Diagnosing and treating leg injuries in Runner’s
So Abi, who we discussed a couple of weeks ago also came to me approximately 8 weeks back, with an ongoing pain behind her right knee when running. Abi has a good coach, Joshua Schofield, who has been working with Abi getting her up to speed to do a PB in her next marathon.
Everything was going well except this niggly pain behind Abi’s right knee which would get progressively worse the longer she ran. Joshua sent me some video’s so I could assess Abi’s running style. I have included one of the video’s with Abi’s permission, to highlight the issue I identified.
Joshua had all bases covered with Abi doing some running and a lot of strength training, so she was strong through the core and buttocks. Despite being very strong she appeared to sit back in her stance towards the end of a long run which suggested loss of pelvic control due to core exhaustion.
When I brought Abi in and assessed her however, the issue was her right hamstring insertion, not her knee and the cause of her sitting down in her stance was as the hamstring became sorer, she was unable to extend through her right knee before heel strike so to be able to get her foot to the floor she was dropping her pelvis.
We could not afford for Abi to stop her training so we treated the hamstring, inhibited the hamstring that was injured with K tape and most importantly explained to Abi in clear language what the problem was.
Subsequently Abi was able to continue training, including running, monitor her right knee extension and override her subconscious when needed to maintain correct knee extension before heel strike subsequently stopping the sitting back in her stance towards the end of a long run.
Thankfully this has enabled Abi to get back to her full schedule without losing time and remains on schedule for a PB in her next marathon.
If you are a runner, walker or a hiker and you have a niggle that effects your performance we might be able to help.
Happy New Year to you all, lets make 2026 a year to remember!!
