Editor’s note: This article is part of the Health and Fitness page’s weekly series about sports injuries based on information from the physical therapists of Cyclone Sports Medicine. This week, Michael Shaffer will spotlight typical running injuries.

With an ISU indoor track meet scheduled for this weekend, Mike Shaffer, physical therapist at Cyclone Sports Medicine, said there are many injuries associated mainly with running.

Shaffer said the five most common injuries in runners are stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, compartment syndrome, shin splints and hamstring sprains.

A stress fracture can often be confused with shin splints, but the injuries are significantly different and runners should be aware of that difference, he said.

“The symptoms of stress fractures can be similar to shin splints,” he said, “but athletes [with stress fractures] will typically have pain all the time, even when they are not running. The bone is stressed repetitively, leading to a small fracture. It is similar to taking a paper clip and bending it repetitively until it finally breaks.”

Stress fractures can occur at any time, but they often are caused by a build-up of stress.

“It typically affects the weight-bearing bones of the lower extremities — the femur [thigh], tibia [shin] and metatarsals [foot] bones.”

The treatment is a simple reduction in activity for four to six weeks and engaging in mostly non-weight bearing conditioning, Shaffer said.

The second injury, plantar fasciitis, is an inflammation of connective tissue on the bottom of the foot, he said.

“This tissue helps to support your arch,” he said. “It typically affects individuals with flat feet.”

Treatment for the ailment involves stretching, ice, anti-inflammatories and arch supports, Shaffer said.

Compartment syndrome, the third injury, is a compression of the soft tissues in the lower leg, he said.

“The muscles of the lower leg are encased in a dense, connective tissue called fascia,” he said. “This connective tissue is unyielding, so if there is an increase in volume in the compartment, the soft tissues of the compartment become compressed.”

Blood vessels and nerves tend to be compressed first, he added.

Typical symptoms include tightness or cramping that will worsen the longer someone runs, he said. The symptoms usually continue and can even result in an emergency medical situation.

“Symptoms can progress to numbness or decreased circulation,” he said. “If the symptoms continue to recur, surgery is probably the treatment of choice.”

The last of the common running injuries — hamstring strains — typically affect sprinters more than distance runners, Shaffer said.

“They occur when the muscles on the back of your thigh have to slow down your knee at the end of your running stride,” he said. “Sprinters are affected because their limbs move at a faster rate.”

The treatment includes rest, ice, stretching and then gradual re-strengthening, but the rate of recurrence is very high, he said.

“The demands of sprinting are so high that an injured, weakened hamstring has a hard time meeting those demands,” he said.