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Taking some action to get the healing started and then treating it will build confidence, produce positive attitude peptides, and mobilize your body, mind, and spirit for healing. Believing in the treatment will also help.

Note: For more information, see Running Injuries: Treatment and Prevention by Hannaford and Galloway, available at www.jeffgalloway.com.

Most knee problems will go away if you take five days off. Ask your doctor if you can use anti-inflammatory medication. Try to figure out what caused the knee problem. Make sure that your running courses don’t have a slant or canter. Look at the most worn pair of shoes you have, even walking shoes. If there is wear on the inside of the forefoot, you probably overpronate. If you have repeat issues with knee pain, you may need a foot support or orthotic. If there is pain under the kneecap or arthritis, glucosamine/chondroitin products may help. The best I’ve found in this category is Joint Maintenance Product by Cooper Complete.

This band of fascia acts as a tendon going down the outside of the leg from the hip to just below the knee. The pain is most commonly felt on the outside of the knee but can be felt anywhere along the IT band. I believe this to be a “wobble injury.” When the running muscles get tired, they don’t keep you on a straight running track. The IT band tries to restrain the wobbling motion, but it cannot and gets overused. Most of the feedback I receive from runners and doctors is that once the healing has started (usually a few days off from running), most runners will heal as fast when you run on it as from a complete layoff. It is crucial to stay below the threshold of further irritation. Stay in touch with your doctor.

Self-massage using a foam roller — This device has helped thousands of runners get over IT band pain. See my website www.jeffgalloway.com for instruction on using a foam roller. Put the roller on the floor. Lie on it using body weight to press and roll the area that is sore. It helps to warm up the area before a run and to roll it out afterward. Especially helpful is to roll it five minutes before bed.
Massage therapy — A good massage therapist can tell whether massage will help and where to massage. The two areas for possible attention are the connecting points of the connective tissue that is tight and the fascia band itself in several places. The stick is a self-massage roller device that has also helped many runners recover from IT band pain as they run. As with the foam roller, it helps to warm up the area before a run and to roll it out afterward.
Walking is usually fine, and usually you can find a run-walk ratio that works.
Direct ice massage on the area of pain — Do 15 minutes of continuous rubbing every night.
Stretching — Stretch during a run if the IT band tightens up. There are several stretches that have worked for this injury.

Almost always, pain in this area indicates a minor irritation called shin splints that allows running and walking as you heal. The greatest pain or irritation during injury is usually felt during the start of a run or walk, which gradually lessens or goes away as you run and walk. It takes a while to fully heal, so you must have patience as you stay below the threshold of further irritation.

Inside pain — Irritation of the inside of the leg coming up from the ankle is called posterior tibial shin splints and is often due to over pronation of the foot (foot rolls in at push-off).
Front of shin — When the pain is in the muscle on the front of the lower leg it is anterior tibial shin splints. This is very often due to having too long a stride when running and especially when walking. Downhill terrain should be avoided as much as possible during the healing.
Stress fracture — If the pain is in a very specific place and increases as you run, it could be a more serious problem: a stress fracture. This is unusual for beginning runners, but characteristic of those who do too much too soon. It can also indicate low bone density. If you even suspect a stress fracture, do not run or do anything stressful on the leg and see a doctor. Stress fractures take weeks of no running, usually wearing a cast. They may also indicate a calcium deficiency.

The most effective treatment is putting your foot in a supportive shoe before your first step in the morning.

This very common injury (pain on the inside or center of the heel) is felt when you first walk on the foot in the morning. As you get warmed up, it gradually goes away, only to return the next morning. The most important treatment is to put your foot in a supportive shoe before you step out of bed. Be sure to get a shoe check at a technical running store to make sure that you have the right shoe for your foot. This is another injury that allows for running as you heal, but stay in touch with your doctor.

If the pain is felt during the day and is noticeable, you should consult with a podiatrist. Usually the doctor will construct a foot support that will surround your arch and heel. This does not always need to be a hard orthotic and is usually a softer one designed for your foot with build-ups in the right places.

The toe squincher exercise can help develop foot strength that will give support to the foot. It takes several weeks for this to take effect. The squincher is done by pointing your foot down and contracting the muscles in the foot similar to making a hard fist with your hand.

The Achilles tendon is the narrow band of tendon rising up from the heel and connecting to the calf muscle. It is part of a very efficient mechanical system, acting like a strong rubber band to leverage a lot of work out of the foot with a little effort from the calf muscle. It is usually injured due to excessive stretching, either through running or through stretching exercises. First, avoid any activity that stretches the tendon in any way. It helps to add a small heel lift to all shoes, which reduces the range of motion. Every night, rub a chunk of ice directly on the tendon. Keep rubbing for about 15 minutes until the tendon gets numb. Bags of ice or frozen gels don’t do any good at all in my opinion. Usually after three to five days off from running, the icing takes hold and gets the injury in a healing mode. Anti-inflammatory medication very rarely helps with the Achilles tendon, according to experts.

There are a variety of elements that could be aggravated in the hip area. Since the hips are not prime movers in running, they are usually abused when you continue to push on when very fatigued. The hips try to do the work of the leg muscles but are not designed for this. Ask your doctor about prescription strength anti-inflammatory medication, as this can often speed up recovery. Avoid stretching and any activity that aggravates the area.

The calf is the most important muscle for running. It is often irritated by speedwork and can be pushed into injury by stretching, running too fast when tired, too many speed sessions without adequate rest between, and sprinting at the end of races or workouts. Bouncing too high and running a lot of hills can also trigger this injury.

Deep-tissue massage has been the best treatment for most calf muscle problems. Try to find a very experienced massage therapist who has helped lots of runners with calf problems. This can be painful but is about the only way to remove some bio-damage in the muscle. The stick can be very beneficial for working damage out of the calf muscle on a daily basis (see my website, www.jeffgalloway.com, for more information on this product).

Don’t stretch! Stretching will tear the muscle fibers that are trying to heal. Avoid running hills and take very frequent walk breaks as you return to running.

25 TREATMENT SUGGESTIONS FROM ONE RUNNER TO ANOTHER