3 Common Overuse Injuries
Ever heard of the term prehab? It’s one of THE MOST important training elements for runners. Prehab is preventative rehabilitation. In simple terms: rehab fixes an injury, and prehab prevents an injury.
Running loads the same joints, tendons, and muscles thousands of times per run.Working in different planes of motion, training supporting muscles, and improving proprioception and stability all falls under prehab exercises.
4 Reasons why prehab works:
Increases tissue tolerance (muscles, tendons, joints)
Reduces overuse injuries
Improves performance efficiency
Keeps training consistent (less downtime)
3 Common overuse injuries:
1. Runner’s Knee: (patellofemoral pain), the best prehab isn’t random band work, rest, or stretching, it's about improving load tolerance + control up and down the chain to help support the bones, ligaments, and joints in your knees.
Muscles to work: glute medius and quads
Exercises to incorporate: unilateral abduction, reverse nordics, leg raises.
2. IT Band Syndrome: a common overuse injury where the iliotibial band, a thick band of connective tissue on the outside of your thigh, becomes irritated near the outside of the knee. And while the IT band doesn’t “stretch,” you can release it and strengthen the muscles around it to prevent it from overworking.
Muscles to work: glute medius, quads, and hip joint mobility
Exercises to incorporate: IT band bend and flex on the bottom insertion (outside of your knee), cossack squats, 90/90 hip leg lifts.
3. Shin Splints: the common name for medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS), an overuse injury that causes pain along the inner edge of the shin bone (tibia).
Muscles to work: Posterior tibialis, anterior tibialis, and soleus.
Exercises to incorporate: posterior tibialis calf raises (with lacrosse ball), wall toe lifts (anterior tibialis), and isometric calf raise hold.
Download the Movement & Miles app for step-by-step guidance, prehab programs modifications, and guided strength training workouts. M/M’s workouts make it easy to incorporate these exercises into your routine and prevent common overuse injuries.
Try these programs: Total Package Prehab, Prehab: Knee/ITBS + Mobility, or Trail/Road Running Prehab Essentials
