritional deficiencies.

Note: If your pain is a 6/10 or higher, lingers for more than two weeks, or interferes with your daily life, please book in with one of our Chiropractors for an assessment and a complimentary walking gait scan.

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