Atlanta Runners: When Can You Start Running After An Injury?
The honest answer is: it depends. Every injury has its own healing timeline and every runner progresses along that timeline in their own way. No rehab for runners is one size fits all. We get this question with almost every runner that we work with at Tempo Physical Therapy & Performance in Atlanta. The right return-to-run plan should match your body’s recovery, not the calendar. But here’s what you can expect based on the type of tissue that was injured and how to know when your body is actually ready to hit the road again.
Typical Healing Timelines by Tissue Type
Understanding what you injured is key to estimating how long recovery might take. Muscles, tendons and bones are the most common injury sites runners deal with so that will be the main focus of this article. Identifying the correct tissue type is step 1.
Muscle injuries (strains or tears)
Mild strain: 2–4 weeks
Moderate strain: 4–8 weeks
Severe tear: 8–12+ weeks
Muscle tissue has a strong blood supply which helps it heal faster than tendons or bones. However, returning too soon can lead to a chronic cycle of re-injury, especially if strength or range of motion hasn’t fully returned before returning to your run training. Even if you’ve never had a muscle injury in the past, ramping up mileage intensity too quickly is a sure fire way to find yourself with a muscle running injury.
Tendon injuries (tendinitis or tendinopathy)
Acute tendinitis: 4–6 weeks
Chronic tendinopathy: 8–12+ weeks
Tendons heal slower because they have less blood flow. Unlike muscles, they don’t “bounce back” quickly, they remodel gradually based on how much load they can tolerate. Common running injuries involving tendons include Achilles tendinopathy or patellar tendinopathy.
In physical therapy for runners, it’s important to load tendons progressively and not just rest them. At Tempo PT, we guide runners through customized loading progressions to rebuild tissue tolerance safely.
Bone injuries (stress reactions or stress fractures)
Mild stress reaction: 6–8 weeks
Stress fracture: 8–16+ weeks (depending on location)
Bone healing depends on the area involved: tibia and metatarsal stress fractures often take 2–3 months to heal, while femoral or navicular stress fractures may take even longer. Stress fracture treatment in runners should feel like a slow and deliberate process when done correctly. When runners are diagnosed with a bone injury, it’s likely they missed some milder warning signs along the way. A bone injury is the rare time I will tell a runner that they have to stop running completely.
The biggest mistake runners make in returning to running after a bone injury? Running too soon because the pain is gone but before the bone has fully remodeled and regained strength. Runners shouldn’t take a guess and check approach to managing a bone stress injury. Work with a running specialized physical therapist to make sure you get it right and return to running without any issues.
Common Running Injury Timelines
Here’s what we typically see for specific running-related injuries:
These are general ranges, not guarantees. Your recovery time will depend on the severity of your injury, training history and how consistent you are with rehab.
How to Know You’re Ready to Run Again
At Tempo Physical Therapy in Atlanta, we use criteria-based testing to determine when a runner is ready to safely return to running, not just when pain subsides.
Here are a few key checkpoints:
✅ Pain-free walking and single-leg loading
✅ Full strength and range of motion compared to the other leg
✅ Able to hop in place 20 times without pain
✅ Able to perform calf raises, squats and lunges pain-free
✅ No swelling or soreness the next day
If you pass those tests, we start you on a run-walk progression plan, gradually increasing running intervals while monitoring symptoms.
The “Pain-Guided” Return Strategy
While zero pain for a runner is the most ideal situation, it’s not always realistic as we move through the rehab phases with our runners. A small amount of mild discomfort (1–2/10) during or after running is okay but pain that increases, lingers beyond 24 hours or causes limping means it’s too soon. We always are checking in with our patients between sessions to make sure we are adjusting accordingly for optimal progress towards a safe return to run.
Think of pain as information, not punishment. The goal isn’t just to get back to running; it’s to make sure you can stay running without repeated setbacks.
The Bottom Line
Healing takes time but more importantly, it takes the right plan.
If you’ve been sidelined by an injury and you’re unsure when to start running again, let our team help you create a safe, structured return-to-run plan based on your specific injury, strength and goals.
Local to Atlanta?
At Tempo Physical Therapy & Atlanta, we specialize in helping runners throughout Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Midtown and surrounding areas return to running stronger than before. Whether you’re dealing with shin splints, knee pain, or a stress fracture, we’ll guide you step-by-step through recovery and help prevent future injuries.
Book your FREE consultation call with a running specialized physical therapist and get a clear plan for when (and how) to start running again safely.
Written By: Dr. Morgan Kamau
