Running Assessment Ivanhoe | What to Do When a Running Injury Occurs

Recognising What May Lead to Running Injuries

Victoria, Australia – April 13, 2026 / Australian Sports Physiotherapy /

Building Better Habits

Running places repeated demand on the body, and physical discomfort can develop when certain factors begin to affect movement, recovery, or overall performance. Whether occurring after a sudden increase in training, ongoing muscular imbalance, or poor running mechanics, injuries can impact runners of all experience levels. A professional Running Assessment Ivanhoe may help identify areas such as technique, strength deficits, joint mobility concerns, and loading patterns that may be contributing to physical strain. Australian Sports Physiotherapy highlights the value of assessing movement quality and reviewing training habits to better understand why discomfort may arise during running. Early assessment and appropriate guidance can assist runners in making informed adjustments to their routine while working towards improved movement efficiency and more sustainable participation in physical activity.

Why Running Injuries Develop Over Time

Running feels simple. One foot in front of the other, a steady rhythm, the freedom of forward motion. Yet beneath that simplicity lies a complex interplay of muscles, joints, load, and repetition — and even small imbalances can quietly build into injury over time.

Many runners assume injuries happen because they trained too hard or pushed too far. Sometimes that’s true. But more often, problems develop gradually through subtle movement patterns, training habits, or recovery gaps that go unnoticed until discomfort becomes impossible to ignore.

Physiotherapy offers a clearer lens into why these injuries occur. It looks beyond the pain itself to understand how the body moves, adapts, and responds to stress. From overuse strain to biomechanical inefficiencies, the real causes are often more predictable — and more preventable — than most runners realise.

The Physiotherapy Perspective

Running is a high-impact, repetitive activity that puts significant demand on the musculoskeletal system. From a physiotherapy perspective, injuries rarely stem from a single bad step.

Instead, they are usually the result of an imbalance between the load placed on the body and the body’s capacity to handle that load.

Treatment isn’t just about rubbing the sore spot; it’s about identifying the weak link in the kinetic chain and progressive reloading.

1. The “too much, too soon” rule

The most common cause of running injuries is errors in training load. Tendons and bones need time to adapt to new stresses.

Rapid mileage increase: Increasing weekly volume by more than 10% frequently leads to overuse injuries.
Intensity spikes: Adding hill sprints or speed work without a solid aerobic base.
Inadequate recovery: Muscles repair themselves during rest. Without it, micro-trauma accumulates into a clinical injury.

2. Biomechanical inefficiencies

While there is no “perfect” running form, certain movement patterns increase the risk of specific injuries:

Overstriding: Landing with the foot too far in front of the centre of gravity. This creates a “braking” force that sends high impact through the shins and knees.
Dynamic valgus: When the knee collapses inward during the stance phase, often caused by weak hip abductors (gluteus medius).
Crossover gait: Running as if on a tightrope, which places excessive strain on the IT band.

3. The capacity gap (strength and mobility)

Running is essentially a series of single-leg hops. If your muscles aren’t strong enough to stabilise your joints, the “shock” is absorbed by non-contractile tissues like bone and cartilage.

Common Weakness	Resulting Injury
Weak Glutes	Runner’s Knee (PFPS) / IT Band Syndrome
Weak Calves	Achilles Tendinopathy / Plantar Fasciitis
Poor Ankle Mobility	Shin Splints
Weak Core	Lower Back Pain / Hip Impingement

4. Structural adaptation

Connective tissues like tendons have a different blood supply and metabolic rate than muscles. While your heart, lungs, and muscles might feel ready for a marathon after six weeks of training, your tendons and bones can take months to densify. This lag often leads to stress fractures or chronic tendinosis.

Running Assessment Ivanhoe | What to Do When a Running Injury Occurs

Key Risk Factors for Running Injuries

Prior injury is a significant risk factor.
Age matters: Older runners are more likely to experience soft-tissue/tendon issues (due to reduced tissue quality), while younger runners are more likely to experience bone or joint problems.
Training behaviour and technique: Sharp changes in load, downhill/uphill changes, an abrupt switch in surfaces, or over-striding can all increase injury risk.
Other factors: Nutrition, sleep, recovery, medication, and overall tissue health also play a major role.

What to Do When a Running Injury Occurs

Do a simple running assessment: look for things like excessive knee drift (femur internal rotation and adduction) and landing too far ahead of your body (over-striding) as these increase joint and bone load.
Calf muscle strengthening (especially soleus + gastrocnemius) is critical for running: they generate very large forces and so need strong, targeted rehab.
If you must reduce running, avoid full rest for too long: completely “switching off” a running tissue may reduce its capacity further (stress-shielding). Where safe, maintain some load and build capacity progressively.

How to Prevent Bone-Stress Injuries (BSIs)

BSIs occur when the bone’s micro-damage repair process is overwhelmed by loading.

Here are five practical tips to minimise BSIs:

Avoid big spikes in load – aim to increase training gradually rather than suddenly jumping kilometres or intensity.
Volume before intensity – increase how much you run before increasing how fast or how hard you run; bones tolerate volume better than sudden high intensity.
Schedule recovery/rest – include regular rest days and blocks of reduced load (or cross-training) to allow adaptation.
Introduce new surfaces/terrains slowly – e.g., trail vs road, uphill vs flat; changes in environment alter loading patterns.
Technique tweaks – increasing step cadence by around 5-10% (thereby reducing stride length) – can reduce impact loads and help protect the lower limb.

Final Thoughts

Running injuries are rarely random. They develop when movement patterns, training load, and recovery fall out of balance over time.

Physiotherapy helps identify these hidden pressures early, guiding runners towards better mechanics, smarter progression, and stronger resilience.

With greater awareness and the right support, running can remain not just sustainable but consistently rewarding.

Improve Your Running Confidence Today

Ivanhoe is a vibrant Melbourne suburb known for its leafy streets, parklands, and active community. Australian Sports Physiotherapy provides physiotherapy services across Ivanhoe and the surrounding suburbs.

Learning more about why injuries may occur during running can help individuals better understand their body, training routine, and physical demands. To learn more about Why Runners Get Injured: What to Do When a Running Injury Occurs, reach out to Australian Sports Physiotherapy for consultation and further information. Offering Ivanhoe Physiotherapy, our team assists runners with movement assessments, physical concerns, and guidance designed to help individuals continue working towards their activity and performance goals.