Running
At Achieve Health we work with a lot of runners, from amateur to elite level, supporting them with everything to make them be at their best!
Follow us
What We Treat
At Achieve Health we work with a lot of runners, from amateur to elite level, supporting them with everything to make them be at their best!
Our skill set includes:
- Injury Prevention
- Injury Healing/Treatment
- Rehabilitation
- Performance Enhancement
- Biomechanical Assessment and Orthotic Prescription
- Individualized Training Programs
- Education and Injury Awareness.
So safe to say you’d be in great hands if you’re looking to get pain free, rehabbed or looking for a PB; we’d love to help!
There are many reasons, which we will assess, why runners can develop pain and injury such as:
- Overuse and Repetitive Motion.
- Biomechanical Factors: Individual variations in running mechanics, such as foot strike pattern, stride length, and body alignment, can contribute to the development of injuries.
- Training Errors: Inadequate training progression, sudden increases in mileage or intensity, improper training techniques, or lack of rest and recovery.
- Muscle Imbalances and Weakness: these can affect the body’s ability to withstand the demands of running.
- Insufficient or Incorrect Warm-up and Cool-down: Inadequate preparation and recovery can contribute to muscle imbalances, tightness, and increased risk of injury.
- Inadequate Footwear or Running Surface.
Shin and Calf Injuries:
Tightness, weakness, unaddressed biomechanics and more, can lead to many issues in the lower leg. For example, shin splints or calf tears/strains. With the right rest and gradual return-to-running plans, manual therapy to ease pain, increase healing and reduce muscle tension and inflammation, and an exercise programme to increase lower leg flexibility and strength, physiotherapy will help.
Also, small cracks in the bones known as stress fractures can develop in weight-bearing bones such the tibia, metatarsals, or fibula. Seeing a Physio for not only healing benefits but also to remove the causes and risks of the stress fracture is key
Examples:
- Shin Splints
- Stress Fracture
- Calf Tear
Foot and Ankle Injuries:
There are several injuries than can develop, whether from repetition of running mechanics or from a fall/trip whilst running. For examples the thick band of tissue that supports the arch of the foot, the plantar fascia, can become inflamed, resulting in heel discomfort, which is the hallmark of plantar fasciitis. Orthotic advice, stretching and strengthening exercises for the foot and calf muscles, and pain-relieving techniques like massage, needling or shockwave therapy are all things that we can help with. These same techniques will help with other toe or metatarsal injuries also.
The Achilles tendon, which joins the calf muscles to the heel bone is susceptible to injury also – its key to have it treated and assessed to avoid severe injuries such as a rupture. Exercises for eccentric muscle strengthening, manual treatment to treat muscular imbalances and tightness, and advice on appropriate running form and footwear can all be used in physiotherapy to help recovery and future injury prevention.
Examples:
- Stress Fractures
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Achilles Tendonitis
- Ankle Ligament Sprain / Tear
Knee Injuries:
Knee injuries can be common in runners, whether from a fall or twist or a more gradual build-up of pain. Fixing as well as finding the cause, is vital, to ensure long-term running health. Physio will assess biomechanics, range of movement, mobility, strength and more! This will be from the hips to the knees and ankle as often the knee is compensating for dysfunction elsewhere.
Strength and conditioning can be key as tendonitis can be common in the tendons around the knee. Frictioning or muscle imbalance can cause pain and inflammation such as jumpers’ knee or ITB issues. Again, treatment as well as full assessment will be undertaken to maximise recovery and long-term running ability. We often improve strength post injury to the point of increasing speed, mobility and power. Our corrections on footwear, running style and strength can lead to those PBs!
Examples:
- Hamstring Tendonitis
- ITB Syndrome
- Patella Tendonitis
- Meniscus Tear
How We Can Help!
Running-related injuries can be prevented, treated, and recovered from with the help of physiotherapy.
An individual’s biomechanics can be evaluated by Achieve Health practitioners, who can also design individualised workout regimens to address muscular imbalances, provide gait analysis and advice on proper running form, as well as apply manual therapy techniques to lessen discomfort and inflammation. Additionally, they can offer guidance on suitable footwear and training adaptations, instruct on appropriate warm-up and cool-down procedures, and offer tips for injury avoidance and peak performance. Achieve Health can aid runners in their recovery, assist them avoid re-injury, and generally improve their running performance by addressing specific ailments and putting in place thorough rehabilitation regimens.
