Running Injury Treatment in MelbourneWhen the Miles Catch Up
Running injuries almost never arrive without warning. They are the sum of every kilometre, every hill
session and every week you added a little too much - and by the time it hurts, the load that caused it
was weeks ago.
We are, quite literally, a running clinic. Gary Johnstone has run a 2:39 marathon and
finished the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. Matthew Fieldsend is a Melbourne
Marathon and multiple Ironman 70.3 finisher who specialises in return-to-run programming. We have had
these injuries ourselves. We know how to get you back.
most running injuries are training-load errors, not bad biomechanics
24hr
pain that worsens through a run, or lingers a day after it, needs assessing
Rest
alone rarely fixes a running injury - the cause has to change
General guidance drawn from running injury research and clinical experience. Individual risk varies with training history, load, surface, footwear and energy availability.
What is running podiatry?
Care built around load, not around your arch height
Running podiatry is the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of lower limb injuries in runners. It starts
from a single principle: running is a repeated collision with the ground, and every tissue in your leg
adapts to that collision at its own pace.
Cardiovascular fitness improves within weeks. Bone, tendon and fascia remodel far more slowly. That gap
is where injuries live. You feel capable of a session your structures are not yet built for, you run it,
and three weeks later something starts to hurt. Too much, too soon, too fast - said plainly, because it
is more useful than blaming your arches.
That is why shin splints
appear in the second week of a new training block, why
Achilles tendinopathy
follows a month of hill repeats, and why
stress fractures
turn up in the runners who added mileage while eating less. It is also why
plantar fasciitis
eases once you are warm and returns worse the next morning.
A running assessment looks at
cadence, footstrike, strength and training history - how you actually run, rather than how your foot
looks standing still. We treat runners near Port Melbourne, Elsternwick and Williamstown, from first
parkrun through to Ironman.
Rest deconditions the tissue. If the cause does not change, the injury returns in your first week back.
Is this you?
Recognise your symptoms
Pick the description closest to what you are feeling. These are the presentations we see week after week
in runners across our Melbourne clinics - each links to the full explanation below.
None of these quite fit?
Book an assessment
and we will work it out properly.
About our approach
Too much, too soon, too fast. We fix the load before we blame the foot.
Bone, tendon and fascia all adapt to running - but slowly, and more slowly than your fitness does.
When the training gets ahead of the tissue, something gives. That is the origin of most running
injuries, and it is a far more useful place to start than an arch height.
So the first thing we want to see is not your foot. It is your last twelve weeks: the mileage jump,
the new hill session, the return from a layoff, the surface change, the shoes with 900km on them.
Then we look at how you actually run.
We treat runners across our Port Melbourne, Elsternwick and Williamstown clinics, from first parkrun
through to Ironman, and we work alongside Melbourne run clubs and triathlon coaches. Plans are built
around your race calendar, not an idealised one.
Our running assessment and
gait analysis examine cadence, footstrike,
joint range and strength under load - not how your foot looks standing still.
Your shoes matter, but not in the way the shop told you
The evidence does not support matching a shoe to arch height, and there is no single correct shoe.
What does matter is comfort, adequate width through the forefoot, the right size for a foot that
swells over 30km, and a midsole that has not quietly died. Abrupt changes in shoe type - particularly
heel-to-toe drop - can provoke injury on their own. We review your shoes, your sizing and your lacing
as part of every assessment.
Conditions we treat
The injuries that come with the kilometres
Below are the injuries we treat most in runners: what is actually happening in the tissue, why it turned
up when it did, and how we get you back to training rather than simply telling you to rest.
Heel / Arch
Plantar Fasciitis & Heel Pain
The runner’s classic. Sharp, stabbing heel pain with your first steps out of bed, or when you stand up after sitting. It eases once you are moving, lulls you into running on it, then returns worse the next morning.
It is an overload of the thick band of tissue supporting your arch, typically triggered by a jump in mileage, a shift to faster running, or shoes past their useful life. It responds extremely well to treatment, and considerably less well the longer it is left. See our guides to plantar fasciitis and heel and arch pain.
Stiffness and pain at the back of the heel, worst on the first steps in the morning and in the opening kilometre, easing as you warm up, then aching that evening. Runners routinely misread that warm-up effect as permission to continue.
Hill sessions, speed work and sudden increases in volume are the usual triggers. Treating runners with complex ankle and tendon injuries is Gary’s stated clinical passion, and the evidence here is clear: tendons need correctly dosed load, not rest. Rest deconditions the tendon and the problem returns the moment you run again. See our guide to Achilles pain.
How we help
Progressive tendon loading programs, running technique and cadence work via running assessment, and shockwave therapy for stubborn, long-standing cases.
A diffuse ache along the inner border of the shin, sore to touch over a stretch of several centimetres, coming on during and after runs. It is the classic injury of a training block that ramped too quickly, a new surface, or a return to running after time off.
Beginners and marathon-block runners get it in equal measure, and it should be taken seriously: shin splints sit on a continuum with tibial stress fracture, and the difference is partly how long you ignore it. A key distinction - if the pain narrows to one precise point rather than a broad band, that is a red flag. Read our full guide to shin splints.
How we help
Load management, calf and hip strengthening, cadence and technique adjustment via running assessment, and footwear review.
Running is a repeated collision with the ground, and bone responds by remodelling. Overload it faster than it can rebuild, and a stress reaction becomes a stress fracture.
In runners the tibia and metatarsals are the usual sites. The navicular, at the top of the arch, is the one to fear - it has a poor blood supply and heals slowly and unreliably. Low energy availability, simply not eating enough to support your training, is a major and frequently overlooked contributor, particularly in runners chasing a lighter race weight. Learn more about stress fractures and foot pain.
How we help
Prompt assessment and imaging referral, structured load management, and gait analysis to correct the forces overloading the bone.
Two distinct problems that runners often conflate. Runner’s knee - patellofemoral pain - is an ache around or behind the kneecap, worse on downhills, stairs and after sitting. ITB syndrome is a sharp, localised pain on the outside of the knee that arrives at a predictable point in a run and forces you to stop, typically worse downhill and often on cambered roads.
Neither is usually a knee problem in isolation. Hip strength, cadence, and how the foot strikes and rotates all change the load reaching the knee. Read our guide to knee pain.
This tendon runs behind the inside ankle bone and is the principal dynamic support of your arch. It controls the foot rolling inward on every single footstrike - over a marathon block, that is tens of thousands of repetitions.
Overloaded, it produces pain along the inner ankle and arch, sometimes with swelling, and the arch can feel like it is fatiguing and dropping late in long runs. It is frequently misdiagnosed as a simple arch strain and allowed to progress, which is a mistake: untreated, it can lead to lasting change in foot posture. Read our guide to tibialis posterior tendinopathy.
The peroneal tendons run behind the outside ankle bone and stabilise the foot against rolling outward. Trail runners on uneven ground, road runners on heavily cambered footpaths, and anyone with a history of rolled ankles are the usual candidates.
Pain sits along the outer ankle and foot and builds through a run. Because peroneal pain typically signals an underlying stability or biomechanical issue, treating the tendon without addressing the cause simply delays the next flare-up. Read more about peroneal tendinopathy and ankle pain.
How we help
Targeted strengthening and ankle stability work, custom orthotics to control foot position, and route and camber advice. Also relevant after ankle sprains.
Burning, tingling or numbness radiating into the toes, often with the sensation of a pebble or a bunched sock under the ball of the foot. It is an irritation of the nerve running between the metatarsals.
Runners make it worse in two predictable ways: shoes that are too narrow through the forefoot, and lacing them too tightly. Symptoms typically ease the moment you stop and take the shoe off - a telling sign. Forefoot pain more generally builds with mileage and worsens in worn shoes. Read about neuroma and bursitis and forefoot pain.
How we help
Footwear width and lacing review, metatarsal domes and forefoot padding, custom orthotics to redistribute pressure, and shockwave therapy where indicated.
Long runs, downhills and feet that swell late in a race combine to drive the toes into the front of the shoe. Blood collects under the nail - the runner’s black toenail - and the nail bruises, lifts and eventually falls off.
Friction produces blisters, and repeated pressure builds corns and callouses where the shoe bites hardest. Runners wear these as a badge of honour, but they are a fit problem: shoes half a size too small for feet that swell over 30km, or laces that let the foot slide forward on descents. Read about toe pain.
How we help
Safe nail and callus care, blister management and prevention, plus shoe sizing and heel-lock lacing advice. Recurring nail problems? See ingrown toenail treatment.
Not every niggle needs an appointment. But bone pain is not a niggle, and the runners who lose a season
are almost always the ones who gave it another fortnight.
Stop running, see us urgently
Same-day or next-day assessment
Pain you can cover with a single fingertip
Pain that wakes you at night, or is reproduced by hopping
A sudden snap at the back of the ankle and no push-off
Pain that intensifies through a run, or limps you home
Shin pain that has narrowed from a broad ache to one point
A second or third bone stress injury in the same athlete
Book within 1 to 2 weeks
Manageable now, expensive to ignore
Heel pain that is worst on your first steps of the morning
Achilles stiffness that warms up but aches that evening
Knee pain that arrives at the same point in every run
Arch or inner ankle pain that builds late in long runs
The same injury returning every marathon block
Wanting a running assessment before a block or a goal race
Getting injured every marathon block is not a durability problem. It is a plan that ramps faster than your tissue adapts - and that is fixable.
Every plan is built around the realities of your running - your weekly volume, your goal race, the
surfaces you train on and the shoes you train in. There is no generic protocol here.
1
Assessment of how you actually run
We look at movement under load, not a static foot on a mat. A running assessment tells us where the force is going and why the tissue could not keep up with it.
Safe nail and callus care, blister and pressure management
3
Criteria-based return to run
Rather than a date on a calendar, we give you milestones you have to hit before you add volume, add speed, and run your goal session. Return-to-run programming is Matthew’s particular specialty.
Staged walk-run progressions with clear pain rules
Strength and capacity milestones before speed returns
Cross-training that preserves fitness while tissue heals
Communication with your physio, coach or run club
4
Prevention and performance
Once you are back running, the job changes: keeping you there. Training load and tissue capacity are the two levers that matter, and both are trainable.
Sensible progression rules for your next training block
Ongoing strength work targeted at your weak link
Shoe selection, rotation and replacement intervals
What we will not do
We will not put you in orthotics because you run. The evidence does not support matching devices to arch
height, and strength, load management and technique fix the majority of running injuries - where that is
the answer, you will hear it in the first appointment rather than the fifth. We will not prescribe rest
as a treatment for tendon pain, because rest deconditions the tendon and the problem returns with your
first week back. And we will not clear a bone that hurts because you have a race in three weeks. We will
tell you the truth about the race, then get you to the start line of the next one.
Why Up & Running
A running clinic staffed by runners
We have raced the distances you are training for, and we have had the injuries you are describing. That
changes the conversation.
Runners treating runners
A 2:39 marathoner and Ironman World Championship finisher, alongside a Melbourne Marathon and multiple Ironman 70.3 finisher. We understand what a taper, a block and a goal race actually mean.
Load before biomechanics
We start with your training history, because that is where most running injuries are made. Blaming your arch first is the fastest way to treat the wrong thing.
Video gait analysis
A running assessment looks at cadence, footstrike and strength under load, not a static foot on a mat. You leave with a diagnosis and a plan.
Return-to-run programming
Matthew’s specialty. Staged progressions with clear pain rules and capacity milestones, so you rebuild rather than gamble on how you feel that morning.
Connected to the running community
We work alongside Melbourne run clubs, triathlon coaches, physiotherapists and sports dietitians - particularly where energy availability is part of the picture.
HICAPS on-the-spot claims
All major health funds accepted. Claim your rebate instantly at every appointment, at every clinic, with no paperwork and no referral required.
Gary brings 15+ years of sports podiatry and a calm, methodical approach to complex ankle and tendon
injuries - which is precisely the caseload distance running produces. He has run a 2:39 marathon and
finished the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, and his clinical focus centres on optimising
performance through strength and movement efficiency rather than reaching for a device first. He uses
orthotic therapy precisely when it is clinically indicated, and has particular expertise in footwear
assessment.
Personal achievements
Marathon 2hr 39min · 10km 33min
Ironman World Champs Hawaii, 9hr 24min
Geelong 70.3 Ironman 2017, AG 1st place
VFL Reserves Premiership, Port Melbourne FC
Professional credentials
Consulting Podiatrist, Melbourne Demons AFLW
Consulting Podiatrist, Williamstown FC (VFL)
Member, Australian Podiatry Association
Member, Sports and Exercise Podiatry Australia
AHPRA RegisteredAPA Member15+ Years ExperienceComplex Ankle & Tendon
Matt’s focus is keeping runners and triathletes moving well and pain-free. A Melbourne Marathon and
multiple Ironman 70.3 finisher with a VFL football career behind him, he came to this work the hard way:
repeated lower limb injuries and surgical rehabilitation of his own. That experience drives his interest
in injury rehabilitation and return-to-run programming, and it means he manages training loads, strength
and running technique with the practical understanding of someone who has had to rebuild from zero.
Personal achievements
Melbourne Marathon finisher
Multiple Ironman 70.3 finisher
VAFA Premier Woodrow Medallist
State football representative · VFL career
Professional
Accredited Dry Needling
Return-to-run programming
SMA conference attendee 2017-19
Regular IOP CPD attendee
AHPRA RegisteredReturn to RunInjury RehabilitationDry Needling
This page was written and clinically reviewed by Gary Johnstone and Matthew Fieldsend, and is maintained by
the Up & Running Podiatry team. It is general information, not a diagnosis.
Book an assessment to get advice specific to your foot.
Explore our services
Services for runners
Commonly part of a runner’s treatment plan at our Melbourne clinics.
Three locations across Melbourne's inner west and south. Same-day appointments and all health funds
accepted. Choose the clinic nearest you and book online in under a minute.
The questions we are asked most often by runners at our Melbourne clinics.
It depends what “this” is, which is exactly why the diagnosis matters more than the rule. Broadly: soft-tissue pain that stays mild, does not worsen through a run, and settles within 24 hours can often be run through with a modified load. Bone pain cannot.
Pain that intensifies as you run, or that limps you home, means stop. We would rather adjust your training than take it away - complete rest deconditions tissue, and the problem usually returns with your first week back.
The most useful distinction is how localised it is. Shin splints tend to ache across a broad band of the inner shin, several centimetres long. A stress fracture is typically a point you can cover with one fingertip.
Pain that wakes you at night, or that is reproduced by hopping on the spot, also points to bone. If in doubt, treat it as bone and get it assessed - the cost of being wrong in that direction is far lower.
Sometimes, but shoes are blamed far more often than they deserve. The evidence does not support matching shoes to arch height, and there is no single correct shoe.
What does matter: a shoe that is comfortable, is the right size for a foot that swells over long runs, has adequate width through the forefoot, and has not done so many kilometres that its cushioning is dead. Abrupt changes in shoe type - particularly drop - can also provoke injury. We review all of this in a running assessment.
Most runners do not. Orthotics are a clinical tool for specific problems, not a default for everyone with a flat arch - Gary uses orthotic therapy precisely when it is clinically indicated, which is the right standard.
Strength, load management and technique fix the majority of running injuries. Where orthoses genuinely help, we prescribe them for your foot and your event.
It can, though not in the way most runners assume - there is no universally correct footstrike. What matters is where the load goes. A very low cadence with a long overstride increases braking forces and knee load; a sudden switch to forefoot striking shifts load onto the Achilles and calf.
Changing technique is a legitimate treatment tool, used deliberately and gradually via gait analysis, not a blanket prescription.
Usually because the plan ramps faster than the tissue adapts. Bone, tendon and fascia remodel more slowly than cardiovascular fitness improves, so you feel capable of a load your structures are not ready for.
Add compressed recovery, hard surfaces and under-fuelling, and the pattern repeats. A running assessment before your next block is a far better investment than treatment during it.
It is a genuine and under-recognised factor. When energy intake does not match training demand, bone health suffers along with hormonal function and recovery, and stress fractures become considerably more likely. This affects both male and female runners.
If you have had recurrent bone injuries, this is worth exploring properly rather than assuming it is your biomechanics. We will raise it with you, and refer to a sports dietitian or physician where appropriate.
We look at how you run, not just how your foot looks standing still. That means video gait analysis, cadence and footstrike, joint range and strength testing, footwear review, and a proper conversation about your training history and load.
No. Podiatrists are primary contact practitioners, so you can book directly without seeing your GP first. Private health rebates apply with extras cover and can be claimed on the spot through HICAPS at all three clinics.
A referral is only needed if you are accessing a Medicare Chronic Disease Management plan through your GP, which is a separate pathway and not typical for a running injury.
Often, yes - but that answer depends entirely on the tissue involved, and we will be straight with you rather than tell you what you want to hear. Many tendon and fascia problems can be managed while you keep training in a modified form.
Bone stress injuries usually cannot be rushed. Getting assessed early is what preserves the option of racing at all.
Running injuries recover faster, and more completely, when they are assessed early. Book with podiatrists
who have run the distances you are training for, and get a clear diagnosis and a return-to-run plan built
around your goal race.
