Is Golfer’s Elbow Pain Keeping You Off The Course? 

Is Golfer's Elbow Pain Keeping You Off The Course? 

Are you trying to fit in as much time on the course as possible this season? Who could blame you? Golf is one activity that offers a healthy combination of mental stimulation, physical fitness, fresh air, and solace. For these reasons, it’s hard to keep avid golfers off the course during stretches of favourable weather. However, if and when pain or discomfort starts interfering with your swing, it’s time to do something about it before it gets worse. Here’s what you need to know about Golfer’s Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow treatment in Victoria, BC.

What Is Golfer’s Elbow and Why Does It Hurt So Much?

Like tennis elbow, which occurs outside the elbow, Golfer’s Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis) is an overuse injury. Technically a form of tendinitis, Golfer’s Elbow is caused by repetitive movements that strain and inflict small tears in the muscles and tendons of your forearm, resulting in pain and inflammation that radiates from the inside of your elbow. 

Pain from Golfer’s Elbow can come on suddenly, gradually, or develop and worsen with repeated use. It’s not uncommon for golf enthusiasts to push through the initial signs and symptoms of Golfer’s Elbow until the resulting pain and stiffness interfere with their swing. Golfer’s Elbow that is caught early and treated with adequate rest and ice can sometimes resolve on its own. Still, if pain, stiffness, or weakness persist, you’re better off seeing a health practitioner for proper diagnosis and treatment. 

Signs & Symptoms of Golfer’s Elbow

Here are the most common signs & symptoms of Golfer’s Elbow:

  • Pain and tenderness at the inner side of your elbow
  • Elbow pain that worsens with specific movements–especially during your golf swing.
  • Stiffness of elbow and forearm
  • Difficulty, weakness, or pain when clenching your grip to make a fist
  • Numbness, burning, or tingling pain that may extend into the upper arm, forearm, and fingers
  • Pain and tenderness that worsens at night or upon waking
  • Pain when you make a fist or flex your wrist towards your forearm

Common Causes & Aggravating Factors

Considered an overuse injury, Golfer’s Elbow isn’t exclusive to golfers. Instead, it’s a common ailment amongst athletes, workers, and enthusiasts that partake in activities or occupations that place repetitive load or strain on the forearms and elbow, including:

  • Tennis and other racquet sports
  • Baseball, football, and other sports that involve pitching/throwing
  • Rowing
  • Occupations that involve the frequent and repeated use of tools such as hammers, wrenches, cleavers, paintbrushes, and paint rollers
  • Computer work
  • Weightlifting movements that cause curling of wrists or which place strain and load on forearms, wrists, and elbows

Things You Can Do to Help Prevent It From Developing

  • Taking time to warm up and stretch your muscles before activity 
  • Proper use of a compression sleeve to help support your wrists and elbows as needed
  • Paying attention to proper form on the course and during workouts
  • Performing exercises that target and strengthen your wrists and forearm muscles
  • Being correctly fitted with the right sports equipment for your size and stature
  • Staying on top of hydration during activity and getting adequate rest
  • Being mindful of signals your body sends you indicating that rest and care are needed (pain, swelling, discomfort, decreased range of motion, numbness, etc.)
  • Establishing good workstation posture and ergonomics 

When to Seek Treatment for Golfer’s Elbow Pain

Mild cases of Golfer’s elbow often resolve with several days of rest and intermittent icing; however, if the pain persists or worsens, it’s best to seek treatment. Left untreated, Golfer’s Elbow can progress to more serious injury, resulting in limited movement, permanent disability, or conditions requiring surgery to help resolve. For this reason, prevention and prompt treatment are vital. When rest and ice fail to resolve pain, or when Golfer’s Elbow continues to flare up and interfere with your activities, it’s time to get help. The good news is, with proper help and treatment, Golfer’s Elbow can be resolved and prevented. 

At Diversified Health Clinic, effective treatment of activity-induced aches and pains involves a tailored approach, starting with a thorough assessment of your condition to identify the root cause of your pain and determine the best course of treatment that will expedite healing.

Take the Next Step

Don’t let Golfer’s Elbow keep you off the course for too long. Instead, take the first step on your road to recovery by booking an appointment with one of our practitioners today. Call (250) 382-0018 or book an appointment online. We offer direct billing and weekday and weekend appointments. Please view our hours of operation and location details here.

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Back Pain From Gardening? We Can Help!

Back Pain From Gardening? We Can Help!

Avid gardeners are eager to make the most of good weather and prime gardening season. In doing so, they tend to ignore back pain and soreness until it gets bad enough to interfere with their range of motion and ability to garden. While gardeners can expect a bit of post-activity soreness, pushing through pain can sometimes spell trouble. Here’s why:

Red Flags That Your Back Pain Requires More Than Rest to Resolve

While the occasional aches and pains are common after long days of kneeling, planting, weeding, moving pots and plant boxes, and turning over soil, here a few red flags that indicate it’s time to have your back pain checked out and treated:

  • If the pain and tension seems to be worsening
  • If the pain doesn’t resolve after a day or two of rest
  • If the pain returns as soon as you resume activity
  • If the pain is sudden and acute, in which case, immediately stop what you’re doing and apply a towel-wrapped ice pack to the area
  • If you experience numbness, tingling, or shooting pain in your lower back above the buttocks and down your buttocks and upper legs, indicating possible lumbar compression or nerve pain with sciatica

Common Causes of Back Pain From Gardening

While gardening, it’s easy to be hyper-focused on the task at hand that you forget to be mindful of your posture, contributing to suboptimal movement patterns and bad habits that cause undue strain to the muscles you’re using. 

The most common causes of back pain from gardening are chronic muscle and fascia tension resulting from repetitive strain and overuse of your back muscles. Improper lifting, gait and hips issues, or other musculoskeletal imbalances can also contribute to chronic and sometimes debilitating pain. 

Examples of Movement Patterns That Contribute to Gardening-Related Pain

Bending, Twisting, and Lateral Flexion

Bending at the waist causes a lot of stress on the back muscles and spine, which is why you should never bend at your waist when lifting heaving objects or when reaching for something. Twisting and lateral flexion also place a lot of tension on the spine. Lateral flexion occurs when bending sideways at the waist, as you would when picking up a bucket from the ground by its handle. If your core muscles are weak, twisting and lateral flexion of the lower back muscles can lead to pulled muscles and, in worst-case scenarios, herniated discs. Twisting can also occur while raking and when lifting heavy and hard-to-grip objects, such as heavy bags of soil and bundles of plant refuge.

Compensatory Movements 

Have you ever caught yourself bending at the waist to avoid kneeling due to knee pain? Compensatory movements aren’t always detrimental. Sometimes they’re your body’s way of protecting itself, but if done improperly, you’re trading one pain and potential injury for another. Common compensatory movements during gardening include:

  • Twisting at the waist when kneeling and sitting
  • Overextending the arms and straining the shoulders and neck muscles when reaching to prune branches, rake leaves, and use small handled gardening tools

Overuse

Repetition and duration of movements fatigue muscles and can lead to strain and overuse injuries. Common signs and symptoms of pain caused by overuse include:

  • Knee pain from kneeling on hard surfaces (a typical gardener’s woe)
  • Joint pain and stiffness from maintaining a seated position for long periods without rest breaks and stretching
  • Wrist strain from using small hand-held gardening tools and hand-pulling weeds

Ambitious gardeners are also apt to exhaust their back muscles when attempting feats that are either forceful, such as pulling a tree root, or repetitive, such as overturning hard soil with a shovel. 

It’s Not Always Easy to Tell When You’re Overdoing It Until You’ve Overdone It

We’ve all been there! That pain and soreness you feel after a day of increased activity. It’s easy to get carried away when you love what you’re doing, not realizing how much you’re taxing your back muscles until exhaustion forces you to rest. Taking rest breaks at 15 to 30-minute intervals is a great way to refresh and take stock of how you’re feeling and whether your body needs more rest.

Prevent Dehydration

When the weather warms up, dehydration can make muscle exhaustion significantly worse (not to mention the dangers of heatstroke). Long-duration gardeners must ensure they take adequate breaks to rest their body, rehydrate and refuel. 

Effective Relief From Gardening Aches & Pains

When back pain starts interfering with your daily life and favourite activities, it’s time to get help. At Diversified Health Clinic, effective treatment of activity-induced aches and pains has a three-pronged approach, including:

Assessment

Performed during your initial appointment to identify the movements and postures responsible for your back pain. Your practitioner will use the information collected in your initial assessment to determine which treatments will be best suited to your specific condition and will devise a treatment plan with you that quickly relieves pain and encourages healing.

Treatment

For some back pain sufferers, a series of registered massage therapy treatments are all that’s needed to work out the tightness and tenderness of strained muscles and fascia. For more complex pain or pain compounded by aggravating factors such as sciatica, lumbar compression, and arthritis, an effective treatment plan may include a combination of registered massage therapy, chiropractic therapy, and physiotherapy. 

Prevention

Your practitioner will suggest various postures, movements, exercises, and stretches you can perform at home and while gardening to maintain the results of your treatment and reduce future pain flare-ups and injuries.

Take the Next Step

Don’t let back pain keep you from the activities you enjoy. Take the first step on your road to recovery by booking an appointment with one of our practitioners today. Call (250) 382-0018 or book an appointment online. We offer direct billing and weekday and weekend appointments. Please view our hours of operation and location details here.

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Knee Physiotherapy: Why Ignoring Knee Pain is Foolish

Knee Physiotherapy: Why Ignoring Knee Pain is Foolish

Whether it’s an intermittent pain that flares up during certain activities, sudden pain with no apparent cause, or chronic discomfort that tells you something about your knee isn’t quite right; when it comes to knee pain, it would be foolish to ignore it. Here’s why.

Ignoring Knees Injuries Can Lead to Permanent Damage

It might be tempting to ignore a bit of pain and swelling and push on with the activities you enjoy, assuming your knee pain will work itself out. Athletes that tend to have a high tolerance for pain and discomfort can be guilty of doing just that until the pain and swelling interfere with their performance. There’s a difference between discomfort and fatigue that can be resolved with rest versus pain that indicates something is wrong. While it’s never a good idea to ignore pain, ignoring early indications of injury can lead to permanent damage when it comes to knee pain. For this reason, it’s pertinent to have knee pain checked out early so any issues can be addressed before more damage is done. 

To avoid compounding injuries, you need to know the difference between discomfort that can be safe to train through versus pain that indicates injury, warranting further investigation. 

Common Causes of Knee Pain

It helps to know the signs and symptoms to watch for that indicate it’s time to have your knee pain assessed by a professional health practitioner. Different types of knee pain can indicate different causes. Following is a list of the most common causes of knee pain, including Runner’s Knee and Bursitis, and the key signs & symptoms associated with each:

Runner’s Knee

Symptoms:

  • Aching, throbbing pain and tenderness surrounding the knee cap or the back of the knee
  • Pain that worsens during activities that involve repetitive flexion and extension of the knees
  • Knee pain after periods of sitting or kneeling
  • Pain in and around the knee when walking downstairs or downhill
  • Clicking or grinding sensation in knee joint
  • Swelling and tightness resulting in decreased range of motion

Causes:

  • Running on hard surfaces
  • Increased volume and duration of activity
  • Overuse from repetitive flexion, extension, and strain to the knee
  • Suboptimal body mechanics, muscle imbalances, or misalignment of bones
  • Gait issues and fallen arches
  • Physical trauma and injury

Osteoarthritis

Symptoms:

  • Chronic aching
  • Knee joint pain
  • Inflammation and swelling surrounding knee, especially in the morning
  • Reduced range of motion
  • Grinding or grating feeling in knee joint

Causes:

  • Overuse and injury
  • Wear and tear degeneration of cartilage inside knee joint

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Symptoms:

  • Chronic aching, tenderness, or throbbing pain in knee joint 
  • Symptoms can wane and flare-up
  • Moderate to severe inflammation
  • Symptoms tend to worsen over time
  • Reduced range of motion
  • When pronounced, difficulty walking or placing weight upon the knees
  • Crackling, grinding, or popping sound or sensation when bending and extending the knee

Causes:

  • Genetic disposition/Autoimmune inflammatory disease
  • The body’s immune system attacks the tissues surrounding joints, leading to damage and inflammation

Gout

Symptoms:

  • Symptoms tend to wane and flare-up suddenly
  • Pain may start in another joint before affecting the knees
  • Aching or burning knee pain and joint discomfort
  • Inflammation and swelling
  • Warmth and redness in the knee and other affected joints
  • Decreased range of motion
  • Pain and discomfort in other joints throughout the body, including the big toe

Causes:

  • Hyperuricemia resulting in the build-up of uric acid in the knee joints

Bursitis of The Knee (Prepatellar Bursitis)

Symptoms:

  • Symptoms can occur suddenly or progressively worsen over time
  • Discomfort typically affects the inner knee below the kneecap
  • Stiffness and pain when moving the knee and sometimes at rest
  • Tenderness, warmth, and swelling when palpating knee area
  • Decreased range of motion

Causes:

  • A Common overuse injury caused by repetitive strain to the knee joint
  • Inflammation to bursae (synovial fluid-filled sacs in knee join that prevent bone on bone friction and cushion joints)
  • Direct physical trauma to the knee
  • Repetitive motions and kneeling on hard surfaces
  • Bacterial infection or the results of autoimmune diseases including arthritis

Jumper’s Knee (Patellar Tendinitis)

Symptoms:

  • Knee pain that gradually worsens over time
  • Pain is typically felt in the front of the knee or between the kneecap and top of the shinbone.
  • Knee pain that may only be perceptible during or following activity.
  • Pain is often worse when walking or running on an incline, stair climbing, and jumping
  • Swelling, stiffness, and redness of the knee joint

Causes:

  • Inflammation of tendons
  • Activities that involve repetitive jumping, causing extreme contraction and extension wear to the tendon
  • Muscle imbalances and tightness in the quadriceps and hamstrings.
  • Autoimmune disorders or illnesses that affect circulation

Cartilage Degeneration (Chondromalacia Patellae)

Symptoms:

  • Chronic knee pain
  • Stiffness and inflammation of knee joint, resulting in a decrease in range of motion
  • Soreness and knee pain when palpating

Causes:

  • Overuse and wear and tear from repetitive motion and high impact activities
  • Kneecap misalignment
  • Physical trauma
  • Long periods of inactivity or limited range of motion

Baker’s Cyst

Symptoms:

  • Knee pain that can worsen during activity or when bending, extending or placing weight on the knee
  • Tightness and stiffness of knee joint, resulting in difficulty bending the knee
  • Visible bulge or swelling behind the knee

Causes:

  • Cyst formation from the build-up of synovial fluid inside knee joint
  • Inflammation of knee joining from overuse, autoimmune conditions, or injury

ACL Ligament Sprains or Tears (Anterior Cruciate Ligament)

Symptoms:

  • Acute knee pain
  • Difficulty bending, extending, or placing weight on the knee
  • Popping sound or sensation when bending and straightening the knee
  • Reduced range of motion and feeling of instability surrounding the knee
  • Sudden onset of swelling–sometimes extreme

Causes:

  • Strain to ligament during high-intensity activity
  • Sprains and tears to ACL ligament caused by activities that involve sudden stops, starts, bursts, jumps, and changes in direction

Torn Meniscus

Symptoms:

  • Knee pain, most notable when rotating knee
  • Swelling and stiffness of knee joint
  • Popping sound when bending or extending the knee
  • Difficulty placing weight on the knee
  • A feeling of instability in the knee joint
  • A sensation of something interfering with your ability to extend your knee
  • Reduced range of motion–especially when extending the knee

Causes:

  • Physical trauma caused by hyperflexion and forceful rotation or twisting of the knee.
  • High-intensity activity that involves sudden stops or changes in direction
  • Strain on the knee from heavy squatting and lifting

IT Band Syndrome (Iliotibial Band)

Symptoms:

  • Gradual onset of pain and discomfort that worsens with activity
  • Pain and inflammation following activity that doesn’t quickly resolve with rest and icing
  • Pain is typically concentrated to the outside of the knee or just above the outside of the knee
  • Pain can also be felt in the shin, thigh, glute, and hip areas.
  • Pain when bending knee via walking, climbing, squatting, or even bending the knee at rest
  • Warmth, redness, and swelling surrounding outside of the knee
  • Clicking, snapping, or popping sensation when bending and straightening the knee

Causes:

  • Inflammation of iliotibial band due to injury or overuse
  • Weakening or atrophy of surrounding muscles due to inactivity or injury
  • Muscle imbalances, muscle tightness, and suboptimal body mechanics resulting in undue strain to the iliotibial band
  • Repetitive activities that strain the IT band, such as frequent running on steep inclines and declines, squatting, and rowing.
  • Poor footwear or gait issues, causing suboptimal foot dynamics resulting in undue stress to knee joint and hips

Not all knee pain is serious, but ignoring knee pain can lead to severe complications. When adequate rest, ice, and elevation fail to resolve your aches, pains, and impeded range of motion, it’s time to have things checked out by a practitioner to determine the cause of your knee pain and recommend proper treatment. 

In most cases, unless injury warrants surgery, knee pain can be significantly improved with knee physiotherapy treatments, which may include a combination of physiotherapy, chiropractic care, kinesiology, and athletic therapy to directly address the injury, strengthen the muscles and ligaments surrounding the knee, and correct movement patterns to prevent recurrence and further damage. Depending on the root cause and contributing factors of your knee pain, an effective treatment plan may also include:

  • Deep Tissue Laser Therapy
  • Graston Technique
  • Therapeutic Ultrasound
  • Athletic Taping
  • TENS Therapy
  • Shockwave Therapy
  • Gait Analysis and Custom Orthotics
  • Massage Therapy
  • Acupuncture

Determining the best treatment for your knee pain starts with a thorough initial assessment to identify the injury’s extent, root cause, and other contributing factors. Diversified Health’s comprehensive approach to treating injuries allows our practitioners to custom-tailor a treatment plan to each patient’s specific needs. Our in-clinic team comprises chiropractors, physiotherapists, kinesiologists, athletic therapists, registered massage therapists, and acupuncturists, working together to offer the most effective natural treatments for pain and injury. 

Take the Next Step

Whether you are a seasoned athlete or a novice runner, when pain or injury slow you down, our practitioners at Diversified Health can help. Take the first step on your road to recovery by booking an appointment with one of our practitioners today. Call (250) 382-0018 or book an appointment online. We offer direct billing and weekday and weekend appointments. Please view our hours of operation and location details here.

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Lower Back Pain From Golf? Here’s How to Fix It

Lower Back Pain From Golf? Here’s How to Fix It

If your lower back has ever hurt during or after a round of golf, you are not alone. Lower back pain can be one of the most debilitating golf injuries and one of the most common. Golf is a hard enough game as it is, without a painful back. Whether you have pain during your swing or if your back gets stiff and sore later in the round, this post is for you. I will go over some causes of lower back pain from golf and, more importantly, how you can fix it. 

Common Causes of Lower Back Pain From Golf

There can be many causes of lower back pain while golfing. One reason is the bent-over position of our body when we address the ball. This can put extra load on our back muscles, especially if our gluteal muscles are weak. Even putting can increase the stress on our low back. Additionally, the forceful rotation of our back during the downswing is inherently hard on our lower back, especially when we do it repeatedly over 18 holes.   

How Can I Fix It?

While we cannot do anything about the bent, twisting motion of a golf swing, we can train our bodies so that they are better able to handle the stress of the swing. 

Undoubtedly, improving overall body strength will help your lower back and your golf game. Modern tour players have taken this to the next level with their training and off course workouts. Some of the game’s best players, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy have been renowned for their work ethic and physique. Unfortunately, most of us do not have time to train at the level of a tour pro. 

Fear not! There is one simple exercise which can help rid you of that troublesome back pain. It will only take about 10 minutes per week to complete. It might also help your swing. Less pain and a better swing? Who doesn’t want that! 

This exercise focuses on a very important area of the golf swing. The ability to rotate through our spine. Most of the rotation in our spine actually happens in our mid back (thoracic spine) with very little rotation occurring in our lower back (lumbar spine). The orientation of the lumbar vertebrae only allows for a very small degree of rotation, compared to our thoracic vertebrae.

Then How Come My Lower Back Is Always Sore?

Good question. If we cannot rotate through our mid back properly, the force generated during a swing will be transmitted elsewhere, usually to the lower back. Increasing rotational force to a part of the body that is not designed to rotate is usually a recipe for pain.  

The Exercise: A Mid Back Twist.

Starting position: Lay on your side, top knee supported by foam roller or pillow. This helps to stabilize our lumbar spine and focus the movement in you mid back. 

Movement: Rotate the top arm upwards and let it fall down towards the floor. Then return the arm to the starting position. Maintain relaxed, deep breaths throughout the movement, feeling a stretch in your chest or your mid back. You might have a little range of motion the last few repetitions. Repeat on both sides. Repeat 10-15 times, perform 2-3 sets and try to do it at least 3-4 days per week. 

Exercises for Lower Back Pain From Golf

Diversified Health Clinic physiotherapist, Spirit Donahue, demonstrates exercises for preventing and treating lower back pain from golf.

This exercise can also help our golf swing. Being able to properly rotate through the thoracic spine is a very important aspect of the takeaway. It allows us to maintain proper spine angle through the takeaway and not ‘stand up’ during out back swing. This can improve our position during the down swing and can lead to more consistent, solid ball contact. 

While limited mid back rotation is a common and easily treatable limitation in the golf swing, there can be other causes of golf related low back pain. Our bodies are incredibly complex, and it is always a good idea to have it looked at by a health care professional. However, I have found improving mid back rotation to be an incredibly important factor in reducing golfing related low back pain. 

I hope this exercise helps alleviate your lower back pain from golf and increases your enjoyment of this incredible (and frustrating) game. 

Diversified Health Clinic Physiotherapist, Spirit DonahueAuthor: Spirit Donahue, MPT | Physiotherapist

Book Your Appointment With Spirit Donahue

If you have questions about your golf swing and how to prevent or recover from lower back pain from golf, contact our clinic today at (250) 382-0018 or book an appointment online with physiotherapist Spirit Donahue at Diversified Health Clinic in downtown Victoria. We offer direct billing and weekday and weekend appointments. Please view our hours of operation and location details here.

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Runner’s Knee and Other Common Running Injuries: Know the Signs

Runner's Knee and Other Common Running Injuries: Know the Signs

Few things slow you down more than pain and discomfort from runner’s knee or other running injuries, and flare-ups can occur at the worst possible times. It’s common to ignore and push through the early signs that something isn’t quite right until the pain or interruption in mobility becomes impossible to ignore. To avoid compounding injuries, you need to know the difference between discomfort that can be safe to train through versus pain that indicates injury, warranting further investigation. Here’s a list of the early signs and symptoms of runner’s knee and other common running-related injuries to watch out for. 

First, Allow Us to Explain What Runner’s Knee Is

Runner’s knee, otherwise known as patellofemoral pain syndrome, refers to various conditions that cause pain in and around the knee cap (aka your patella). Knees are especially prone to overuse and strain injuries due to repetitive motion and wear and tear to the joint and surrounding tendons. Have you ever noticed knee pain or swelling after starting a new sport that requires sudden bursts of force, jarring stops, or rapid changes in direction? During these activities, the knee joint and surrounding muscles and tendons undergo repetitive flexion and extension. 

Other conditions such as flat feet, misalignment of the knee joint, and suboptimal gait and movement patterns can contribute to one’s tendency towards common running injuries, including runner’s knee, shin splints, nerve pain with sciatica, plantar fasciitis and 

Runner’s Knee Signs & Symptoms

  • A dull, aching, or throbbing pain that radiates around the knee cap
  • Pain in the back of the knee where the thigh connects to the patella
  • Pain that comes on suddenly or worsens during repetitive movements that flex the knees (e.g., running, cycling, climbing stairs, squatting, or kneeling)
  • Pain after periods of sitting or kneeling
  • Pain in and around knee when walking downstairs or downhill
  • Tenderness on and around the kneecap
  • Clicking or grinding sensation in knee joint
  • Swelling and tightness, or reduction in mobility of the knee

Contributing Factors

  • Obesity or sudden weight gain
  • Pushing yourself during a new activity, or when returning to an activity or range of motion you haven’t performed in a long time
  • Failing to warm the muscles up and stretch before strenuous activity
  • Incorrect form during exercise
  • Repetitive strain on knee cap/patella (e.g., kneeling, cycling, squatting)
  • Activities that involve overuse of the knee joint (e.g., powerlifting, football, skiing, etc.).
  • Sudden impact during activity (e.g., bodychecks, foot slippage on uneven terrain, falls, and wipeouts)
  • Direct trauma or injury to the knee
  • Fallen arches, high-arches, over-pronation, and other gait issues
  • Imbalanced or unconditioned leg muscles (weakness or tightness of quadriceps). 
  • Occupational injury 
  • Arthritis and joint inflammation
  • Overstretching the tendons and muscles surrounding the knee
  • Knee joint misalignment 
  • Incorrect footwear for the activity
  • Running on hard surfaces such as concrete and asphalt

Other Common Running Injuries

Running Injuries Signs & SymptomsAchilles tendinitis: Pain and stiffness in back of foot (along Achilles tendon) where ankle attaches to heel. Achilles tendinitis can occur due to repeated strain on the tendon during activities that require a lot of ankle flexion (running, squatting, etc.). Muscle imbalances and tight calf muscles can exasperate it. 

IT band syndrome: Pain is often felt along the outermost part of the knee and outer thigh. You can learn more about the signs and symptoms of IT band syndrome here.

Shin splints: Pain is felt along the shin bone of the lower leg and can be caused by a sudden increase in activity volume or duration.

Hamstring, glute, and ankle injuries: This can include muscle pulls, tears, strains and sprains, or pain due to tightness in the hamstrings, calves, or Achilles tendon.

Plantar fasciitis: Pain is felt in the heel and arch of the foot and typically worsens when the toes and foot are stretched upwards towards the shin and during the morning after strenuous activity. You can learn more about the signs and symptoms of plantar fasciitis here.

Stress fractures: Pain can be sharp or aching. Pain from stress fractures can sometimes be felt during activity and rest and is often accompanied by swelling. For runners, stress fractures most commonly affect the shins or feet and can be caused by overuse, sudden increases in activity volume and intensity, or direct impact from falls.

Nerve pain with sciatica: A sharp, shooting, burning, or pinching pain can run from the lower back or hip area down through the back of the thigh and calves. When runners experience sciatica pain, it’s sometimes the result of tight or inflamed glute muscles placing pressure on the sciatic nerve. You can learn more about the signs and symptoms of nerve pain with sciatica here.

Hip pain: Commonly associated with tendinitis due to repetitive strain of the muscles and tendons surrounding joints. Burning and aching Hip pain can also be caused by bursitis, which results from muscle overuse. More serious causes of hip pain—especially if the pain is accompanied by clicking or grinding sensation indicated cartilage tears. Muscle imbalances, gait issues, running on hard surfaces, and improper or worn-out footwear can also contribute to hip and knee pain. 

Effective Treatments for Runner’s Knee and Other Running Injuries

Regardless of what hurts and why, the most important thing to do is listen to your body’s signs that something is wrong. Pain indicates it time to pause, give your body time to rest, and consider having the pain assessed by a professional, especially if it returns. Ignoring pain can lead to more significant problems, while addressing the cause of pain early on can prevent recurrence and injury. 

But First, RICE

At the first indication of pain and swelling, follow the RICE method to help alleviate pain, swelling and further injury:

Rest: Immediately stop the activity to prevent further damage

Ice: If swelling is present, apply a cold pack in 10-20 minute increments (wrap cold pack in a towel to avoid causing ice burns to skin)

Compression: Painful joints can be carefully wrapped in a compression bandage to help with pain and swelling. Ensure you don’t wrap the area too tightly! Numbness, coldness, a change in colour, or swelling in the area below the wrap indicates your bandage is too tight, negatively affecting circulation. Compression should not be used over broken skin, while sleeping, or by people with diabetes or compromised arterial circulation without direction from a physician or health practitioner.  

Elevation: To help reduce swelling, use pillows to elevate the affected limb above the level of your heart. 

Pain and swelling that returns or persists after adequate rest, ice, compression and elevation, should be checked out by a practitioner to determine the cause and proper treatment. 

Determining the best treatment for runner’s knee and other running injuries starts with a thorough initial assessment to identify the injury’s extent, root cause, and other contributing factors. 

Treating Runner’s Knee

Treatment for runner’s knee may include a combination of physiotherapy, chiropractic care, kinesiology and athletic therapy to directly address the injury, strengthen the muscles and ligaments surrounding the knee, and correct movement patterns to prevent recurrence and further damage. A treatment play may also include:

  • Deep Tissue Laser Therapy
  • Graston Technique
  • Therapeutic Ultrasound
  • Athletic Taping
  • TENS Therapy
  • Shockwave Therapy

Treating Other Running Injuries

Treatment for running injuries may also include physiotherapy, massage therapy, gait analysis and custom orthotics for improper gait issues. For this reason, Diversified Health offers a comprehensive approach to treating injuries. Our in-clinic team comprises chiropractors, physiotherapists, kinesiologists, athletic therapists, registered massage therapists, and acupuncturists, working together to offer the most effective natural treatments for pain and injury. Our variety of treatment approaches allows us to tailor every treatment plan to your specific situation and needs. 

Take the Next Step

Whether you are a seasoned athlete or a novice runner, when pain or injury slow you down, our practitioners at Diversified Health can help. Take the first step on your road to recovery by booking an appointment with one of our practitioners today. Call (250) 382-0018 or book an appointment online. We offer direct billing and weekday and weekend appointments. Please view our hours of operation and location details here.

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Trail Running Versus Road Running: Which Is Better?

Trail Running Versus Road Running: Which Is Better?

Over the past year I’ve gotten a lot more into trail running, largely because of getting a puppy who loves to get out in nature even more than I do. Doing so has given me a chance to reflect on how running on the trail differs from running on the road and how doing both can complement one another and allow someone to progress their training volume while potentially mitigating risk of overuse injury. Let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of trail running and road running.

First, Let’s Talk About Trails

Trail Running Pros

An obvious pro of trail running is the scenery–variable terrain and conditions make it tough for a trail run to feel monotonous, and getting into the calm of the forest or mountains is therapeutic in and of itself. Let’s assume that your average trail run has more elevation gain than a similar distance road run. Elevation gain is particularly challenging on the heart and lungs, as it is easy to work close to your maximum heart rate on a prolonged climb. Spending time close to your maximum cardiac output is the best way to increase your cardiorespiratory fitness (it is no wonder that cross-country skiers have the highest cardiorespiratory fitness among endurance athletes). Herein, trail running may be superior in improving the capacity of our heart and lungs (Tabata et al. 1996).

Now, Let’s Consider Terrain

Running Terrain

It is common to hear that hills are hard on the knees, and this holds some truth. Running uphill taxes your quadricep muscles more than any other muscle group, while running downhill puts heavy load on your patellar tendons (just below the kneecap). These add up to trail running more likely contributing to the development of sources of knee pain such as patellar tendinopathy and patellofemoral pain. Uphill running also places added strain on the Achilles tendon, another common site of overuse pain for runners. Additionally, research has shown that the prevalence of low back pain is higher in trail runners. If you are currently experiencing patellar or Achilles tendinopathy or low back pain with your trail running, it may be wise to temporarily move away from the trail and on to level ground to better allow these areas of symptom to settle down. It should also be noted that the risk of traumatic injury such as knee or ankle sprains may be higher in trail running due the uneven surfaces typically run on (Malliaropoulos et al. 2015).

Compared to the Benefits of Road Running

Road Running Benefits

Road running has some obvious pros as well–it is tough to beat the convenience of hopping out your front door and right into your run. If you are someone that finds motivation in time and pacing, running on the road is ideal for you. It can be a bit easier to monitor and progress your training volume and intensity on the road if you are running similar tracks each time, which can assist with motivation. Running on hard surfaces such as pavement is not inherently bad, but it does create more ground reaction force that must be absorbed by the body in comparison to soft surfaces. Overuse injuries that are contributed most significantly by impact volume such as plantar fasciopathy, shin splints and stress fractures are more likely to come up when running on hard, non-variable surfaces. If you have a history or are currently managing any of these ailments, you may want to consider moving your training on to softer surfaces (Tschopp and Brunner, 2017).

Variety Wins for More Reasons than One

Ultimately, I believe overuse injury is best avoided by bringing variability into your training. Using a combination of trail and road running may allow for a higher relative volume of training while potentially reducing the risk of developing an overuse injury contributed by the surfaces you are running on. It is important to note that modifying the terrain you run on is likely less significant than modifying overall training volume/programming and biomechanics in relation to managing and avoiding overuse injury. It is also important to ensure your training matches your running goals. If you are training for a marathon road run, you should absolutely put most, if not all, of your mileage on the road leading up to the race, and the same goes for the trail. But if you are running to stay fit and for the agonizing enjoyment of it, adding some variability to your training may be a nice change of pace!

Luke Miles | Physiotherapist

Author: Luke Miles, MPT, BSc KIN | Physiotherapist 

Book Your Appointment With Luke Miles

If you have questions about your training and how to prevent or recover from overuse injuries, contact our clinic today at (250) 382-0018 or book an appointment online with physiotherapist Luke Miles at Diversified Health Clinic in downtown Victoria.

References

Malliaropoulos, N., Mertyri, D., and Tsaklis, P. 2015. Prevalence of injury in ultra trail running. Human Movement, 16(2): 52-59.

Tabata, I., Ogita, F., Miyachi, M. 1996. Effect of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO(2max). Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 28(10): 1327-1330.

Tschopp, M., and Brunner, F. 2017. Disease and overuse injuries of lower extremities in long distance runners. Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie, 76(5): 443-450.

 

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