Is Running Helping or Hurting You?

Running has numerous health benefits including prevention of high blood pressure, strengthens your immune system, and relieves stress.  However, we often don’t realize how delicate our body really is. Just like any exercise, if not done with knowledge and proper care it can cause injury instead of benefit. Here are a couple issues to be aware of when running:

Runner’s Knee

Do you ever experience a clicking noise accompanied by discomfort in your knees? Your knee joint serves as the connector between your thigh bone and shin bone. If your kneecap does not move properly at this junction, you can develop Runner’s Knee. What causes Runners Knee?

• Overusing your knees
• Not wearing proper footwear
• Not pacing your mileage

Some of the symptoms of Runners Knee are popping noises, discomfort, swelling, and a grinding sensation. If not treated properly, softening of cartilage will occur which is linked to arthritis later in life.

As we grow older sometimes we need to reevaluate our exercise regime. If you are showing signs that your joints and body are wearing down because of your exercise routine then it’s time to change it up. Try different forms of yoga and talk to a trainer to develop a program that is good for you.

Japanese Anma massage can help relieve your symptoms of arthritis, pain and discomfort caused from too many years of running.

Plantar Fasciitis

The plantar fascia is a thick band of tissue that stretches from your toes to your heel and is prone to tearing when your foot is overworked. Plantar Fasciitis the tear in the tissue between the heel and toe, is mainly caused by drastic or sudden increase in mileage while running. To make matters worse, that part of the foot has poor blood supply making the healing time very slow. Because of the poor blood supply once torn you may continue to experience additional pain and inflammation long after you have healed.

The best way to avoid these issues is to ease into running, and do not rush adding mileage. There are several running charts available that can help you pace your style and avoid injury. Also, perform stretching and warm-up exercise before every run can greatly lower risk for injury and pain.

Visit your massage therapist to work out muscle cramps and soreness. Most importantly, listen to your body. You may like jogging but your body may not. Your body will win the argument every time!