Reduce your Running Injuries

Many of us love to run but did you know foot strengthening can help reduce running related injuries! These injuries are very common, with most occurring in the ankle, hip, or knee.  

During running, the muscles of the foot help to absorb force as you land, as well as propel your body forward with each stride. A recent study looked as how incorporating foot strength exercises impacted injury rates in recreational runners. They found that risk of running related injury was 2.42 times higher in the group that did not participate in foot strengthening exercises compared to the group of runners that did. It is unclear whether this effect is greater for specific running related injuries compared to others, such as knee or hip injuries, but it’s an interesting concept that could be incorporated into your training program to reduce your overall injury risk.

So how does it help? Well, focussing on these important muscles is likely to improve how the foot absorbs and disperses force with each land. This helps reduce the overall load on your joints, which could lead to reduced risk of running related injuries!

See below to see some examples of foot strengthening exercises

References:

Matias, A. B., Taddei, U. T., Duarte, M., & Sacco, I. C. (2016). Protocol for evaluating the effects of a therapeutic foot exercise program on injury incidence, foot functionality and biomechanics in long-distance runners: a randomized controlled trial. BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 17, 160. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-016-1016-9

Taddei, U. T., Matias, A. B., Duarte, M., & Sacco, I. (2020). Foot Core Training to Prevent Running-Related Injuries: A Survival Analysis of a Single-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial. The American journal of sports medicine, 48(14), 3610–3619. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546520969205

By Cristina Pellegrino.