If there’s one thing that is certain about runners, it’s that they’ve always got some kind of problem they’re working through.

I often find that even in spells where I go months to multiple years without any major injuries, that muscle tightness and soreness can still pop out of the blue without much rhyme or reason.

As these odd occurences occur, it’s imperative to have two fundamental skillsets:

1. The ability to discern whether something is an injury or just tightness/soreness that can more easily be worked through. Also, knowing the right steps to prevent tightness from becoming an actual injury.
2. The ability to listen to your body without doing anything dumb!

Discerning Injury from Tightness

Trail runners, more than others, often have weird muscle aches and pains that come about from the variety of movement patterns and muscle activation. It’s not uncommon to have some kind of strange sensation come about as often as every run.

When this happens, don’t panic.

Assess your pain level, and learn the difference between tightness and an injury. Tightness will almost always happen after a run, or in the days that follow. Injuries are more likely to be felt during a run, and may continue before and after.

But injuries are still tough to discern.

For example, the body will often send us “check engine lights” on our runs. From as simple as leg cramps, to as steep as stress reactions. These aren’t injuries! Even a stress reaction isn’t one. But it’s a warning light for your body to change your approach, whether that be stop (stress signals), or slow down (cramps).

This is where step two comes in and you listen to your body to either slow down or stop. If the pain is below a 3/10 (and runners like us notoriously have high pain tolerances), it can be safe to continue running.

But from experience, this isn’t a good rule. I kept running on knee pain last year, specifically because the pain I experienced could always be diminished to tolerable levels during runs.

The issue blew up to the point where walking wasn’t tolerable either.

And this is perhaps the key. If your pain continues with everyday normal activities, stop running and rest. If your pain or very clear muscle tightness subsides or diminishes to near zero with everyday activities, you are most likely fine to continue running, so long as you can also run relatively pain-free.

But perhaps most imperatively, to stop these tight/sore little muscle spasms from transcending into injury, you need to have a variety of tools in your arsenal.

1. Mobility & strength
2. Nutritious food & hydration, specifically protein and foods rich in antioxidants!!
3. Self-massage, foam rolling, physical therapy, etc.

Working through Tightness!

One of the first thoughts is often to reach for the yoga mat, do some foam rolling and stretch it out. But something like hamstring tightness reacts terribly to being stretched! Instead you want to increase your mobility and strength.

For hamstrings, focus on…

1. Swiss ball hamstring curls & single-leg curls
2. Glute bridges & single-leg glute bridges.

For quads and knees, focus on…

1. Single leg balance & strength exercises targeting the hips and quads.
2. Glute bridges & single-leg glute bridges.

For calves, feet and achilles, focus on…

1. Calf raises
2. Single-leg calf raises

For lower back, focus on…

1. Supermans
2. Thread the kneedle, cobra & planks

For hips, focus on…

1. Side-lying exercises like clamshells, leg raises, leg holds.
2. Single-leg balance exercises

Stop overstretching, and get a proper massage from someone rather than always resorting to self-massage and foam rolling. While self-massage with a ball can be better for feet than any masseus could do, you can’t quite dig as deep on any other part of the body with a foam roller (although a massage gun might be able to do well).

Foam rolling encourages blood flow, and has the ability to work out kinks in your body. Static stretching can also be great in cooling your muscles down from exercise and relaxing the body. I love yoga for exactly this reason – as a calming, meditative experience.

But focusing more on diet, sleep, strength and mobility will be the keys to escaping muscle tightness more than any foam roller or stretching mat can do!

In fact, I was recently asked “If a runner only had five minutes to add one thing into their daily routine, what would you suggest they add?”

My answer: Eat protein or do some mobility!

It might sound overly simplistic, but if you can focus on these things while continuing to monitor your symptoms and pain level during and after exercise, you’ll be on the right track toward listening to your body and giving it exactly what you need!

So continue to keep me updated in your athlete logs, and decrease the load whenever you feel necessary. In our sport, it’s always better to do slightly less, rather than too much.

Thanks for reading and see you soon!

More on recovery and injury prevention…

-> Weekly Newsletter – The secrets to my recovery in 2025

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