Spring Reset: The 5 Overuse Injuries We See Most Every September (And How to Avoid Them)
September in Sydney does something predictable to hybrid athletes. The mornings get lighter, the running events start popping up on Instagram, and everyone in the gym suddenly remembers they signed up for a Hyrox in November. Training volume creeps up, “just one more run this week” becomes three, and by the third week of the month our appointment book looks like a highlight reel of the same five injuries on repeat.
None of these are mysterious. They’re the entirely predictable result of asking tissue that’s been coasting through winter to suddenly do a lot more, a lot faster. Here’s what we see walking through the door every spring, and what actually works to keep you out of our clinic (in the good way, not the “we miss you” way).
1. Achilles tendinopathy
The classic “I added two extra runs a week and now my heel is unhappy” injury. The Achilles doesn’t love sudden jumps in running volume, especially if you’ve spent winter mostly under a barbell. Keep your running increases boring — think 10% a week, not “I feel great, let’s double it.”
2. Patellar tendinopathy (jumper’s knee)
Box jumps and wall balls ramping up for race prep hit the front of the knee hard. If you’re getting a dull ache under the kneecap that warms up during a session and comes back angrier the next morning, that’s your early warning. Don’t wait for it to become a limp.
3. Rotator cuff pain / tendinopathy
Wall balls, thrusters, snatches — all the overhead work that spikes when people start “getting serious” about their Hyrox prep. Rotator cuffs are happy to do a lot of overhead work, just not a lot they haven’t built capacity for. Build the volume gradually and don’t skip the accessory shoulder work you keep telling yourself you’ll get to.
4. Lower back strain
Sled pushes and heavy deadlifts under fatigue, usually at the end of a session when form quietly checks out before you do. This one’s less about the exercise and more about when you’re doing it — the last few reps of a fatigued session are exactly when technique breaks down and the low back picks up the slack.
5. Plantar fasciitis
More running, plus more time in minimal training shoes, plus feet that have had a comfortable winter — a recipe for that stabbing first-step-out-of-bed pain. If mornings are ugly but it eases as you move, catch it early. Ignored plantar fasciitis is a stubborn, months-long house guest.
The pattern behind all five
It’s not the training that’s the problem, it’s the rate of change. Bodies adapt beautifully to more load — they just need the increase spread over weeks, not crammed into one enthusiastic fortnight. Progress your running and jumping volume gradually, keep an eye on niggles before they become injuries (a dull ache that doesn’t resolve within 24–48 hours is trying to tell you something), and don’t let race-day excitement talk you into skipping recovery.
If you’ve already got one of these five brewing, or you’d just rather get ahead of spring training before your body forces the conversation, book a spring assessment with us at Elite Performance Physios — let’s keep you running toward race day, not limping toward it.
