Running Doesn’t Have to Mean Injury

Too many runners believe that injuries are just part of the sport. But what if they didn’t have to be? Whether you’re training for the Maine Marathon, chasing a PR at Beach to Beacon, or just enjoying easy miles on Back Cove or the Eastern Trail, you shouldn’t have to keep dealing with pain, setbacks, or forced time off.

At Steady State Health, we help runners throughout Southern Maine train smarter, build resilience, and stay injury-free—without unnecessary restrictions on your running.

Who Can Benefit from a Running Injury Prevention Plan?

• You’ve had injuries in the past and want to stop them from coming back.
• You’re logging higher mileage and want to handle the load without breaking down.
• You’re new to running and want to build a strong, injury-free foundation.
• You’re coming back from time off and want to ramp up safely.
• You want to keep running long-term—not just through this race cycle, but for years to come.

What Causes Running Injuries (And How to Avoid Them)?

Most running injuries don’t come out of nowhere—they build up over time from training errors, strength deficits, and overlooked recovery factors. Some of the biggest contributors include:

Training Load Errors

• Too much, too soon. Increasing mileage or intensity too quickly is one of the most common causes of injury.

Weakness in Key Muscle Groups

• Strong runners get injured less. Weakness in areas like the calves, feet, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and core leads to poor load management and excessive strain. 

Limited Joint Mobility

• Restrictions in ankle dorsiflexion, big toe extension, hip mobility, and spinal rotation can alter running mechanics and increase stress in compensatory areas. 

• Factors like sleep, stress, nutrition, and fueling impact tissue resilience. If your body isn’t recovering well, small issues can become big ones. 

Gait & Biomechanical Factors

• While no single “perfect” form exists, inefficient mechanics can place extra stress on certain areas.

We take a comprehensive approach to help you address these risk factors and run stronger—not by making drastic changes to your form, but by building resilience and optimizing your training.

What’s Included in a Running Injury Prevention Program?

Every runner is different, but a strong prevention plan should be personalized to your unique needs. Here’s what we focus on:

1. Strength Training for Runners

• Targeted strength & power exercises to reinforce key muscle groups (calves, feet, quads, hamstrings, glutes, core).

• Progressive overload to handle the demands of training and racing.

2. Mobility & Movement Screening

• Assessment of ankle, foot, toe, hip, and spine mobility to identify restrictions that could affect your stride.

• Movement drills to improve efficiency without overhauling your natural mechanics.

3. Load Management & Training Guidance

• Smarter mileage progression to prevent overuse injuries.

• Adjustments to volume, intensity, frequency and terrain based on your current training cycle.

4. Recovery & Injury Risk Factors

• Strategies to optimize sleep, fueling, and stress management to support tissue resilience.

• Individualized advice on balancing training and recovery.

5. Building an Injury Buffer

   Most runners are walking a fine line between health and injury. An injury buffer is the extra capacity that protects you from setbacks—a cushion that allows you to absorb unexpected stress, whether it's a harder-than-planned workout or a life event that affects recovery.

• We help you increase your actual current capacity beyond your goal capacity so you're not constantly on the edge of injury.

• This means combining smart load progression with strength training to make your body more resilient.

• Instead of just getting back to baseline after an injury, we help you go beyond it—so you can handle more, train harder, and run stronger for years to come.

Why Work With Steady State Health?

Many runners only think about injury prevention after they’re already hurt. We take a proactive approach—helping you build durability so you can run consistently without setbacks. Unlike general physical therapy or strength programs, our team specializes in evidence-based, runner-specific care to keep you training at your best.

Serving Runners in Portland, Scarborough, and Across Southern Maine

From trail runs at Twin Brook and Bradbury Mountain to tempo efforts at Deering Oaks or along the Greenbelt Pathway, we help Southern Maine runners stay strong and healthy.

Want to Learn More About Building an Injury Buffer?

Check out one of our most popular blog posts: Building an Injury Buffer: The Key to Long-Term Running Health.

Ready to Run Stronger & Stay Injury-Free?

You don’t have to wait until you’re injured to start training smarter. Whether you’ve struggled with injuries before or just want to stay strong for the long run, we help runners across Portland, Southern Maine, and beyond create a clear, personalized plan to stay injury-free.

📅 Schedule Your Free Discovery Call Today to See How We Can Help You Stay Injury-Free.