What Is Sciatica Pain?

Sciatica refers to a sharp and sometimes numbing sensation that travels the length of the sciatic nerve, from the low back through the buttock and into the leg. While it shouldn’t cause you to stop running, you should visit a physical therapist to figure out the root cause. Since “sciatica” is sometimes used as a catchall term for leg nerve pain, it’s important to first determine if it is truly a nerve issue you’re dealing with.

Sciatica Symptoms

The most common symptoms are numbness, tingling or burning pain in the leg or weakness in the muscles of the leg or foot.

For many people, sciatica feels like lower back pain that shoots down the back of one leg. Symptoms are worsened by prolonged sitting. Sciatica is often caused by a bulging disc, bone spur, or narrowing of the spinal canal. A doctor or physical therapist can help you diagnose whether or not your pain is sciatica.

Sciatica Itself Is a Symptom, Not a Cause

It is important to understand that sciatica is a symptom of a larger issue in the kinetic chain. Depending on where the nerve is pinched or inflamed, an athlete may experience discomfort in different parts of the back, leg and foot. Perhaps the most common cause of sciatica is a herniated disc, which irritates the nerve. Similarly, disc degeneration can also inflame the nerve at its root, causing pain and discomfort.

In runners, piriformis syndrome is another common culprit. A muscle located deep in the hip area behind the gluteus maximus that goes from the pelvis to the femur, it sits adjacent to the sciatic nerve and, for a small portion of people, runs directly through the muscle. The piriformis aids in the rotation of the hips during running and can cause pain when it gets tight or inflamed during training.

The sooner you get in to see an expert, the less likely you’ll end up with a bigger problem in the future.

Running with Sciatica Pain

Running with sciatica varies on a case-by-case basis. Whether or not you’ll be able to continue running with sciatica depends on pain level, location, and cause. Most of the muscles you use while running are attached to the sciatica nerve, so it is critical that you listen to your doctor’s recommendations to avoid worsening the issue.

Typically, if the cause of your pain is unidentifiable, you can continue light running. However, if your sciatica is caused by a medical condition such as a bulging disc, running may not be an option.

How to Treat and Prevent Sciatica

If you do continue running, adopt a consistent and thorough warm-up and cool-down. Stretch your hip flexors and glutes. Use hot baths and ice packs to treat the affected area to loosen surrounding muscles. If pain worsens during running, stop and seek help from a professional.

To prevent sciatica from recurring, focus on using proper running mechanics and maintaining good posture when sitting or standing.

Sciatica FAQs

Is it okay to run with sciatica?

In many cases, it is okay to continue light to moderate running with sciatica. However, this depends on the cause of your sciatica. Consult a doctor and avoid running if it makes pain worse.

What should you avoid if you have sciatica?

Avoid high-impact exercises that put strain on the sciatic region. Do not do anything that causes sharp pain or worsens pain.

How long it takes for sciatica to go away?

Recovery time depends on the cause of your sciatica, but the injury typically gets better in four to six weeks.

Sciatica Pain Summary

Remember, Sciatica is not the cause, it’ll be a symptom of a wider issue so it’s important to keep pushing for answers. For example, it could be cause by the chair you’re sitting on all day, or ischial bursitis which is trapping the sciatic nerve.

Consult a doctor or physical therapist who can help you diagnose whether or not your pain is sciatica. Professionals can then prescribe remedial actions which may include strengthening exercises.

If you’re looking for more injury advice, check out these links:

• Prehab Guys
• Coping with a running Injury

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That repetitive impact of all those foot strikes can take its toll on your muscles and joints! It’s key to remember your body may not be conditioned to certain types of running, i.e. spriting or faster sessions. However, even if you have good cardio levels, you’re asking for trouble without building a strong base.

My other post on How to prevent running injuries gives 3 main reasons injuries occur:

• Structural Imbalances. This includes having one leg shorter than another, biomechanical issues, or having weakness/imbalance in muscles.
• Volume and Speed. When an individual goes too far or too far before their body is ready to handle it. I’ve read this best summarised as “Metabolic changes vs. Structural Changes”.
• A Slip, Trip or a Fall. Whilst the other two are primarily the reason for self-care, I didn’t want to neglect that getting injured whilst out running can lead to issues where remedial is required.

The most common running injuries for runners affect (not surprisingly!) the knees, legs, and feet. Here, I’ve listed the most common running injuries to hopefully give you some insight and particular pains to be aware of.

Quick links to the most common running injuries

• Runner’s Knee
• Achilles Tendinitis
• IT Band Syndrome
• Shin Splints
• Hamstring Injuries
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Stress Fractures
• Ankle Sprain
• Other types of running injuries

1. Runner’s knee (patellofemoral syndrome)

Runner’s knee, also referred to as patellofemoral syndrome refers to pain in the front of your knee or around your kneecap. It’s a common overuse injury in sports that involve running or jumping.

It can be caused by weakness in your hips or the muscles around your knee. Runner’s knee can cause pain that:

• Is dull and can be felt in one or both knees
• Gets worse with prolonged sitting or exercise
• Gets worse when jumping, climbing stairs, or squatting

A doctor can often diagnosis runner’s knee with a physical exam. A physio can give you a specific treatment plan to treat a runner’s knee injury.

2. Achilles tendinitis

Achilles tendinitis is the inflammation of the tendon that connects your calf muscle to your heel. It’s likely to happen after increasing your mileage or the intensity of your running. For me though, it was riding an ill-fitting bike then go straight into a quick run 😛

The pain will make it difficult to run but the more you do you’ll increase your risk of rupturing your Achilles tendon. If this tendon is torn, it usually requires surgery to repair it.

Common symptoms can include:

• Dull pain in your lower leg above your heel
• Swelling along your Achilles tendon
• Limited range of motion when flexing your foot toward your shin
• A warm feeling over the tendon

In my experience, I had targeted pain in the Achilles when trying to run on it or walk-up stairs. My recovery was 6 weeks (no running), where I started to stretch pain free from 4 weeks. I was able to ride and swim during this time though to keep fitness and training for upcoming events. It’s a hard balance to strike as the muscle needs to repair but stretching/impact can help the process (working the scare tissue), once you’re over the initial pain period.

3. IT band syndrome

The iliotibial (IT) band. This is a long piece of connective tissue that runs from your outer hip to your knee. The IT band helps stabilize your knee when you’re walking or running.

IT band syndrome is caused by repetitive friction of the IT band rubbing against your leg bone. It’s very common in runners due to tight IT bands. Weak gluteal muscles, abdominals, or hips may also contribute to this condition.

IT band syndrome causes sharp pain on the outer side of your leg, usually just above your knee. Your IT band may also be tender to the touch. The pain often gets worse when you bend your knee.

Through sports massages, foam rolling and a good stretching routine you can minimize the risk of this injury 💪

4. Shin splints

Shin splints refer to pain that occurs in the front of the inner parts of your lower legs, along your shinbone. This injury can happen when you increase your running volume too quickly, especially when running on hard surfaces.

In most cases, shin splints aren’t serious and go away with rest. However, if left untreated, they can develop into stress fractures.

Symptoms of shin splints can include:

• A dull pain along the front or inner part of your shinbone
• Pain that gets worse when you exercise
• Tenderness to the touch
• Mild swelling

They will often get better with rest or by cutting back on how frequently or how far you run. I’ve also heard people cite compression socks help!

5. Hamstring injuries

From my experience, I’ve written a post about the hammy’s here so I’ll save repeating myself.

However, If you have a hamstring injury, you may experience:

• A dull pain in the back of your upper leg
• A hamstring muscle that’s tender to the touch
• Weakness and stiffness in your hamstring

6. Plantar fasciitis

The most common foot injury, Plantar fasciitis! It comes from irritation or degeneration of the thick layer of tissue, called fascia, on the bottom of your foot. I recommend calf stretches and rolling your foot on a golf ball to alleviate the pain.

This layer of tissue acts as a spring when you’re running. Increasing your running volume too quickly can put your fascia under increased stress. Muscle tightness or weaknesses in your calves can also put you at risk of plantar fasciitis. Symptoms typically include:

• Pain under your heel or midfoot
• Pain that develops gradually
• A cold, burning or tingling sensation on the bottom of your foot

7. Stress fractures

Stress fracture’s for runners can occur in a few places, due to repetitive stress or impact. It’s a hairline crack that forms in your bone, more commonly at the top of the foot, or in the heel or lower leg.

An X-ray is needed for them to diagnose a stress fracture so best head to the doctors 🙂

This injury can be pretty serious, putting you out for 8 weeks, requiring the use of crutches and/or a cast!

8. Ankle sprain

Ankle sprains often happen when you land on the outer part of your foot and roll your ankle over. You’re more likely to feel this one straight away! Watch out for pain, swelling, bruising and a limited range of motion! You most likely will need to do the walk of shame home or ring for a pick-up 😎.

Ankle sprains usually improve with rest, self-care, or physical therapy.

Other common running injuries

I could go on for longer but here’s some others to watch out for 😀

• Ingrowing toenails
• Bursitis
• Meniscal tear
• Anterior compartment syndrome.
• Calf strain.

Treatment options for common running injuries

Always take caution if you experience any pain or discomfort during or after a run.

It’s well worth reflecting on your training, have you increased your mileage too quickly or pushed your body too much recently?

It’s well worth getting a second opinion if it’s painful to run or walk, so you can apply the most appropriate course of action. Remember, you want to come back stronger! 💪

Finally, there is a lot of advice out there so do your research!

From reducing mileage, stretching more, applying RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation), taking anti-inflammatories and/or seeking support from a physiotherapist.

The post What are the most common running injuries? appeared first on Run Tall.

If you’ve experienced a sharp, stabbing pain in your hamstring then take caution and take some advice before you try to run through it. Do you try to run through it? Take caution as you may make things worse and end up with a more serious injury for longer.

This injury may come as a blow to your training and the mental impact of time out will be more than you realise. If so, read my post on coping with an injury from a mental health point of view.

What is that sharp hamstring pain?

Firstly, I’m not a medical professional so I’m only giving advice from a high-level point of view. I recommend you seek professional advice for any rehabilitation that can be tailored to your specific injury.

The sharp pain in your hamstring. The hamstring is made up of 3 main muscles and not surprisingly can take a lot of load throughout the day. When you’re running, walking, sitting down so your hamstrings are continually overworked and overloaded. A pull happens when you force or stretch a muscle too far or too fast, and in the hamstring’s case the severity is graded as follows:

• Grade I: a mild muscle strain. Recommended recovery is days to 3 weeks.
• Grade II: a partial muscle tear.
• Grade III: a complete muscle tear or tear of an attachment – may take weeks or months to heal.

Rehabilitation

As above, you should seek professional advice to accurately assess the extent of your hamstring strain. A few tips you should immediately follow though:

• Do not stretch your affected hamstring, this will only make it worse.
• This includes foam rolling, do not do this either.
• Apply ice to the affected area (bag of peas) and put your feet up 😀 10-15 minutes every hour for the firs day.
• Advice is varied on if you should take anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen) so take caution – I do.
• Book in with your chiropractor if you have one. Research and ask for recommendations if you don’t.
• Rest for at least a day, and try not to use it until the pain has gone away.
• Once the pain has done/lessened, the general recommendation is to gently stretch the muscle. Stop if you feel any pain though.
• When you can stretch pain-free then look to do a short 1-minute run, build from there.

One great piece of advice would be to review your training and habits. Try to identify the reason for your injury. Did you run too far for your current fitness? Or have you been pushing the pace too much? Do you warm-up and or stretch regularly? If you can reflect and identify factors leading to your injury it will help when you’re back fit and running 😀

So I can’t run, what can I do?!

If the hamstring pain is too much to run on, try one that will put less stress on your hamstrings. Walking, cycling and swimming are low-impact exercises that will keep you in shape as you recover. This is all in context to your specific injury so find what works for you. Unless you prefer the sedentary lifestyle then relax 😂

Hamstring pain re-Injury rate

Be careful with those hamstrings! Over 60% of runners that strain their hamstring will injure it again within a year. That means more hamstring pain and more time away from running 🙁 My advice, build in a maintenance and stretching routine to help strengthen the surrounding muscles like your hips, glutes, and abs to prevent future strains. If you’re unsure where to start, speak with a chiropractor or running coach or may be able to identify weaknesses to focus on.

For some basic injury prevention advice, see my post on good practices :-)

Remember, don’t let the injury get you down! Plan to come back stronger and take lessons from it 😎

The post Sharp hamstring pain when running appeared first on Run Tall.

Like most runners, I’ve had my fair share of running injuries over the years. These always follow a similar pattern of pushing too hard, not getting my body recover and over-training. In recent years I’ve experienced Achilles pulls, knee pain, plantar fasciitis, sciatic nerve pain and hamstring strain.

You would think I was wise to the signs to look our for now and take adequate measures but No! My mind overrules by body in wanting to push in search of performance gains. That being said, I have learnt to look after myself more through stretching, yoga and foam rolling through daily habits to keep flexible :-).

If any of the above sound familiars then like you are part of the majority every year that gets injured through running. Yale Medicine states that 50% of runners get injured each year although many other sources cite higher up to 80%! Runners are a stubborn bunch so the key is to look for the signs and plan accordingly, you may be best skipping a run if it prevents you needing to take 3 weeks off because you made it worse.

Before I share my advice I want to clarity I’m not a coaching or medical professional. I have gone through this time and time again so if anything if helping myself document the recovery, rehabilitation and rebuild process.

Stages of running injury grief

The stages of grief model can be applied to almost anything in life, from copying with death to being told a deadline will be missed in work. I find it helps put things in context, allowing you to move forward quickly into acceptance and problem solving phases.

I’m not going to talk through each stage as they are self explanatory. Relate the model to the last time you experienced disappointment, can you relate? As I write this, experiencing a hamstring strain I’m at stage 5 to find talking/writing about it helps :-).

What you can do?

Let’s move through stages 3, 4 and 5 quickly. You need to accept your injured and move forwards. This is all in context to the injury, how severe is your strain, pull, etc? Can you walk comfortably? You need to establish what movements aggravate the injury. For example, you may feel an Achilles pull walking up the stairs. Alternatively, you may feel sciatic nerve pain when sitting at a desk.

Be proactive in establishing the specifics of your injury. Research and seek professional advice if you are unsure as this will allow you to plan and move into problem-solving mode. A future plan may include a strengthening programme or a period of cross-training until you can restart running. This is about ensuring you have the right environment and support in place to come back stronger.

Cross-Training

Does your rehabilitation plan include cross-training? This is all in context to your running injury but this can be a great way to refocus your mind. Perhaps use the time to focus on your swimming technique or explore new areas on your bike.

Keep in mind your running injury and avoid aggravating it. Perhaps consider easier forms of exercise such as walking before building up to more intense cardio so you can ease your body back in. You want to cover and come back strong rather than delay your recovery further.

Planning for the future

Have a goal and plan then work against it. Base your day to day decisions on that goal to ensure you’re making the right decisions in your rehabilitation. Be aware of slowing down your recovery by being stubborn, exercise can be a drug it’s hard to step away from.

Before careful of an injury relapse by coming back too soon. 33% off runners who come back too quick and push too soon will relapse, take it easy especially on your first few weeks back. You need to let your body heal.

As I’ve said in this post, look to work with a physio and/or coach who can work with you during your rehabilitation and beyond. They are likely to be more knowledgeable and hold you to account. You know your body best though so know what signs to look out for :-).

One took I recommend, keep a diary. Write down how each run feels so you’re really reflecting on your training and questioning yourself.

The grief of a running injury may not be easy and may take time so surround yourself with knowledge and the best people to bring you back stronger, physically and mentally.

The post Coping with a running injury appeared first on Run Tall.

Whilst I don’t want to be a fun sponge, if you are neglecting self-care between runs you may be asking for a running injury! This is particularly relevant if you’re focused on building up to an event (i.e. marathon) or incorporating faster running into your schedule.

I’ve learnt the hard way after years of neglect, finding myself injured month after month. Making the same mistake of bouncing from one run to the next tight and locked-up. Finishing a long run then sitting for 8 hours at a desk!

Sound familiar? I’m not alone and according to Yale Medicine, 50% of runners get injured each year although many other sources cite higher up to 80%! I believe knowledge is power so keen to share my advice for looking after yourself, preventing injury and possible time on the sidelines.

What do runners get injured so much?

With so many runners getting injured every year surely education and awareness of self-care good practice is key. Despite the advancement in food, drink and technology which promise to prevent illness and injury runners keep getting injured, making the same mistakes as their predecessors. Not surprisingly, the most common injuries relate to your knees, legs, and feet. From my research there are three reasons why runners get injured:

• Structural Imbalances. This includes having one leg shorter than another, biomechanical issues, or having weakness/imbalance in muscles.
• Volume and Speed. When an individual goes too far or too far before their body is ready to handle. I’ve read this best summarised as “Metabolic changes vs. Structural Changes”.
• A Slip, Trip or a Fall. Whilst the other two are primarily the reason for self-care, I didn’t want to neglect that getting injured whilst out running can lead to issues where remedial is required.

What can I do to prevent running injury?

I highly recommend building in daily stretching habits to keep soreness at bay and injury creeping in. It doesn’t take very long to find advice on stretching and yoga for runners. For me though, it’s about finding a hook and building positive self-care habits. If you keeping forgetting to or your days pass by in a blink you may want to do read up on ways to make a habit. I highly recommended Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.

By searching YouTube you can easily find an array of stretching, foam rolling and yoga videos. I recommend looking for ‘follow along‘ videos so you can take your time and understand the correct way to hold a stretch. See the bottom of this post for my recommendations.

Remember, if you experience any kind of pain or discomfort when running, it’s best to perform a retrospective. When did you last run? Have you been increasing the distance and speed recently? Have you been stretching regularly? If the injury is preventing you from running I recommend seeing a chiropractor and getting a sports massage. At least to getting a second opinion to better understand remedial action(s).

If you do experience discomfort either during or after a run then I recommend immediately following the RICE protocol (Rest, Ice, Compressions, Elevate). Anti-inflammatory drug (like Ibuprofen) along with targeted exercises can also help you recover from many common running injuries, but take caution depending on the type of injury.

And don’t forget, cutting back on how often and how far you run will help you recover faster.

Minimise your risk of a running injury with these tips

Here are my recommendations for keeping injury free:

1. Warm-up before runs. Before you start running, perform a set of stretches and mobility stretches for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Watch your running volume. Follow the 10% rule, so don’t increase your long run or weekly volume by more than 10% at a time.
3. Watch out for small niggles. Rest or attend to minor niggles so they don’t develop into a more serious injury. Seek professional advice if you are unsure remedial action.
4. Work on your running form. Poor running technique can increase the amount of stress on your body. Research good running technique and practice. I find filming yourself gives greater awareness of any poor form. In addition, tools such as a heart rate monitor can provide running dynamics feedback (i.e. velocity/balance).
5. Core strengthening. Build stability exercise routines into your week (i.e. planks, glute bridges or single-leg squats).
6. Cross Train. Adding some low impact workouts into your week such as cycling or swimming can help improve your aerobic fitness whilst giving your joints a break!

Can you recommend any stretching videos?

Well, yes I can – this is my go to which I revisit every month or so to check-in on my mobility.

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