As the domestic and grassroots football season comes to an end, it's that time of year where you're faced with the choice of a complete break or look to take part in another sport to keep the adrenaline and endorphins flowing that you've been addicted to each weekend for the last nine months.

At this stage of the season players begin to worry about loosing their fitness and one of the things I'm asked commonly by my patients is how long does fitness last? Well, that depends upon how fit you are in the first place but a safe guide for you to stick to would be two weeks. My medical opinion and advice would be to tell you that your body probably could do with a bit of a rest after a long season, and to use these next two weeks wisely and give your body a break.

But I'm acutely aware that many people jump swiftly from one sport to the next, sometimes over night. A wet cricket season in underway, the rowers are on the rivers, the runners have a new set of shoes ready to wear in and Wimbledon is only six weeks away. Lest we forgot the Olympics is set to invade our TV screens and inspire us all to be more active than we're likely to be a month after it finishes.

Most professional footballers will be having their rest now, but once they return from their end of season trips it really will be time to start maintaining their fitness and gradually improving it.

Running is the most common method that most players will choose to keep fit in the close season and if you're planning to do the same, or are already a keen runner, here are one or two things for you to think about.

Where you live, and subsequently choose to run in the North-East can have a significant impact upon your injury risk. Let me explain. On a weekly basis I will see more injured runners in my Guisborough and Durham Physio clinics, than I will in Hartlepool and Darlington. It's because of the landscape.

You're much more likely to injure a calf muscle or suffer back pain running up hills and on uneven surfaces such as that you might experience in the Cleveland Hills area or around the streets of Consett. Compare that to somewhere like my hometown of Hartlepool where it is nearly all flat, then it makes sense that you'd be likely to be putting your body through a whole different set of demands. The weaknesses of these demands will show in the form of an injury.

My advice to you as you set off to increase your fitness, begin a weight loss program or even begin your training for the Great North Run is not to run as hard as you can. Many runners think that if they are running fast, they are running efficiently, which definitely isn't the case.

In the beginning you should aim to slow down and learn how to run further, faster. If you're new to running, it would be a great idea to wear a heart rate monitor to try to keep your running at a set pace and stick to it.

Your body will learn to adapt and eventually run more comfortably at this pace, meaning you will eventually be able to run faster without pushing any harder. Great Britian Olympic hopeful Mo Farah and other athletes will have begun their training for 2012 in this exact same way.

Read this column over the coming months and I will share with you my tips for improving your fitness and will continue to provide you with the best injury tips and advice possible.

Whether you're a footballer, a parent or coach, this column remains an essential read as the tips I'll be revealing are ones you can follow to ensure you or your players return to pre-season in tiptop shape.