Running injuries: hip strength symmetry for foot health

It’s perhaps not surprising that running is one of the most accessible and widespread forms of physical exercise globally. It produces high levels of aerobic fitness in a time-efficient manner, offers substantial health advantages such as lowered cardiovascular risk, it can be done anytime, anywhere, and it only requires a minimal outlay for equipment. However, there is a downside for runners, especially who train and compete recreationally or at the amateur level, and that is the risk of picking up a running-related injury (RRI).

The dreaded ‘I’ word

Despite running’s benefits, there’s a definite downside for those who run as their main sport – injury. Numerous studies show that running is associated with a notable incidence of running-related injuries (RRIs). For example, in any 12-month period, previous research has shown that lower extremity RRIs occur in an estimated 50% or so of recreational runners, with some studies suggesting this to be even higher^(1-3). And in a study published last year, data showed that RRIs will affect up to 69.8% of runners at some point⁽⁴⁾.

Common sites of injury include the knee and foot, with conditions like patellofemoral (knee) pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and plantar fasciitis (PF, which produces pain and soreness in the heel and base of the foot – see figure 1) being prevalent. Plantar fasciitis (which we’re going to look at in this article) occurs as a result of chronic degeneration of the plantar fascia due to repetitive mechanical loading and overuse, and manifests primarily as heel pain, particularly upon initial weight-bearing after rest⁽⁵⁾. A review on RRIs found that PF ranks as the third most frequent RRI in runners (after knee and Achilles injuries), with an incidence of about 7.9%⁽⁶⁾.

Figure 1: The plantar fascia and area affected by plantar fasciitis