Running is a fantastic way to stay active and healthy, but it also carries the risk of various injuries. Whether you are a seasoned marathoner or a beginner, understanding running injuries and how to prevent them is crucial for maintaining long-term performance and well-being. Injuries like shin splints, Achilles tendinopathy, and IT band syndrome are common among runners and can sideline you for weeks if not treated properly. Injury prevention is essential to avoid these setbacks and ensure you continue to enjoy running without any pain. This blog will explore five key running injury prevention exercises that can help strengthen your muscles, improve flexibility, and reduce the risk of running injuries.
Why Running Injuries Occur
Running injuries often happen due to training errors, faulty mechanics, and overuse. A significant portion of running injuries, around 50 to 75 percent, are related to overuse. These injuries are caused by the repetitive nature of running, where the same motions are repeated repeatedly. Over time, this strain can damage the muscles, joints, and tendons, resulting in conditions like shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and tendinopathies.
The biomechanics of running plays a significant role, and improper technique can lead to dynamic knee valgus (knee caving inward), poor trunk posture, or a trunk lean, which can cause undue stress on joints, ligaments, and muscles. If your body isn’t strong enough to absorb the ground reaction forces that come with running, your muscles, tendons, and noncontractile tissues (such as ligaments and joint capsules) become more prone to injury. Over time, repetitive impact, without proper recovery or muscle activation, may lead to muscle strains, tendon injuries like Achilles tendonitis, or chronic pain in areas such as the hip flexors or gastrocnemius-soleus complex. That’s why running injury prevention exercises are so important for building strength and stability in the body.
The Importance of Injury Prevention for Runners
Injury prevention is not just about avoiding pain; it’s also about improving your running performance. It is estimated that roughly 65 percent of runners face an injury each year. On average, a runner sustains an injury after about 100 hours of running. This statistic highlights how prevalent running injuries are, even among seasoned runners. Understanding this risk is key to adopting running injury prevention exercises and focusing on strength training for running injury prevention to minimize the likelihood of injury.
Incorporating strength training for running injury prevention and mobility exercises into your routine can help improve your postural stability, running efficiency, and overall stamina. Building muscle strength in key areas like the gluteus maximus, hip abductors, and calf muscles supports your body’s ability to handle running forces. Additionally, proper running form reduces unnecessary stress on your joints and muscles, decreasing the risk of Achilles tendonitis, patellofemoral pain syndrome, and other common injuries. In the long term, running injury prevention exercises keep you injury-free and improve your speed and endurance.
5 Exercises to Prevent Running Injuries
Here are five effective exercises for running injury prevention. These exercises help build strength, flexibility, and stability, which are crucial for reducing the risk of injury and improving overall performance. Incorporating these into your routine can address common issues like dynamic knee valgus, poor hip mobility, and weak muscle activation. By targeting these problem areas, these exercises can also play a vital role in running injuries treatment, aiding recovery and preventing future setbacks.
Exercise 1: Heel Raises
Heel raises are a simple but effective exercise that targets the calves and Achilles tendons, vital for running performance. By strengthening the muscles in the lower leg, you can improve your running efficiency and reduce the likelihood of injuries like Achilles tendinopathy and calf strains. This exercise also helps enhance ankle mobility, improving shock absorption during each stride.
Benefits: Heel raises strengthen the gastrocnemius-soleus complex (calf muscles) and improve ankle mobility, essential for proper shock absorption during running. Weak calves can contribute to Achilles tendinopathy or other Achilles-related injuries.
How to do it:
- Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Slowly raise your heels off the ground, coming up onto the balls of your feet. Focus on a controlled eccentric and concentric muscle action—slowly lower your heels and then push up.
- Hold at the top for a second, then slowly lower your heels.
- Repeat for 2–3 sets of 15-20 reps. To increase difficulty, try performing the exercise on a step, allowing for a greater range of motion.
Exercise 2: Hip Abduction Exercise

The hip abduction exercise is excellent for strengthening the muscles that stabilize your pelvis during running. A strong pelvic region helps prevent injuries like IT band syndrome and hip flexor strains by improving tri-planar hip stability. This exercise focuses on the gluteus maximus and hip abductors, crucial in maintaining proper running form.
Benefits: The hip abduction exercise targets the muscles that stabilize your pelvis during running, such as the gluteus maximus and hip flexors. This exercise helps prevent injuries like running hip pain and IT band syndrome by improving tri-planar hip stability and preventing imbalances that could lead to faulty mechanics.
How to do it:
- Lie on your side with your legs straight and stacked. Engage your core and maintain a neutral spine.
- Lift your top leg to about 45 degrees, keeping your leg straight and your foot flexed. Focus on external rotation of the hip to maximize activation of the glutes.
- Hold at the top for a few seconds before slowly lowering your leg.
- Repeat for 2-3 sets of 15 reps on each side.
Exercise 3: Plank
The plank is a core-strengthening exercise that builds stability in the abdomen, lower back, and hips. A strong core helps support your body during running, preventing injuries from poor posture and weak abdominal muscles. This exercise effectively improves postural stability, which is crucial for avoiding trunk lean and maintaining proper running form.
Benefits: The plank strengthens your core, essential for maintaining proper form and postural stability while running. A strong core helps prevent lower back pain and supports your trunk during high-impact activities. This exercise also improves muscle activation in the hip flexors, abdominals, and lower back muscles, reducing the risk of injury from incorrect trunk posture or leanness.
How to do it:
- Get into a forearm plank position with elbows directly below your shoulders.
- Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels. Engage your core and avoid sagging your hips.
- Hold the position for 20-30 seconds, gradually increasing the time as you build strength.
- Repeat for 3 sets.
Exercise 4: Supine Bridges
Supine bridges are an excellent exercise to target the gluteus maximus, hip abductors, and hamstrings, which are important for running stability. This exercise helps improve hip flexion and extension by focusing on hip extension, reducing the risk of injuries like patellofemoral pain syndrome and IT band syndrome. It’s also great for strengthening the muscles around the pelvis and lower back, often weak in runners.
Benefits: Supine bridges target the gluteus maximus, hip abductors, and hamstrings, helping improve hip extension and stability. This exercise is great for injury prevention as it enhances hip flexion and extension, which runners regularly perform. It also activates the muscles in the lower body to prevent muscle strains and improve running posture.
How to do it:
- Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and hip-width apart.
- Push through your heels and lift your hips toward the ceiling, squeezing your glutes as you raise your body.
- Hold for 1-2 seconds at the top, then slowly lower your hips back down to the ground.
- Repeat for 2–3 sets of 15–20 reps.
Exercise 5: Lunges
Lunges are one of the most effective exercises for improving single-leg stability and strengthening the muscles that power your run, including the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. They also help correct any imbalances in your hips and knees by promoting proper hip adduction and hip abduction during the movement. Performing lunges with proper form helps prevent injuries like shin splints and patellofemoral pain syndrome and enhances your overall running performance.
Benefits: Lunges are excellent for strengthening the quads, glutes, and calves, vital for efficient running. They help improve single-leg stability, ankle mobility, and muscle activation, reducing the risk of shin splints and patellofemoral pain syndrome. Performing lunges with the proper form also improves the range of motion and supports dynamic knee valgus correction, preventing knee injuries.
How to do it:
- Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
- Step forward with one leg and lower your body into a lunge position, keeping both knees at 90-degree angles.
- Push off your front foot to return to the starting position.
- Alternate legs and repeat for 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps per leg.
How Often Should You Do These Exercises?

To prevent injuries and improve performance, aim to perform these prehab exercises 2-3 times a week. Regularly incorporating these injury-prevention exercises into your training routine helps build strength and flexibility in the muscles and joints used during running. You can include them in your pre-run warm-up or as part of a cross-training routine on rest days. Remember, consistency is key, and performing these exercises regularly will help you stay strong and injury-free.
Additional Tips for Running Injury Prevention
In addition to the exercises mentioned, there are several important tips to prevent running injuries further. Start by warming up properly with dynamic stretching or light bounding exercises before each run to prepare your muscles and joints for the impact of running. Incorporating foam rolling into your routine can help release tension in calves, hamstrings, and quads, preventing myofascial adhesions and improving mobility. Regular cross-training with low-impact activities such as swimming or cycling allows your body to recover from the repetitive stress of running. It is also crucial to wear proper running shoes that provide the right support and fit for your foot type, helping to prevent injuries like plantar fasciitis or shin splints. Finally, always listen to your body. If you experience pain or discomfort, take rest days or consult a professional to avoid further injury.
At Backcountry Physical Therapy, we specialize in helping runners stay injury-free and perform at their best. Our personalized approach combines advanced techniques with proven running injury treatment methods to address the root cause of pain and discomfort. Whether dealing with persistent injuries or looking to enhance your performance, our team provides tailored injury-prevention exercises and strategies to build strength, stability, and resilience. By focusing on proper biomechanics, mobility, and strength, we empower runners to overcome challenges and achieve their goals. Trust us to keep you on the trail, road, or track, moving pain-free and stronger than ever.
Conclusion
Running injuries are common but preventable with the right approach. Incorporating these injury prevention exercises into your routine can improve your strength, flexibility, and stability, reducing the risk of injuries like Achilles tendonitis, shin splints, and patellofemoral pain syndrome. Remember, injury prevention is just as important as the run itself. With consistent effort and proper form, you can enjoy running for years without worrying about injuries.
FAQs
How do you prevent injuries when running?
To prevent injuries, focus on building strength through injury-prevention running exercises, improve postural stability, warm up before runs, cool down afterward, and ensure proper foot strengthening exercises.
Does strength training help prevent running injuries?
Yes, strength training for running injury prevention is crucial. It helps activate key muscle groups, improve stability, and reduce the risk of overuse injuries by building resilience in the muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
How do runners stay injury free?
Runners stay injury-free by maintaining a balanced routine that includes mobility exercises, proper technique, regular cross-training, and paying attention to running biomechanics.