In short: most running and sports injuries are training-load errors rather than a sign that something is broken. A sports podiatry assessment at Podiatry Healthcare Group looks at your injury history, your recent training, your shoes and their wear pattern, your strength and joint range, and your gait on a treadmill with video. Treatment then combines load management and a graded return, targeted strength work, footwear change, taping, and orthotic therapy where it is genuinely indicated.
Most injuries are load errors
When a runner or footballer arrives sore, the first question is rarely what is wrong with the body. It is what changed. Tissue in the foot and lower limb adapts to the work you give it, but it adapts slowly. Injuries tend to appear when the demand climbs faster than the tissue can keep up: a jump in weekly kilometres, a new hill or interval session, a switch from grass to road or from a summer break straight back into pre-season, a change of shoe, or a stretch of poor sleep and heavy work that quietly reduces your capacity to recover.
That framing matters, because it changes what treatment looks like. If load was the cause, then rest alone only lowers the demand for a while and the injury returns the moment the old training resumes. The useful plan is one that calms the painful tissue down and then rebuilds its tolerance in a controlled way, so it can handle the training you actually want to do. Structure and biomechanics still count, and we assess them carefully, but they are usually the reason a particular tissue took the hit rather than the reason the injury happened at all.
Injuries we see most often
Sports presentations at our clinics cluster into a handful of familiar patterns:
- Shin splints (medial tibial stress syndrome). Diffuse ache along the inner shin, usually after a rise in running volume or a surface change. It responds well to load management and calf and foot strength work.
- Stress fractures. More focal, more stubborn, and often worse with hopping or single-leg load. These need a change of plan rather than a change of shoe, and sometimes imaging, so early assessment saves weeks.
- Achilles tendinopathy. Stiff and sore at the start of a run, sometimes easing mid-run, and tender to squeeze. Tendons dislike sudden increases in speed work and hills, and they rebuild with progressive loading rather than rest.
- Plantar heel pain. The classic first-steps-in-the-morning pain under the heel. We cover this in depth on our heel pain page.
- Forefoot pain. Ache or burning under the ball of the foot, often linked to footwear that is too narrow or too flexible, or to a large increase in speed work.
- Blisters and black toenails. Usually a fit, sock or lacing problem, and very fixable. See blister prevention and management.
What a sports assessment involves
A sports appointment is a full assessment, not a quick look at your feet. We take a detailed injury history: when the pain started, what it feels like, what makes it better or worse, and what you have already tried. We then review your training load, including recent weekly volume, intensity sessions, surfaces, other sports and any gaps caused by illness, travel or work.
Footwear is inspected in the room, which is why we ask you to bring the shoes you actually train in. Wear pattern on the outsole, breakdown through the midsole, heel counter stability and fit through the forefoot all tell us something the conversation will not. Bryce Foothead spent time managing a technical footwear store, so shoe construction and how it affects athletic performance and injury is well-covered ground here.
We then test strength and joint range through the foot, ankle, knee and hip, and watch you move: walking, single-leg tasks, and running on a treadmill with video so we can slow the footage down and look at it with you. Gideon Poratt has a long-standing special interest in sports biomechanics, and you can read more about both practitioners on our about page.
How we treat sports injuries
Treatment is built from a small number of levers, used in the combination your injury needs:
- Load management. A clear plan for what to reduce, what to keep, and how quickly to add work back. Most people keep training in some form.
- Strength and range work. Specific exercises for the tissue under strain, progressed over weeks so capacity actually rises.
- Footwear change. Sometimes the fix is simply a shoe with a better fit, more forefoot room, or different stability for the demands of your sport.
- Orthotic therapy where indicated. Custom or prefabricated devices help when foot mechanics are genuinely driving the load. They are one tool, not the default answer, and we explain the reasoning in do I need orthotics? and on our orthotics page.
- Taping. Useful for short-term offloading, for testing whether a change in mechanics helps before committing to a device, and for getting through an event.
Planning the return to sport
The return is the part most people skip, and it is the part that decides whether the injury stays fixed. We set out a graded progression with clear checkpoints: what you should be able to do without symptoms before you add speed, before you add hills, and before you go back to full competition. We also agree on how to interpret soreness along the way, so a normal training ache does not stop you and a warning sign does not get ignored.
If you have a race, a season start or a club return date, tell us at the first appointment. Working backwards from a real date usually produces a more sensible plan than working forwards from a vague hope. Follow-up appointments exist to adjust the plan as your tolerance improves rather than to repeat the same advice.
Common questions
Do I need a referral to see a sports podiatrist?
No. You can book directly. Only DVA Gold Card holders and WorkCover patients need a referral. If you have a chronic condition, your GP may be able to arrange a Medicare Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) plan, and we claim private health rebates on the spot with HICAPS at every clinic.
Do I have to stop running completely?
Usually not. Most running injuries respond better to a reduced, modified load than to complete rest, because tissue needs some stimulus to rebuild. Suspected stress fractures are the main exception, and we will tell you clearly if that is the situation.
What should I bring to the appointment?
Bring the shoes you train in, including older pairs if you still use them, plus running shorts or something you can move in comfortably for the treadmill assessment. Any recent training data, imaging or previous orthotics are also useful.
Will I be told I need orthotics?
Only if the assessment supports it. Plenty of sports injuries are resolved with load changes, strength work and a better shoe. When a device is indicated we explain why, what it is meant to do, and whether a prefabricated option would do the same job.
How is a stress fracture different from shin splints?
Shin splint pain is typically spread along a section of the inner shin and often eases as you warm up. Stress fracture pain tends to be focal, reproducible on a single point, worse with impact such as hopping, and it does not settle with continued running. That distinction changes the plan, so it is worth having assessed.
Which clinic should I book for a running assessment?
Whichever is most convenient for you. Sports assessments are available across all four clinics — Burwood East, Clayton, St Helena and Windsor. You can compare them on our locations page.
This page is general information, not personal medical advice. Reviewed by Gideon Poratt, Principal Podiatrist (B.App.Sc (Pod), M.A.Pod.A), a member of the Australian Podiatry Association. Please book an assessment for advice specific to your feet.