Understanding and returning from minor injuries/niggles
Many runners struggle to differentiate between a minor injury and a niggle, knowing the difference can help you decide whether to press on with training, adapt your load or stop running completely.
A niggle is best thought of as an early warning signal, rather than damage. It is usually a mild ache, stiffness or tightness that appears during or after running, but does not significantly alter your gait or limit daily activities. An injury, by contrast, involves a meaningful loss of tissue capacity. This may include structural changes such as tendon degeneration, muscle fibre disruption, bone stress reactions or joint inflammation. With a niggle, there is typically no meaningful structural damage. The tissue is irritated, sensitised or fatigued, but still capable of tolerating load if managed appropriately.
It is also important to distinguish niggles from delayed onset muscle soreness, commonly known as DOMS which is a normal (sometimes painful!) response to unfamiliar or eccentric loading, such as downhill running, speed work, strength training or a sudden increase in volume. It usually appears twelve to forty eight hours after the session, feels dull or tender rather than sharp, and affects muscles symmetrically. DOMS improves as you warm up, peaks within a couple of days, and resolves on its own without targeted treatment.
Niggles respond well to load modification, tend to improve day by day, feel better with gentle movement, and do not worsen during or after easy running. Stiffness may be present at the start of a run but eases as you warm up, with no increase in symptoms later in the day.
If it’s a minor injury you can use relative rest and cross training. All of your Running Algorithm sessions can be done on the bike or elliptical while you’re recovering, and you may be able to continue running your easy sessions (this approach is called relative rest). You’re also now able to report pain to us, and your run sessions will be adjusted accordingly.
Some symptoms should not be ignored though. Bone stress injuries often begin with mild, manageable discomfort but you should not train through them. Warning signs include very localised pain, symptoms that appear earlier in each run, pain that does not settle with warming up, or discomfort present at rest or at night. A history of rapid training increases, low energy availability or previous bone stress injury all increase risk and should prompt early assessment rather than continued running.
When returning to running after a few days off some discomfort is normal as tissues re-adapt to load, however pain (over 3/10) is a sign that you aren’t ready to return to training yet. Discomfort should be mild, stable, and ideally improve as you warm up. Pain that changes your stride, sharpens as the run progresses, or lingers afterwards is a signal to stop. Symptoms should not be worse the following morning. Your first run back after 5 days or fewer off should be no more than 50% of your longest run or up to 30 minutes (whichever is shorter). If you’ve been off 6-10 days (and this includes time off with illness too) then start with a 15 minute jog.
If you have introduced something new - shoes, surface, incline - remove it until you are pain free, then reintroduce it more gradually.
Ultimately, niggles are part of training. Most resolve quickly when load is adjusted early and sensibly. Remember all our sessions can be used to cross train if you’re unsure; pain-free movement and controlled load often lead to quicker resolution of the niggle than total rest.
TL;DR
A niggle is an early warning sign, not structural damage. It feels like mild ache or stiffness, does not change your gait, and usually improves with sensible load modification. Niggles should feel better as you warm up and not worsen during or after easy running. More persistent, localised pain that worsens with running, appears earlier each session, or is present at rest may indicate injury and needs greater caution. Bone stress symptoms should never be trained through. When returning after a few days off, mild discomfort is normal but pain is not. Keep the first run short and easy, remove recent changes like new shoes or surfaces, and use cross training freely. Early, controlled load almost always resolves niggles faster than full rest.
