Running Injury Care in Burlington

When running is part of your life, an injury is more than an inconvenience. It disrupts your routine, your goals, and often your mood. At Westside Chiropractic in Burlington, we understand that, because one of our chiropractors is a marathoner herself.

Care from a chiropractor who runs

Dr. Emily Maranger is a two-time marathon runner with a wealth of knowledge on everything running, from shoes to fuel. She loves helping new and experienced runners meet and exceed their goals, whether you are building toward your first race or chasing a personal best. She is a practitioner who truly understands why “just stop running” is not the advice you want to hear, and why your plan should account for the training and events you care about. You can learn more about Dr. Emily and the rest of the team on our about page.

What your first visit looks like

We take a full history and assess how you move, then explain what we think is going on and talk through your options before we begin treatment. For runners, that history includes your training: how far and how often you run, what has changed lately, and what you are working toward. Every treatment and recovery plan is tailored to you, not pulled from a template.

How we care for running injuries

Our care draws on hands-on, holistic treatments, adapted to each runner:

• Adjustments: specific, gentle, hands-on adjustments that increase mobility and movement in joints.
• Soft tissue therapies: hands-on work alongside adjusting, used where it fits your complaint.
• Contemporary medical acupuncture: encourages natural healing and can reduce or relieve pain and improve function in the affected area. Both of our chiropractors were certified through the McMaster University Contemporary Medical Acupuncture program.
• Exercise and rehab: exercises that improve functional activity and strength, helping your body alleviate discomfort and manage pain.
• Custom orthotics: when biomechanics stemming from the feet are part of the picture, we cast corrective shoe inserts to your feet for support.

The running injuries we see most

Every runner’s story is different, but the complaints tend to rhyme. These pages explain how we think about the most common ones:

• Runner’s knee: pain around or behind the kneecap that builds on runs and stairs.
• IT band syndrome: sharp outer-knee pain that shows up partway into a run.
• Shin splints: that ache along the inner shin when training ramps up.
• Plantar fasciitis: heel pain that is worst on your first steps of the morning.

Recovery planning and returning to running

Runners come to us with both chronic and acute complaints, including joint stiffness, back pain, and sciatic pain. Whatever brings you in, your individual strengths and weaknesses affect how you recover, and understanding the severity of the underlying condition helps us plan that recovery well.

Part of that plan is an honest conversation about training load and how to return to running in a way that fits where you are right now, not just where you want to be. Fitness does not sit in storage while you rest, so the ramp back matters as much as the time off. We explain our thinking as we go, so you always know why we are suggesting what we are suggesting.

Visit us in Burlington

You will find us at 1401 Plains Road East, Unit 2, in Burlington, with free parking on site. Runners come to us from Burlington and Aldershot, and from as far as Waterdown, Hamilton, and Oakville. Chiropractors are primary contact practitioners in Ontario, so you do not need a referral to book online and get started.