Chiropractic Care for Runners: Managing Running-Related Pain and Injury
Whether you’re training for your first fun run or chasing a personal best along the Charlestown foreshore, running puts real repetitive load through your lower back, hips, knees and feet. Dr. Adam Arnold sees many runners from around Charlestown and Lake Macquarie at Be Amazing Chiropractic, and the story is often similar — niggling pain that shows up after a jump in training load and doesn’t settle on its own.
How Common Are Running Injuries, and What Causes Them?
Better Health Channel notes that about one in every three recreational runners will experience a running-related injury at some stage, with around three-quarters of running injuries affecting the lower leg — the knee, ankle, shin and foot. The leading risk factor named is overtraining: running at a higher intensity or further than your current fitness level supports, too soon. Poor running technique, inappropriate footwear, and training on hard surfaces like concrete and bitumen are also named as contributing factors.
Common Pain Patterns We See in Runners
At Be Amazing Chiropractic, runners tend to describe a familiar handful of patterns: lower back tightness that builds during longer runs, hip or knee pain that appears after increasing weekly distance too quickly, and shin or foot discomfort from training surface or footwear. Some notice it building gradually over a training block, while others feel it appear suddenly after one particularly hard or hilly session.
How Chiropractic Care Can Support Your Training
Dr. Adam Arnold brings more than 30 years of Australian clinical chiropractic experience to assessing runners, combining Traditional Chiropractic Care with Zone Technique and Quantum Neurology to look at how your spine, hips, knees and nervous system are coping with the repetitive impact of running — not just the spot that’s sore. An assessment covers your training history, including recent changes in distance or intensity, and a hands-on examination, before discussing an approach that may include manual treatment and practical guidance on training load and recovery. As with any care, results vary from person to person and outcomes can’t be guaranteed — the goal is to help you understand what’s going on and manage it sensibly alongside your training, not to promise a fix.
Staying Injury-Free: A Few Practical Habits
Better Health Channel recommends warming up with slow, dynamic stretches before running, building up fitness gradually over several months rather than weeks, running on clear, smooth and reasonably soft surfaces where possible, and getting properly fitted running shoes rather than general trainers. Strength exercises for the lower leg muscles and allowing adequate recovery time and sleep between hard sessions are also worth building into a training plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is some pain just part of being a runner?
Mild muscle fatigue after a hard session is normal, but persistent or worsening pain isn’t something to run through indefinitely. Given how common running injuries are, getting niggles assessed early is generally far easier than managing an injury that’s become chronic.
Could I be training too hard, too soon?
Overtraining is the single most commonly named risk factor for running injuries, so a sudden increase in distance or intensity is always worth looking at alongside any new pain.
Can chiropractic care help with running technique?
An assessment can look at how your spine, hips and knees are functioning and offer guidance alongside manual care, though specific technique coaching is best combined with input from a running coach or physiotherapist where relevant.
Will chiropractic care fix my pain permanently?
No one can promise that, and Dr. Arnold won’t. What an assessment can offer is a clearer picture of what’s contributing to your symptoms and a sensible plan for managing them going forward.
Do I need new running shoes if I have pain?
Footwear is one named contributing factor among several, so it’s worth reviewing, but it’s rarely the whole story. An assessment can help identify whether footwear, training load, technique or a combination is driving your particular symptoms.
If running has left you with lower back, hip or knee pain you’ve been pushing through, book a $99 New Patient assessment with Be Amazing Chiropractic in Charlestown and get a clear picture of what’s going on.
Related reading: What Causes Sciatica, and When Should You See a Chiropractor? and Find a Gentle Chiropractor in Charlestown: A Patient’s Guide
