foam rolling, stretching, strengthening making me MORE injured?

thank you! for my ankle issues, i tried rolling with a lacrosse ball like you said, but it didn’t do much (because i don’t even think i was doing it right) so i went to a dry needling guy who told me about the trigger points like you did. he did work all over the calf. it was so cool to feel everything release, and it really did help. after 3 sessions, i’m feeling 100% in my ankle.

for my plantar fasciitis, that was my first injury and by far the easiest fix. i had that over a year ago and it went away after calf rolling and rest for a month.

but i always feel all trigger pointy in my butt, probably because i’ve always been overworking it without realizing/my gait is inefficient. it’s so tender and always feeling chronically tight. i’ll have to look into treatment for that, too. i think one huge problem, my shoes or my gait, is leading to every other thing including tightness and trigger points all over? is that possible?

These posts and the person posting about trigger points are really odd to me. A new high school runner is supposed to contact someone in Colorado about gait analysis? That is 1000% overkill.

Talk to your coach. Take some time off to rest and cross train. Make sure you don’t have a stress fracture in your shin. Build up miles very slowly. No more than 10% per week was our rule of thumb in high school.

i’ve talked to my coach a lot, he encourages rest and is really supportive. sometimes i like to try to run through the pain but he always gets me resting until i’m 100%. i’ve taken plenty of time off to rest and cross train each injury, or even not cross train/just rest, only to come back, build very cautiously, then get reinjured. so unfortunately there’s something deeper!

Strengthening is definitely a good thing as long as you use proper form and hit all areas. Most of your injuries are probably caused by tight muscles which is caused by weak muscles. Don't try to just strengthen weak areas because that'll lead to further imbalances. Develop a strengthening program that hits all major areas (core, hips, quads, calves, ankles, feet, glutes, hamstrings) and be consistent with it. All strengthening for injury prevention can be done without weights. Strengthening in this context doesn't mean getting a squat pr, you're largely trying to develop the smaller muscles. I'd suggest seeing a physio to get some specific exercises as they will be able to see where you lack strength.

For foam rolling/stretching I'm a lot less decisive. There's not a lot of proof that stretching is actually helpful whatsoever. If it helps you, do it, if it doesn't, don't. Sounds like it doesn't. Maybe cut out static stretching. Dynamic stretching and a small amount of strengthening pre-run is probably a good idea though. Foam-rolling is similar. If it helps you do it, if it doesn't don't. Also sounds like it doesn't.

With all that said, its important to remember that the key of all of this is that you're suffering a lot of overuse injuries and just need to bring it down a bit. If you were injured for a while you may've started off too strong. When I got shin splints I built up from 20% of my previous mileage and took about 3.5 months to get back. That was obviously a pretty conservative approach but its safe. Also, maybe reduce your workload; if you were doing 3 workouts a week do 2, if you were running 5 days a week run 4.

Most important points: go see a good physio, consider your workload.

Good luck I hope you get healthy soon!

Also I'd add that it's probably unnecessary to get a "gait analysis" from someone online, if you're over striding hugely you'd know. Most issues in form are caused by muscle weaknesses anyway

thank you!! i have had a whole strengthening routine of all areas for a while, but the issue is i don’t think it was well structured. i would do weights (some days a week) which left me feeling crushed then proceed to go do calf raises and other little exercises almost every night, which probably just made me tighter because of how overworked everything was. i would then stretch and roll a ton, which i’m not sure why only now i am finally realizing i was much healthier before starting all the excessive strengthening, rolling and stretching. i also do a core routine once a week. i still believe in a strength routine, but it was all over the place and too much the way i had it.

not sure if anyone cares that much about this part, but im going to keep strengthening because i believe it is important. i am dropping the weights and calf raises, but keeping the core, shin splint stuff, and butt resistance bands. i am adding other body weight stuff.

all of these exercises can be done 2 or 3 times a week, not almost everyday even like i did before. i’m not gonna stretch or roll after. when i wasn’t injured in the beginning of my career, i would do some strength once a week and never rolled or stretched. the PF (because i didn’t understand that easy runs had to be easy, but now i know very well), my first injury, was where the excessive stuff started.

for the building back slowly, i’ve always been careful about that. that’s probably one thing i have been doing right for myself. but i can’t thank everyone on here enough for all your amazing replies :)

another question, sorry: do you think a gait analysis from a professional in person would be good? i was planning on seeing someone to get that done, so they could address form issues and take it from there with the muscle stuff/tightness, or my leg discrepancy and pelvis.

Glad to hear it :D Idk what you really mean by feeling weird, but after my form got fixed from running barefoot, it felt super weird when I consciously ran with my old form (overstriding like a mf lol).

You can do barefoot running on a treadmill, I did for a couple months, but the treadmill feels like cross training to me tbh. You can definitely run barefoot in freezing weather, but the coldest I've done was in the 20s (I also keep my socks on when it's cold). It looks like the forecast in NY is in the 40s this week so you should be able to do it outside tomorrow to see if it helps.

Also, just to hammer it in: Be careful with how much you do. Idk how much you're running now, but back off some. Just find a track or grass or something pretty soft and do .5 miles barefoot easy, and if that helps with your shin splints maybe some strides. Good luck and tell us how it goes :)

Yes it would definitely be a good idea to get a gait analysis in person, along with a general physio session. Sorry should’ve clarified that.

You're receiving good advice. But do try changing shoes and often. Even if it's your favorite pair of running shoes. Be willing to get into a new pair the moment you feel soreness that wasn't there before.

college runner with chronic peronneal tendonitis - After 250 miles in a pair of shoes try on a new pair and ditch the old ones if you feel a difference, alterG if available otherwise elliptical works, compression socks after runs, ice after every run (2-3x8 minutes), after a bad flare up take 9 ibuprofen/day for 3 days with meals and no running/biking/elliptical, if pain starts on a run monitor pain and stop if it gets worse + no running next day — the goal is to take days off not weeks/months

Through consistent effective self massage , identifying the trigger points that are causing the pain pattern and increasing circulation by supplization , you will solve your pain issues.

A lacrosse ball against the wall working your gluteus medius and gluteus minimus by x-fibering and circular movement will take care of your glute pain.

If you can purchase that book that I put a link to, that will help you solve your issues. Gait and shoes are not your main issue. In fact, many runners have been helped by reducing their reliance on footwear by going barefoot or minimalist shoe choices. There is so much to learn on this awesome running journey and I have no doubt that you will thrive over time !!!

Sounds like a mess, My guess is you are trying too hard and your training has not been suitably individualized. You may need to stick to walking or cross training and lay off the running entirely until things resolve.

These sorts of problems could also indicate your muscle physiology is better suited for shorter distances, so mileage for the sake of mileage is just not a key here. Stairs and incline walking or even rowing or cycling may be more effective conditioning for now.

As for specifics It’s easy to foam roller too hard. It may be more useful to start gently and slower, just resting your tight calf on the foam roller is far safer …or better yet focus on strengthening the opposing muscles to stretch the tight. Reciprocal inhibition is a useful approach if muscle injuries are recalcitrant

When I am trying to help an athlete in crisis it often works best to find one thing to make the situation better. Problems can untangle themselves, are often interconnected, so problem solved leads to another.
Good luck with it.

Try barefoot shoes- I don’t stretch or foam roll, I do only a little strength work and I’m never injured

Loads of good suggestions here and I'd agree with others saying that most of your problems are overuse injuries. So, rest and a slow and easy return to running.

Also, on shin splints, this might be useful

kinetic-revolution.com

Runner's Guide to Shin Splints: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Prevention

Terry Smith

Shin splints is a common injury. Learn what causes shin splints in runners. Try these simple shin splints exercises to prevent shin pain.

Open link

Can't say I agree with the comments on shoes and heel drop, especially if you have had tight calves).

Ditto on using ice for recovery - inflammation is part of the natural healing process, so anything that inhibits this will slow recovery. Christie Aschwanden" explains this really well in her book "Good to Go".

Good luck and be assured that the slow and patient game will win in the end.

I ran all of high school in the brooks trainers, specifically the Ghosts and Adrenaline GTS. At this point in my running career I hardly ever went a season without an injury. I sort of just thought I was injury prone. Since I began university in 2020 I started running in the HOKA Cliftons and I have not had any of the issues I struggled with in high school. Obviously not just the shoe, but I found that swapping models really helped decrease my injuries!

I’m a high school guy who had a pretty big history of injuries (stress fracture in tibia, achilles tendonitis on both sides, it band, you name it). I used to do all the band work, clamshells, whatever nonsense. What i think really did the trick for me and allowed me to be injury free this year is lifting. Freshmen/sophomore year i was like 5’7 120 pounds. I’m not 5’9 145-155 depending on the time of year. I’m talking squats, deadlifts, benching, etc. Way less little nagging injuries, no major injuries. I think part of this is also just like physically maturing, but it’s what I’d say solved my injury issue. I only roll and stretch a ton before meets or after workouts. Also i cross train more. I used to just do maybe 5 miles slower on an easy day instead of 6 if my knee hurt or something. Now you’d find me on the elliptical.

I would recommend a look at Jae Grunke’s material The Balanced Runner. The website of the same name and/or YouTube videos she has posted are helpful.

Have you had a gait analysis before? Lots of running stores offer them and it helps to match you up with a pair of shoes that works for the way you run