Ask Tempo

Niggle or injury? How to decide before you run

By Dylan, founder of Tempo · 4 min read

Short answer: a few honest questions sort most cases. Does it warm up and fade in the first ten minutes, or get worse as you run? Does it change your stride? Is it sharp and pinpoint, or dull and diffuse? Is it there when you're just walking around? Pain that eases as you warm up, leaves your gait alone, and stays mild is usually a niggle. Pain that worsens, alters your form, is sharp and localised, or lingers at rest is a stronger signal to stop. You make the call — these just sharpen it.

The four questions worth asking

Does it warm up or worsen? Many minor niggles ease within the first ten minutes and stay quiet. Pain that builds the longer you run is the opposite signal.

Does it change how you move? This is the big one. If something makes you shorten your stride, land differently, or limp, running on it isn't "toughing it out" — it's teaching your body a compensation that tends to create a second problem somewhere up the chain.

Is it sharp or dull? Dull, diffuse, muscular aches are usually lower-stakes. Sharp, pinpoint pain — especially over a joint or bone — deserves more caution.

Is it there at rest? A twinge that only shows up under load is different from one that's present when you're sitting, walking, or lying in bed at night.

What the answers tend to mean

If it warms up, doesn't change your stride, is dull, and disappears at rest — that's the profile of a niggle most runners proceed with, usually with an easy day rather than the hard session. If it worsens as you run, alters your gait, is sharp and localised, or hangs around at rest, that's the profile that's worth respecting — and the more of those that stack, the louder the signal.

The asymmetry to keep in mind

The two mistakes aren't equal. Taking three easy days off when it turns out to be nothing costs you almost nothing. Forcing a run on something real can cost you weeks. When the picture is genuinely ambiguous, the cheaper error is to back off and reassess tomorrow — you rarely regret the easy day.

When to get it looked at

Some signals are worth a professional's eyes rather than a self-test: sharp pain on bone that worsens with impact, anything that makes you limp, pain that persists at rest or wakes you at night, or something that hasn't settled after about a week of reduced load. A physio early is far cheaper than a stress fracture later. (This is general information, not medical advice — if you're worried, get it checked.)