Severity-Based Modification
When you report an injury, Pheidi applies a temporary overlay to your remaining workouts based on pain severity (1–10 scale). Your original plan is preserved — the modifications are layered on top and removed when you mark the injury as resolved.
The response escalates with severity:
| Severity | Distance | Quality Workouts | Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mild (1–3) | Reduced by 20% | Converted to easy | Proceed with caution, stop if pain increases |
| Moderate (4–6) | Reduced by 50% | All converted to easy | Keep intensity easy, skip quality sessions |
| Severe (7–10) | All set to 0 | All converted to rest | Rest and consult a healthcare provider |
Return-to-Running Progression
When you mark an injury as resolved, Pheidi doesn't throw you back in at full volume. It applies a 4-week graduated return that permanently scales your plan's distances for a safe ramp-up:
| Return Week | Volume | Example (40 mi/week plan) |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 50% | 20 miles |
| Week 2 | 70% | 28 miles |
| Week 3 | 85% | 34 miles |
| Week 4 | 100% | 40 miles (full volume) |
The progression scales the week's shape — every multiplier is reduced by the same factor, so the relative distribution stays the same. Your long run is still the longest run of the week, just shorter.
Pain Tracking
Pheidi tracks your pain history over time and analyzes the trend:
- Improving — pain is decreasing over recent entries
- Stable — pain level is holding steady
- Worsening — pain is increasing; consider rest or medical advice
Recurring Injury Detection
If the same body part is reported injured two or more times, Pheidi flags it as a recurring injury and recommends consulting a sports medicine specialist for a biomechanical assessment.
Cross-Training Suggestions
When you can't run, Pheidi suggests safe cross-training activities based on the injured body part — for example, swimming and upper body work for a knee injury, or cycling and core work for an IT band issue.
Key Takeaway
Report injuries honestly — Pheidi will overlay reduced workouts without touching your original plan. When you're ready, a 4-week graduated return brings you back safely instead of jumping in at full volume.
Injury management lives inside the Pheidi app — sign in to log an injury.
Research & evidence
Science behind this feature from pheidi.training.
- Running Training Plan: The Complete Guide Pillar hub linking 48+ deeper dives — start here for the full picture.
- Return-to-Running After Injury Walk pain-free first; PEACE & LOVE protocol replaces RICE.
- PEACE & LOVE Injury Protocol The 2019 BJSM framework replacing RICE.
- PEACE & LOVE: 2025 Narrative Review What the latest clinical literature says about recovery.
- Return-to-Running Protocol Stage-by-stage progression with 0–10 pain scale gates.
- Injury Prevention: What Actually Works Load management beats strength training, stretching, and shoes.
- Running Injury Rates: 2025 Review Modern prevalence data and what it tells us about prevention.
See also
- How Load Redistribution Works What happens to the miles you remove from your plan, and how Pheidi safely reallocates load across future easy runs without breaching ACWR thresholds.
- How Safety Guards Work How Pheidi protects you from training load spikes and injury risk: ACWR monitoring, session spike limits, and weekly volume caps based on running research.
- How Plan Layers Work How Pheidi modifies your training plan non-destructively through overlay layers, so every change (vacation, injury, swap) can be undone without losing the original.