5 Exercises to Prevent Running Injuries

by Kim Nunley, Demand Media Google

Making efforts to prevent running injuries instead of rehabbing them once they pop up will help keep you healthy. Running places a significant amount of load on your feet, ankles, knees, hips and back. This repeated trauma can take its toll over time if your muscles aren’t adequately able to handle the load. Build strength in your hips and core to help equip your body for the stresses of running.

Single-Leg Squat

Noting that most running injuries are due to ankle instability and hip weakness, physiotherapist Paul Hobrough recommends that runners incorporate single-leg squats into their workouts. Stand on one foot with your free leg extended and held out in front of you with your heel just off the floor. Push your hips back and bend the knee of your standing leg to lower into a squat. Lower down as far as you can until your thigh is parallel to the floor and then extend your knee and hip to come back up to a standing position. The exercise is challenging, so just go down as far as your strength allows. A modified version can be done by setting your free foot behind you and atop a bench or chair. Perform two sets of 10 repetitions on each leg.

Side Planks

Multidisciplinary clinic PhysioWorks recommends that runners use side planks to build strength in the obliques, which will keep your spine stable. Lie on your side on your bottom elbow with your knees bent to 90 degrees and your legs stacked on top of each other. Check your elbow to make sure it’s right in line with your shoulder. Lift your hips up off the floor holding your weight up on your elbow and knees so that you create a straight line through your torso and hips. Hold the position for 30 seconds and then switch sides. For a more advanced version, straighten your legs and perform the exercise while holding your weight up on your elbow and feet.

Side-Lying Hip Abduction

Build strength in your glutes and outside hips with side-lying hip abduction. Lie on your side with your legs extended and stacked on top of each other. Lift your top leg while keeping your pelvis stable and then lower it back down to starting position. Complete a set of 15 repetitions and then switch sides.

Single-Leg Bridge

Use single-leg bridges to build strength in your glutes. According to New York Sports Medicine, this exercise can help improve your uphill running and decrease the risk of hamstring injury. Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold one foot slightly up off the floor. Drive the heel of your other foot into the floor to push your hips up as high as you can. Hold the top position for a moment and then lower your hips back to the floor. Finish the set and then switch legs. To increase intensity, perform the exercise with your foot atop an unstable surface like a balance disc. Complete two sets of 15 repetitions on each leg.


The crabwalk, which also strengthens the glutes, requires the use of an exercise band in an enclosed loop. Wrap it around your ankles and stand with your feet set to hip-width apart. Bend your knees slightly and then take a big step to the left with your left foot. Lift your right leg and move it towards the left foot so that you return to a shoulder-width stance. Continue in this manner for 10 steps, traveling sideways across the room. Once you’re finished, switch directions. Do two sets.

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