Running is an extremely popular form of exercise, especially in the west of Ireland (with good reason): the rolling hills, coastal views, purity and simplicity. Minimal equipment necessary, no gym membership, can be done rain or shine and the benefits are vast from weight and blood pressure management to the relief of stress.
As the kilometers tick over, everything is fantastic UNTIL…. that dreadful step where you feel the twinge in the hamstring, sharp pain in the knee, dart of pain along the IT band, ache in the lower back or pang in the hip.
Alarming statistics find that 2/3 of runners become injured in some way. Tendonitis, shin splints, ankle sprains, hip pain, lower back pain, patellar pain to IT band. Be proactive to find yourself in the pain free, uninjured running category!
Prepare – Plan – Succeed!
A.) Shoes for YOU — Make sure to invest in high quality shoes that have proper support based on your feet.
B.) Warm up — DON’T just hit the road and “warm up as you go”. It is important that you put your muscles, ligaments and joints through a dynamic warm-up before you begin running.
C.) Cool down and stretch — When you have completed your run take some sufficient time and stretch the muscles that you have put through the paces.
Chiropractors are frequently utilized within the running community to help prevent injury, speed up recovery and optimize performance. Below are a few ways chiropractic care helps runners.
A.) Increased range of motion – Joints that are free and mobile allow for greater flexibility and overall range of motion which benefits a runner. Improved joint mobility and flexibility improve chances of injury avoidance.
B.) Decreased healing time – Running injuries happen. It’s the unfortunate nature of the beast. Depending on the severity they can take weeks or months to heal which for a dedicated runner is terrible news. Chiropractors are skilled manual therapists with the ability to diagnose the injury and provide treatment and supportive rehabilitative care to assist with a speedy recovery.
C.) Minimize instance of injury by optimizing musculoskeletal health – “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It is easier to keep things working well that already work well. Regular check-ups with a chiropractor is very effective at this. During check-ups chiropractors assess and ensure joint health is optimized (spinal and extremity), address muscular imbalances and work to achieve proper mobility and stability.
