Running injury mythbusting
Straight answers to the questions I get asked every week — including the ones where the honest answer is “we don’t really know”.
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What is a virtual assessment, and what are the benefits?
A virtual assessment is a proper 1-2-1 look at your injury and training over video, from wherever you are. Here’s what it involves, what it does well, and where its limits are.
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Why am I getting a running injury?
It’s rarely bad luck. Here’s what the evidence actually says predicts a new running injury — and how to check your own pattern this week.
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What can I do whilst I’m injured?
Far more than you think. Being injured is almost never a choice between running and doing nothing — here’s how to use the time so you come back fitter and better informed.
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Can I run with an injury?
For most runners, most of the time, yes — just not the run you had planned. Here’s how to judge how much running is safe, and the signs that mean stop.
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What causes a running injury?
Usually it’s load — too much, too soon, without enough recovery. Here’s how running injuries actually build, and what to look at first.
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Should I be stretching?
Do what you enjoy. The evidence for stretching is thin — but so is the evidence against it. Here’s a better use of the same twenty minutes.
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Have I damaged my body?
Almost certainly not. Pain is very rarely a measure of damage — and understanding the difference changes how you recover.
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Will running wreck my knees?
No. The evidence points the other way — running appears to support joint health rather than harm it. Here’s what’s actually going on.
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Are my running shoes causing my injury?
Almost certainly not. It’s the first thing runners blame and very rarely the culprit — here’s where to look instead.
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Should you be stretching?
Do what you enjoy. The evidence that stretching prevents running injuries is weak — but so is the evidence against it. The more useful question is what else you’d do with those twenty minutes.
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Does pain mean you’ve damaged something?
Almost certainly not. Pain is very rarely a measure of damage — it’s a signal that an area has become sensitive. Here’s what to do instead of searching at 2am.
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Will running wreck your knees?
No. When the studies were pooled, recreational runners had less hip and knee arthritis than people who don’t run at all — 3.5% against 10.2%.
Got a question I haven’t answered?
Run happy and injury free.