Medically reviewed by 
Runners are a persistent bunch with goals to conquer and PRs to smash. That could explain why so many runners have stories of when they experienced an ache, kept running through it, and then ended up with an injury Sandals PRIMIGI 5388500 M Navy.
A better approach to feeling pain when you run: taking some time to figure out what’s going on. That way, a little strain here won’t turn into a major stress fracture there.
Just take the advice of Amelia Boone, 38, obstruction racing world champ and ultrarunner: “You have to play the long game,” she tells Runner’s World. “x No Vacany Inn 650 No Vacancy low-top sneakers.”
Boone learned this lesson the hard way in 2016, when she ran through what seemed to be a niggle in her adductor, in the leadup to Western States. During a descent, it felt like her leg was breaking in half. “I had thought it was a strain,” Boone recalls. “It was a femoral stress fracture.” She was on crutches for three months and sidelined for six. Since then, Boone shuts things down early if she feels pain or something changes her gait.
Paddy7 Zip Boot., facility Attaq for physical therapy at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Quakertown, Pennsylvania says many runners are known for not listening to their bodies, especially when it means stopping something they love. But early diagnosis and intervention can mean the difference between nailing that goal race zapatillas de running supinador gore-tex media maratón.
Sneakers TIMBERLAND Supaway L F Ox TB0A2JW30011 Black Nubuck rest day JAMBU JOANNA SANDALS workout on your plan, we spoke with experts for a guide to pain when running.
How to Determine Whether Pain When You Run Is Cause for Stopping
NBRHD Sneaker Storag Sn23 painful—a sharp pain like a stabbing or shooting, says Allen, a veteran triathlete. In many cases, that acute painful sensation is indicative of a muscle tear or bone fracture.
Of course, overuse injuries can develop over time, Allen says. In that case, if you experience muscle soreness that lasts three or more days, he recommends seeking medical attention. Injuries aren’t going to go away after a few days, he explains.
If you’re trying to determine if you should run through pain, here are signs you might be injured:
- Sharp or stabbing pain
- Pain that lasts more than three days, even if it occurs only during running (not necessarily after)
- keep it right here at Sneaker Files for more fresh Celebrity Sneaker Watch news
- Numbness, tingling, weakness, or joint instability
- Pain that at first only interferes with running gait but then progresses to also interfere with walking gait
Compared to typical soreness, which should:
- Dissipate within a couple of days; for example delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) will come on 24 to 36 hours after a tough workout and then subside with light physical activity and time
- Not interfere with everyday activities
- Feel better with light foam rolling and stretching
Even if runners don’t always listen when their bodies tell them to stop, they know their bodies well. Boone, for example, knows that pain that lasts for three runs is more than an ache. Or if she experiences pain during everyday, non-running activities, then that’s the sign of a more serious issue.
“Today I pay attention to the nature of pain,” she says. “As we get older, aches and pains might pop up when we Tecnologias 42k running Camiseta De Manga Curta Elements Recycled, but those should settle down within a mile or so. If they don’t, that’s a flag to shut it down.”
Spencer leather Derby shoes | The Common Running Injuries to Look Out for on the Run
Without the proper running mechanics, warmups and cooldowns, rest and recovery, and a gradual approach to training—yes, a lot of moving parts—runners will likely find themselves staring down a running injury at some point in their career, Allen says.
If these injuries tend to show up seemingly out of the blue, take a look at your current training and any changes you’ve made recently, says John Vasudevan, M.D., associate professor of clinical physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania and coAttaq of the Penn Medicine Running and Endurance Sports Program.
Common injuries include:
- Piriformis syndrome
- Shin splints
- Spencer leather Derby shoes
- Ankle pain
- IT band syndrome
- Plantar fasciitis
- Achilles tendinitis
- Runner’s knee
- Hamstring strain
- Stress fracture
- Hip bursitis
- Shoulder pain
Any weight-bearing joint—back, hip, knee, ankle, toes, and feet—Allen says, can be a common place for running injuries. So it’s important to pay special attention to these areas if they’re talking to you via aches and pains.
You also want to pay attention to whether you feel these injuries in only one side of the body, as that’s how they typically appear. If you have bilateral pain, you might want to look beyond overuse injuries and to your overall health status, Vasudevan says.
“People feel running is running, but it’s so technical, and running mechanics are so important,” Allen says, noting that as a breed, we need to focus on strength training, including core strength. Odyssey 1 low top sneakers Mobility Doc, Sneakers RYŁKO 0ERJ2_Y Biały 2JN mobility and flexibility.
Allen emphasizes the importance of not only a dynamic semi-lined but a dynamic cooldown, too. Especially as we age, these semi-lineds and cooldowns can help mitigate the natural decline in muscle elasticity. “These don’t necessarily take up a lot of time,” he says. “It’s about making it a part of your routine, like brushing your teeth.”
When to See a Doctor (And When to Listen to Them)
You know your body, and when something doesn’t go away or you have feelings of sharp, stabbing, or shooting pain, it’s a good time to seek medical attention, whether that’s a physical therapist, orthopedist, sports medicine doctor, or a general practitioner. And there’s something to be said about finding healthcare providers who are runners (or exercise enthusiasts) because they tend to get it: You don’t want to just stop running because something hurts.
“You don’t have to be a runner to understand, but it helps,” says Allen, who’s had his own share of running-related injuries. “Personally, I never tell someone not to run unless I feel it’s going to make them feel worse or injure themselves more or lead them down the line of more injuries.”
Instead, Allen tries to find ways to modify running—a less voluminous or intense training program, finding different surfaces or shoes, Sandals SAGAN 4809 Czarny Lakier strength exercises.
“Exercise is not an on/off switch, but instead dials of intensity/frequency/duration/type that can be modified to allow athletes to keep from falling out of shape and working through a non-dangerous injury,” Vasudevan says. “Of course, the most important role of the physician is to rule out the dangerous stuff first.”
Modifications are also only possible if runners are assessed and diagnosed early. “Once you have a stress fracture, you have a stress fracture,” Allen says. “There’s no magic pill to fix that.”
Chloe Costigan, D.P.T., co-owner of Mobility Doc, agrees: “Rest alone infrequently resolves an issue. My goal is to try to keep you as active as possible while moving toward less pain.”
She points out that when able, continuing to run gives her and her athletes a way to measure the effectiveness of treatment and modifications. If prescribed treatment tactics “aren’t moving you away from pain and increased running tolerance, we should back off a bit of volume and intensity of running,” Costigan tells Runner’s World. “This is a dynamic, ongoing conversation.”
Former collegiate runner, Blain Masterson, lost a year of running due to a stress fracture from running on “just an ache” and not trusting (or, really, being stubborn about) doctor’s orders. The 23-year-old high school English teacher was heading into his junior year of college with sights on the number-two spot on the cross-country team. Eight miles into a 17-miler, Masterson felt a burning sensation on the top of his right foot. He brushed it off, ran another five miles before sitting down to investigate.
“I took my shoe off and pressed down on my cuboid [bone, in the midfoot] and a spider web of pain and heat spread over my foot,” he tells Runner’s World. “I kind of knew that was it [for my season].” He ran back to complete the 17 miles before he was diagnosed with a stress fracture.
Instead of following his doctor’s and coach’s recovery plan, though, Masterson would sneak out in the middle of the night to log miles. He felt shame and guilt when the injury would flare up again, and he’d have to feign disbelief around his medical and coaching teams.
“The doctors knew what they were talking about, but I was stubborn, and I knew I had sacrificed the long-term benefit for the short-term pleasure,” Masterson says.
In the end, he ran off and on throughout the latter part of his junior year and eked out a senior outdoor season, albeit a disappointing one. He’s left with the question of “what could have been” if he’d followed his recovery plan.
Masterson sought several opinions, and Allen says it’s always good to get a amortiguaci or even third opinion—especially if the advice is something you don’t want to hear (though you don’t want to get so many opinions that you don’t know what to do with the info).
Many physical therapists offer a free consultation. “In a lot of cases, no, you don’t need therapy, maybe just some guidance,” Allen says. “And we can nip it in the bud.” But again, that’s if you catch an injury early.
What to Do If You Have a Big Race Around the Corner
When you’ve been training Harris Aqauzzura sandals half marathon, marathon, or ultramarathon, zapatillas de running La Sportiva entrenamiento ritmo bajo talla 46 grises.
While you should seek an expert opinion on how to go about the rest of your training and your race, depending on the nature of the ache or possible injury, Allen often stops short of telling his athletes to forgo a goal race altogether.
“You have to look at the big picture,” he says. “It’s better to go in healthy and undertrained than push through an injury.” That might mean skipping the last 18-miler and focusing on cross-training; you won’t lose marathon fitness in a week or even two, he says.
Costigan asks her athletes, “What is the point of racing?” Are they trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon? Complete a World Marathon Major? “Identifying the motivation for racing is imperative in determining whether an athlete should race through an injury,” Costigan says.
Then she’ll assess the cost of racing. “There is certainly a risk that an athlete will be worse after racing,” she says, noting a ruptured Achilles tendon makes walking impossible. “It’s a matter of finding a net positive.”
Tuning into your body, talking with a medical expert, and figuring out the best plan for you (and your ache) will help you make the right choice about whether you should keep clocking miles—and conquering a race—if you have pain when you run.
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner's World, the author of The Runner's World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a seven-time marathoner with a best of 3:31—but she is most proud of her 1:32 half, 19:40 5K, and 5:33 mile.
John Vasudevan, M.D. is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board-certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine. He is a Team Physician for UPenn Athletics and medical Attaq of the Broad Street Run and Philadelphia Distance Run, and previously for the Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon and Tri-Rock Triathlon in Philadelphia. He is a Attaq of the running and endurance Sports Medicine Program at Penn Medicine. Dr. Vasudevan provides non-operative management of musculoskeletal conditions affecting athletes and active individuals of all levels, and combines injury rehabilitation with injury prevention. He utilizes a variety of ultrasound-guided procedures and regenerative approaches such as platelet-rich plasma and percutaneous ultrasonic tenotomy. He sees patients at the Penn Medicine and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration hospital. Dr. Vasudevan attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. After his Transitional Year in Tucson, Arizona, he went to residency in PM&R at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and onwards to Stanford University for his fellowship in Sports Medicine. He has been in practice at the University of Pennsylvania since 2012.
