Running or jogging to keep fit or competition might appear like a straightforward activity, yet up to 50% of all runners might get some kind of injury each year. This injury may be relatively minor and they run through it until it gets better or it can be serious enough for them to have to cease running or jogging. The commonest cause of these injuries is that the runner just over did it. They ran too much before the body has been given a chance to adapt or get used to the distances being run. Each time that a load is applied to the runner it is important to give it a rest before you apply another load by going for another run. If an excessive amount of load is applied before recovery from a previous workout, any damage get amplified and this could progress into an injury. Rest is just as important as the training runs and that is how fitness and strength is increased and is also how an injury is prevented.

In addition to the too much too soon issue, biomechanics also has a role. This is the way that we run and different athletes do it in different ways. Different running techniques can load different tissues in a different way and load some tissues too much, so that when running that could be enough to result in an injury. For example, conditions like medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints) may occur when the distance between the foot placement when running is too narrow. Runners with this problem might benefit from running with a wider base of gait. Another frequent biomechanical problem in runners is tight calf muscles. When running this will cause the arch of the foot to collapse or overpronate and may result in a numerous conditions like plantar fasciitis to runners knee. These people may benefit the most from a calf muscle stretching rehab plan. The management of running injuries depends on the cause and should be geared towards the cause, whether its biomechanics to training load concerns.