“Do What I Say, Not What I Limp Through”: Confessions of a Physio-Runner

As both a physio and a runner, you'd think I'd be the poster child for injury prevention.

You’d be wrong.

We physios can assess your gait, pinpoint your issues, and draw up a beautiful little rehab plan with a side of anatomical jargon that makes us sound very clever. But when it’s our foot screaming during a tempo run? We slap on some kinesio tape and call it “manageable.”

The truth is, runners are world-class at ignoring warning signs — and physios aren’t much better.

I’ve spent my weekdays educating clients on the importance of rest, strengthening and load management… and my weekends bombing down descents with an achy knee and “all the vibes.”

Negotiating with our bodies on the daily like, “Just let me get through this training block and then I’ll be good, promise!”

Us runners, we’re a special breed. We’ll track every split but ignore a month-long ache like it’s a minor inconvenience. We’ll skip strength work because we’re “short on time” — but spend hours researching races we might never even run.

And that’s the thing:We know better — we just don’t always do better.

But here’s what I’ve learned (and re-learn every time I skip my strength work or pretend that twinge is “nothing a shakeout run won’t fix”): Niggles matter. They’re not just background noise — or a “normal part of running,” as we love to claim. They’re your body’s version of those tiny dashboard warning lights — easy to ignore until you’re sidelined, Googling “how bad is too bad” with an icepack on your hip and a creeping sense of regret.You’re not being tough — you’re just scheduling your own rehab in advance.

🚨 “It’s Fine” (Until It’s Not)

So, here’s the honest, slightly hypocritical advice I give all runners (and sometimes even follow myself):

Listen to your body.That hip pain isn’t just because you “forgot to stretch” that one time. That arch tightness isn’t “your foot being dramatic.” That ITB pain? That’s not your quads saying hi — it’s your glutes saying goodbye.If something feels off, don’t wait for a full-blown injury. A quick check-in with your physio beats weeks of no-running and limping around miserable.

🏋️ Strength training is non-negotiable.You don’t need to deadlift a car or bench press a barbell into orbit. But some single-leg work, glute activation, and calf raises a couple times a week? That’s bulletproofing. That’s what keeps you running — not just this week, but this year.

🧘 Rest is part of the plan.Seriously. It’s not a punishment — it’s where recovery and adaptation happens.And if you're training hard, recovery isn’t optional — it’s the thing that lets you keep going without breaking.You’re not falling behind — you’re rebuilding stronger.

Knowing what to do isn’t the hard part. Consistency is what counts. The foam rolling. The rehab exercises. The boring-but-brilliant basics. That’s what keeps you running week after week.

Running isn’t about being unbreakable. It’s about being smart enough to stay in the game. Those who go the distance aren’t the ones who push through every niggle. They’re the ones who listen early, train wisely, and lift the damn weights even when it’s not sexy.

So don’t wait until you’re DNS’ing a race you spent months training for.Don’t ignore the whispers until they scream.Don’t wait until you’re deep in a Google hole searching “sharp pain behind knee when walking downhill.”

From one stubborn runner to another:Do the boring stuff.Respect the niggle.Skip the heroics.

And next time your physio gives you advice, take it from someone who’s been on both sides — actually do the thing.

You might just run stronger, longer, and with fewer visits to our clinic. 😉