Running Physio Exeter
Running Physio can enhance your running enjoyment and reduce your pain.
We understand how challenging it can be to get the help you need. But it doesn’t have to be that way!
Running injuries are one of the most common reasons people come through our door at Quay Kinetics Physio, and one of the areas we care most about getting right. We treat runners at every level, from those training for their first Parkrun to Ironman athletes and competitors at world triathlon level. We run ourselves. We know what it feels like not to be able to run because of an injury. That shapes how we approach your recovery.
No GP referral needed. Same-week appointments at our Quay Climbing Centre and Boulder Exe clinics.
A clinic built around runners
Running is embedded in how we work at Quay Kinetics Physio. Our clinical lead Jennifer Searle holds an MSc in Sports Injury and has worked with elite athletes including British basketball squads and at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. Carmen Taylor holds an MSc in Sports Medicine. Carmen Taylor holds an MSc in Sports Medicine. Jen has completed advanced training in running rehabilitation with Tom Goom (The Running Physio), one of the UK's leading experts in running injury management. Laura Rutterford has delivered running injury support and education at the National Running Show at the NEC in Birmingham.
Every member of our team treats runners regularly and has competed in organised events. We have worked closely with Exeter's local running clubs for many years, and a significant number of our patients are club members who come to us when things go wrong, and increasingly before they do.
We have hosted Running Injury Prevention workshops in Exeter for many years, covering load management, return to running, and common injury patterns. These sessions are available to individuals, running clubs, and local businesses.
Exeter Parkrun takes place every Saturday morning at the Quay Climbing Centre, home to our Haven Road clinic. If you are a regular at Parkrun and pick up an injury, you are already on our doorstep.
What running injuries do we treat?
We assess and treat the full range of running-related injuries. The most common presentations we see include:
Knee pain. Patellofemoral pain, iliotibial band syndrome, and patellar tendinopathy are among the most frequent running injuries. Each has a distinct cause and requires a different approach.
Achilles and calf problems. Achilles tendinopathy affects around one in ten runners at any given time. We treat both mid-portion and insertional presentations, as well as calf muscle tears and chronic calf tightness.
Plantar fasciitis and heel pain. Often mismanaged with rest alone. Load-based rehabilitation is the most effective approach and is central to how we treat it.
Shin pain and bone stress injuries. Medial tibial stress syndrome and tibial stress fractures present similarly but require very different management. Accurate assessment matters here.
Hip and gluteal pain. Gluteal tendinopathy, hip flexor issues, and running-related hip pain are frequently under-assessed and often connected to training load rather than local tissue pathology.
Lower back pain in runners. Often dismissed as unrelated to running, but frequently connected to running posture, load, or hip mobility.
We also treat foot problems, ankle issues, hamstring injuries, and stress-related presentations in triathletes managing combined swim, bike, and run loads.
How do we assess a running injury?
A running injury assessment at Quay Kinetics Physio begins with a thorough history of your training: your current weekly mileage, how it has changed recently, what type of terrain you run on, your footwear, and any other training you do alongside running.
Most running injuries are load-related, meaning they develop when the training demand exceeds what the tissue can currently handle. Understanding your training context is as important as examining the injury itself.
The physical examination assesses the injured structure, but also looks at contributing factors: hip strength and control, foot mechanics, running posture, and how load is distributed through the lower limb. Where appropriate, we assess your running pattern directly.
You leave your first appointment with a clear diagnosis, an explanation of why the injury developed, and a plan for what happens next.
What does running injury treatment involve?
Treatment depends on the injury, the cause, and your goals. Most people benefit from a combination of hands-on treatment to reduce pain and restore movement, alongside a structured rehabilitation programme that progressively rebuilds load tolerance.
Critically, we do not default to rest. Stopping running entirely is rarely the right answer and often delays recovery. We help you identify what you can continue doing, how to modify your training to stay active while the injury settles, and how to build back to full running systematically.
For athletes managing triathlon training loads, we work across the whole programme: understanding which disciplines are aggravating the injury and how to structure swim, bike, and run sessions during recovery without losing fitness.
Where running technique is contributing to the injury, we address it directly. Gait retraining is part of our toolkit when it is clinically indicated, not something we apply to every patient regardless of need.
Returning to running after injury
Getting back to running after injury is where many people go wrong, either returning too soon and breaking down again, or staying conservative for longer than necessary and losing fitness unnecessarily.
We use a structured, graduated return-to-run framework based on your current load tolerance, the nature of the injury, and your target event or goal. For some people, a return to Parkrun is the goal. For others it is a spring half marathon, a summer triathlon, or simply being able to run without dreading the next morning.
If you are working towards a specific event, tell us the date. We will build a realistic return plan around it.
Running injury workshops and club support
We have run Running Injury Prevention workshops in Exeter for many years, covering how injuries develop, how to manage load sensibly, and how to keep running as you age or ramp up your training. These are available as public sessions and as dedicated workshops for running clubs and corporate groups.
We work closely with several of Exeter's local running clubs and are familiar with the injury patterns that come with the routes and events popular in the area. Whether it is Exeter Parkrun, the Great West Run, the South West coast paths, or local trail events, we know the demands they place on runners' bodies.
If your club would like to arrange a workshop or injury drop-in session, get in touch directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not necessarily. Whether to continue running depends entirely on the injury, the severity of your symptoms, and how your body responds to load. For most running injuries, complete rest is not the optimal approach and often delays recovery. We will help you identify a training load you can sustain while the injury settles, and build back from there.
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If pain is affecting your running gait, forcing you to stop during a run, or persisting for more than two weeks despite reducing your training, a physiotherapy assessment is the right next step. Waiting and hoping is rarely the most effective strategy for running injuries, most of which have a clear mechanical cause that responds well to treatment.
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Yes. We regularly treat triathletes, including athletes competing at Ironman and world triathlon level. Managing injury in the context of combined swim, bike, and run training requires a different approach from managing a single-sport runner. We are familiar with those demands and factor them into how we plan your recovery and return to training.
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We assess running mechanics when there is a clinical reason to do so, for example when your technique appears to be contributing to a recurrent injury. We do not provide generic gait analysis for all runners regardless of symptoms. If technique is relevant to your injury, we will address it as part of your treatment.
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Recovery time varies considerably depending on the type of injury, how long it has been present, and how well training load is managed during rehabilitation. Simple load-related injuries often improve significantly within four to six weeks. Tendon problems, bone stress injuries, and recurrent presentations typically take longer and require a more structured approach.
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Yes. We have hosted Running Injury Prevention workshops in Exeter for many years, covering how injuries develop, load management principles, and return-to-running strategies. Sessions are available as public workshops and as dedicated events for running clubs or workplaces. Contact us directly to find out about upcoming dates or to arrange a session for your club or team.
Running injuries respond well to early treatment. The sooner you understand what is wrong and why, the faster you get back to doing what you love.
Same-week appointments at our Quay Climbing Centre and Boulder Exe clinics. No GP referral needed.
Don’t just take our word for it