Painful running is a very common injury we see at Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine. You may have pain in the knees, hips, lower legs, or feet. Sometimes you may be able to run through the pain, but if you keep this up you may start to have pain with everyday activity like walking or going up and downstairs. That’s why it’s so important to find out how to stop running through pain.
A lot of running injuries occur from increasing your mileage too quickly. Others happen because you don’t have enough strength in your trunk, hips, knees, and ankles.
The good news is there are simple exercises you can do to strengthen the weak muscles, improve your movement quality, and stop running through pain.
Single Leg Bridge
This exercise increases the strength and endurance of gluteal muscles, low back muscles and hamstrings.
Flex one hip to 90 degrees. Push your other heel into the floor to raise your butt as high as you can.
You shouldn’t get a big arch in your low back. You should have a pretty straight line between your knee and your shoulder.
Start with 5 second holds at the top. Try to do 2 sets of 10. If they get easier, you can increase the hold time.
Do this 2-3 times a week and you will see it get a lot easier.
Step Down
The goal of this exercise is to control the position of your hips and your knee. It will also build strength in your glutes and your quads.
Your hips and pelvis should stay parallel to each other. The knee of your foot that is on the step should stay lined up with the middle of that same foot.
Start with 2 sets of 10 and work up to 3 sets. Start with a lower step (4 inches or less) and work up to a higher step as it gets easier. Do this 2 to 3 times a week.
Once you can do these for 3 sets of 10 with good technique, it’s time to increase the speed. Download a free metronome app for your phone and set it to 50 beats per minute.
Try to perform the step-downs at a 50 beat per minute pace and maintain the same quality of technique. Start with 30-second rounds and work up to 1 minute. Your ultimate goal is to work up to 1-minute rounds and increase the rate to 60 beats per minute.
Lateral Line Hops
Running also requires your ankles to be strong and fast. Being able to “pop” off the ground allows you to run at a higher step rate and decrease the load on your knees.
Notice in the video above that the hopping movement is really coming from the ankles. The knees stay flexed at about the same position throughout the hop.
You can start with a smaller line to hop across. The goal is to move quickly. Use a metronome app like you did for the step exercise.
Start the metronome at about 140 beats per minute for this exercise. As you get faster, try to increase it to 160 beats per minute.
None of the exercises above should make you hurt more.
If you’ve tried these and you’re still hurting, we can help you!
At Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine, we’re experts at treating running pain and will develop a plan for you to stop running through pain.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to request an appointment.
A member of our team will schedule you an appointment with one of our expert physical therapists.
What happens if you don’t have a plan to stop running through pain?
- You start to hurt with everyday things like walking up and down stairs
- You get out of shape and are more likely to get other diseases and injuries
- You end up needing surgery and in more pain
But WITH a plan to stop running through pain you can:
- Go on long runs confidently
- Improve your running times
- Live the active life you want again!
The exercises above are a great way to get started. They don’t require a lot of time and are pretty easy to do correctly.
But if you want an expert to listen to your unique problems and guide you to success, a Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine physical therapist will create a plan specifically for you.
You’ll feel confident that you have the knowledge and ability to stop running through pain and do all the things you want.
Call us at 703-299-3111, or click here to schedule your appointment and start your path to healing.
Working to keep you living your best life,
The Solutions Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Team
