Blog

Podcast

Courses

Get online guidance and education to overcome and prevent running injuries.

RUN CONFIDENTLY AGAIN

With expert online courses taught by Brodie Sharpe, you can get back to being an unstoppable runner.

Nobody likes the “Injured Runner” life

Brodie Sharpe / Founder & CEO The Run Smarter Series

Maybe you’ve tried multiple solutions to repair your injury in the past. I understand, which is why I’m offering you the opportunity to try the course for free for one week. Simply cancel and you won’t be charged a thing. However, I’m confident you will find the answers you need to start running injury-free once again! 

Try my Prevention course FREE for 1 week!

Find us online

Run Smarter

The Run Smarter Series

<p>Rather than having a running injury and learning how to deal with it, let’s focus being preventative. Because the vast majority of running-related injuries are due to training errors, this means they can be prevented! So, I have written down the four most common situations a runner might encounter which will increase their likelihood of injury.</p><h3>Sudden changes in training load</h3><p>We can learn a lot from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1rp_v4Dr3g&amp;t=13s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">understanding training load verses body capacity</a>. Essentially, an injury will occur if you push your body beyond it’s capacity to adapt. You are likely to fall into this category if you are training for a race too quickly, or returning from an extended time off (off-season training).<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">&nbsp;It is best to progress slowly to allow adaptation to take place.</strong>&nbsp;As runners we should forecast what distance we are training for or document our weekly workload and plan accordingly. Fantastic apps like&nbsp;<a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/c25k-5k-trainer/id485971733" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">C25K</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/nike-run-club/id387771637" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">nike run app</a>&nbsp;have in-built programs to follow and help this process.</p><h3>Sudden changes in shoes or strike pattern</h3><p>Whether you are in the minimalist shoe camp, the traditional shoe camp or the max support camp, changing your shoe from one type to another has its risks. Venturing from supportive to minimalist will increase the stress on the calf, achilles and foot. On the other hand, heading from minimalist to maximalist can increase hamstring, knee and hip loads. A very similar process is true for changing your running strike pattern.<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">&nbsp;If a runner changes how they interact with the ground, then the demand in certain muscle groups also drastically shifts.&nbsp;</strong>Therefore, it is important to consult your health professional or allow a very gradual transition period.</p><h3>Increased Stress or Decreased Sleep:</h3><p>These two usually go hand in hand and&nbsp;<strong style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">correlate with decreased tolerance to load</strong>. This means without changing a thing in your training, you can still develop an overuse injury. Sometimes stress is unavoidable but recognize these moments in life and adjust your training accordingly. For example, don’t follow-up with an intense training week if you are more stressed than usual, getting less sleep or falling away from a healthy diet.</p><h3>Is Morning stiffness predicting your running injury?</h3><p>Are you feeling strong and springing out of bed? If so, this is a good sign you are tolerating your training loads. Conditions such as early stage tendinopathy, joint arthritis and bony stress reactions will display unusual localized stiffness, soreness or weakness first thing in the morning. This is okay if you have trained hard the day before and&nbsp;<a href="https://runsmarter.online/good-and-bad-pain-for-runners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">wake up with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS)</a>&nbsp;however, this shouldn’t exceed 1-2 days. The trend of stiffness every morning that resolves in 30-60 minutes should not be ignored. Draw awareness to these trends.</p><h4>Relevant Blogs:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/run-more-without-injury/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">How do I run more without injury?</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/good-and-bad-pain-for-runners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">How To Decipher Good Pain &amp; Bad Pain</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/top-3-tips-all-runners-should-know-about-tendon-pain/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Top 3 tips all runners should know about tendon pain</a></li></ul><h4>Relevant Podcast episodes:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/the-relationship-of-sleep-cortisol-in-running-injuries/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Relationship of Sleep &amp; Cortisol in Running Injuries</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/the-hidden-dangers-of-red-s-with-isobel-ross/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">The Hidden Dangers of RED-S with Isobel Ross</a></li></ul><h4>References:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1rp_v4Dr3g&amp;t=13s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Youtube: Understanding load vs capacity by Kevin Maggs</a></li></ul><p><br></p>

Detecting early warning signs for running injuries

<p>Runners get injured. Runners get injured a lot! Studies show that up to 50-80% of runners are injured every year. So as a physiotherapist I think it is crucial for the longevity of your running career that you understand the different types of running pain. Too many times has a runner limps into a physiotherapy clinic complaining of an injury that has been ongoing for months. As a result, this means it’s harder to get rid of when it could have been very easily managed in the beginning. So what is good pain and bad pain for runners?</p><h3>Good Pain &amp; Bad Pain For Runners (DOMS)</h3><p>Let’s start off with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which can be considered good pain. You will experience DOMS after a hard session which involves heavy lifting, explosive movements, running hills or any increase in load that the muscles are not used to. I call this good pain because this is the body’s way of building stronger muscles. Here are the characteristics of DOMS.</p><ul><li>The pain comes on 24-48 hours after the strenuous activity.</li><li>The location of the pain is generally wide-spread in the muscle (not your joints).</li><li>The soreness resolves anywhere between 2-4 days.</li></ul><p><br></p><h3>Tendon pain</h3><p>This may require an accurate diagnosis from a physiotherapist because it too will react to an increase in load. In most cases this is a slow build up and before you realize, you have had increasing difficulty for 3-4 weeks. Therefore, this is considered bad pain and can be quite difficult to manage once it is past the acute stage. Here is how you can differentiate from other type of pain:</p><ul><li>The location is on the tendon &amp; is very localized.</li><li>Symptoms reduced after the ‘warm up phrase’, then worse later in the day &amp; worse the next morning.</li><li>Has been in response to a quick build-up in running intensity or volume.</li></ul><p><br></p><h3>Joint &amp; Ligament pain</h3><p>Not to make this blog all doom &amp; gloom but yes this is also bad pain. However, runners are usually onto this type of pain quicker then tendon pain but here are some typical signs:</p><ul><li>Can be trauma based. For example a rolled ankle or falling on the trails.</li><li>Will typically increase in pain throughout a run.</li><li>Will sometimes present with swelling or stiffness within a certain joint.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>I hope this helps clear things up. There are also arthritic pains and other specific pains that fall outside of these categories, but this will help clear up 90% of the issues you are facing.</p><h4>Relevant Blogs:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/the-early-warning-signs-for-running-injuries/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">The early warning signs for running injuries</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/stress-fractures-am-i-at-risk-what-are-the-signs/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Stress Fractures: Am I at risk &amp; what are the signs?</a></li></ul><h4>Relevant Podcast episodes:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/pain-science-1-explaining-pain-for-runners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Pain Science 1: Explaining Pain</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/pain-science-2-understanding-chronic-pain-for-runners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Pain Science 2: Understanding Chronic pain for runners</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/addressing-common-running-misconceptions-part-1-pain/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Addressing common running misconceptions 1: Pain</a></li></ul><h4>References:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://www.noigroup.com/product/explain-pain-second-edition/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Book: Explain pain second edition</a></li></ul><p><br></p>

How to decipher good pain and bad pain

<p>This will help you with the prevention and management of most lower limb tendinopathies including plantar fasciitis, achilles, high hamstring, patella and hip tendinopathies. This is because lower limb tendons respond in a similar fashion to load and training errors. So here are the top 3 tips when dealing with tendon pain.</p><h3>Tip #1: Tendon pain is caused by spikes in training load</h3><p>A tendon reaction will occur if there is a spike in load that exceeds its ability to adapt. To understand this concept, imagine that every tendon in your body has a certain maximum load capacity. Then, if you train just below this capacity in time it will adapt and get stronger, further increasing its capacity. This is called ‘working within your adaptation zone’ illustrated below by a picture from my e-book. If however, there is a spike in load which exceeds a tendon’s load capacity it will signal pain. These spikes can come in several forms including hills, mileage, intensity, change in shoe type or change in surface. A sudden increase can also be in one training session or over the course of a week</p><h3>Tip #2: Avoid resting a painful tendon</h3><p>Never completely rest a sore tendon! I often discuss this concept as the ‘pain-rest-weakness downward spiral’. When someone overloads their tendon in training the tendon’s capacity temporarily drops! This is because the tendon structure has less ability to tolerate loads while it is in this sensitive state. However, if you then rest for 1-2 weeks because of pain then capacity drops further! What often follows is a runner’s attempt to run on a weak tendon which produces another flare-up. This is often followed by more rest and the cycle continues. See the illustration below which depicts the onset of symptoms whenever a runner returns to running. But on the contrary, there is plenty of evidence<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27747846/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">&nbsp;to show it is safe to load a sore tendon</a>. So find a health professional, find your starting point and begin a well-structure loading program.</p><h3>Tip #3: Monitor tendon pain over 24 hours</h3><p>Correctly interpreting tendon pain is crucial for recovery, but tendon symptoms are often misleading. For example, tendon pain often reduces when you have warmed up, allowing you to run almost pain free. Most runners would interpret this as ‘safe’, and give themselves permission to continue running. However, this is dangerous, because you will be unable to accurately determine if the tendon is overloaded until you observe pain over 24 hours. Pain may increase later in the day or the following morning. If this is the case, your current running load is excessive and needs to be adjusted.</p><h4>Relevant Blog posts:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/good-and-bad-pain-for-runners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">How To Decipher Good Pain &amp; Bad Pain</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/managing-your-healthy-tendons-when-returning-to-the-gym/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Managing your healthy tendons when returning to the gym</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/why-am-i-getting-achilles-pain/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Why am I getting achilles pain?</a></li></ul><h4>Relevant Podcast Episodes:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/talking-tendons-1-tendinopathy-101/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Tendons 1: Tendinopathy 101</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/addressing-common-running-misconceptions-part-3-tendinopathy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Addressing common running misconceptions 3: Tendinopathy</a></li></ul><h4>References:</h4><ul><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-013-0019-z" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Peter Malliaras et al. Achilles and Patellar Tendinopathy Loading Programmes (2013).</a></li></ul><p><br></p>

Tendon Pain: The top 3 tips all runners should know

<h3>What is RED-S</h3><p>Previously know as the Female Athlete Triad has now evolved into ‘Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports’ which now includes males. The most well-defined example I could find came from Rebecca McConville who said:</p><blockquote>Rebecca McConville:</blockquote><blockquote>“Where your energy is coming from when you are not paying the energy bills”.</blockquote><p>In other words, you have energy reserves stored up in tissues such as your muscle, liver, bones and your body also requires energy for digestive, immune and hormone function. Even though the body needs energy to operate all these working parts, it will still prioritize physical activity above everything else for energy. Therefore, if you are not supplying your body with adequate nutrients and adequate recovery time (adding energy stores) and continue to push your body (depleting energy stores), vital functions start to break down. Simply, it’s about balancing the see-saw of energy going in (through diet) and energy going out (exercise). If your output consistently exceeds input, your body starts dipping into it’s reserves.</p><h3>Signs &amp; Symptoms of RED-S</h3><p>RED-S can start as lack of energy and not feeling refreshed in the morning but then develop into mood shifts, lowed immune system, irregular menstrual cycles, stress fractures and food intolerance. However, it’s important to note that everyone will encounter individual experiences and symptoms. You don’t get stronger and faster during your workout, you get stronger during your recovery. If you do not respect this, it can effect several bodily functions.</p><h3>Respect your recovery phase</h3><p>Any disrespect of recovery will lead to diminished performance and risk of injury. So reflect, assess your training loads and your nutrient intake. When you starting a harder training cycle, ensure your nutrition and sleep reflect this. If the equation is not balanced, your body will start sacrificing key body functions and have an inability to recover.</p><h4>Relevant Blog posts</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/what-runners-need-to-know-about-bone-density/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">What Runners need to know about Bone Density</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/the-dangers-of-self-diagnosing-shin-pain/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">The dangers of self-diagnosing shin pain</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/your-running-injury-road-to-recovery/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Your running injury road to recovery</a></li></ul><h4>Relevant Podcast episodes</h4><ul><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/avoiding-managing-stress-fractures-2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Avoiding &amp; managing stress fractures</a></li><li><a href="https://runsmarter.online/podcasts/the-hidden-dangers-of-red-s-with-isobel-ross/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">The Hidden Dangers of RED-S with Isobel Ross</a></li></ul><h4>References</h4><ul><li><a href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(16, 94, 162);">Article: Relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S)</a></li></ul><p><br></p>

What are the RED-S warning signs