Running has been a popular sport since the 1970’s. Because of the climate in Las Vegas, many people enjoy running year round. What are some common injuries that runners sustain?
Most of the injuries that runners sustain are due to the chronic impact of the lower extremities, ie: the feet, shins, and knees. The common injuries to the feet involve fractures, stress fractures, tendonitis, and plantar fasciitis. The common injuries to the shins involve shin splints and tibial stress fractures. The knees can present with pain to the kneecap or to the actual joint itself.
What is the difference between a fracture and a break?
The term fracture is the medical term for a broken bone. The meaning is the same, and the words are used interchangeably.
What is the difference between a fracture and a stress fracture?
A fracture is caused when a bone is overloaded by some outside stress. Usually this outside stress is an acute twist or impact of the bone. A stress fracture occurs when the bone is overloaded over time. Initially, the bone tries to adapt to increases in stress by laying down more bone. However, if the impact, or stress is more than what the bone can keep up with, eventually the bone starts to develop microfractures. This causes pain. Pain is a signal to the body to stop or back off from the activity that is being performed. If the athlete does not listen to their body and continues to impact the bone, eventually the bone can completely fracture.
The plantar fascia is a band of tissue that is on the plantar aspect (or bottom) of the foot. It begins at the heel bone (calcaneus) and attaches to the toes. It acts to support the tendons and the arch of the foot. With overuse, the tissue can become inflamed and tight. This disorder is very common in runners and can be tough to treat in active people.
You mention the arch of the foot. Are people affected differently if they have flat feet vs. a high arch?
If the arch of the foot has flattened out (flat foot), the impact of running is increased in the foot because the shock absorption that the arch provides is not present. The foot becomes floppy, and without the shock absorption that the arch provides, the first and second toes take on a lot more of the impact load. This can lead to stress fractures in the toes. If the arch of the foot is too high, the foot becomes rigid. The impact load then travels up the leg to the shins (tibia), knees, or hips. Occasionally, even the low back takes on some of the load.
What is the difference between shin splints and a stress fracture?
The term shin splints is also known as medial tibial stress syndrome. As the name implies, there is stress to the medial or inside aspect of the tibia (shin bone). The stress does not refer to the bone itself; however, but to the muscles that attach to the tibia. A stress fracture, as detailed above, is an actual defect in the bone itself.
You mentioned above that runners could injure their knees. Can you expound on that?
Runners do not often twist or hyperextend their knees during their activity like football or soccer players do. Running is a straight ahead, impact type of sport. Most of the problems; therefore, have to do with degenerative disorders. The shock absorbers in the knee called the meniscus can become thinned and lead to degenerative tears. This can lead to swelling in the knees. Occasionally, the undersurface of the kneecap, or patella, can become inflamed as well. Exercises for the quadriceps can help pain in this area.
It seems like there are a lot of disorders that can happen with running. Do you recommend against running as an activity?
No. Many people love to run, and simply, cannot function without their daily run. I think that if someone is having constant pain with their activity, they should see their sports physician, because it could be the start of something significant, as described above. There is another population of people that run because they think that they have to run in order to “get in shape” or lose weight. Those people need to know that there are other activities that can provide aerobic benefits without the constant impact to the lower extremities.
- Jason M. Tarno, D.O., is Board Certified and Fellowship trained in Sports Medicine. Dr. Tarno is an associate of Crovetti Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine.For further information call: 990-2290.
Or visit us at: www.CrovettiOrtho.com
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