Sports Related injuries inc running:
Injuries through sport can either be trauma related ie tackles or falls or they can be over-load of a specific structure of the body ie the runner’s calf muscle becoming tight or even torn. Interestingly in the case of over-load on most occasions it will be a daily habit away from the sport (especially in symmetrical sports like swim/bike/run) that will weaken one side of the body and set up what is termed muscle-imbalance.
In the treatment of sports injuries whether trauma related or imbalance, it is important to establish the source of symptoms to treat locally ie a ligament or a tendon (muscle), then the weakness overloading that structure (if an imbalance) and then the habit away from the activity driving the problem. This is where sadly, a lot of therapy/rehabilitation even at the highest level in sports medicine falls very short.
For example: taking our runners calf/achilles injury which can often be chronic in nature. A runner does not get an achilles/calf over-loading on one side of the body without a break down in what is known as the kinetic chain ie the hip, knee and ankle working as one to propel the leg forward. The weakness in the chain must be established ie possibly the hip and addressed for the calf unit to cease being overloaded and truly resolve. Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, the everyday habit driving the weakness in the chain must be established and altered. Only then is the rehabilitation complete.