Running has become of the most popular ways for people of all ages to keep fit and active. This natural and inexpensive sport allows people to improve their health and well-being simply by donning a decent pair of training shoes and stepping outside of their front door. However, there can be downsides for some.
Running is a high impact activity and the constant pounding of our joints is exacerbated by the fact that the majority of us run on unforgiving surfaces such as roads or pavements.
Unlike running on soil and earth, running on man-made surfaces offers little in the way of ‘give’ and over the course of time runners may experience problems with their joints – especially the ankles, knees, and hips.
The many benefits enjoyed by people who run regularly can be hard to give up once experienced, so what can we do to help prevent injuries from occurring and speed up recovery times when they do? Well, although it may come as a surprise to some, a visit to the chiropractor can often have a great deal of benefits to the runner. This is regardless of whether you are training for a half marathon or simply enjoy running once or twice a week for fitness.
Chiropractors do not simply concentrate on treating our backs and our necks, despite what the public perception of the practice may be. A good chiropractor will be able to offer a whole body approach to wellness, an approach that could have a number of benefits for runners and joggers everywhere.
Let’s take a closer look at some of those benefits in more detail:
Preventative measures
While regular visits to your local chiropractor cannot guarantee that you will not ever get an injury, having a more aligned body can certainly help. Chiropractors can work on areas that have become out of sync with one another and the result can even improve your running technique and posture.
Faster recovery times
If you are unfortunate and do suffer an injury whilst running, a visit to the chiropractor can often help to promote healing of the affected area and get you back out on the road far quicker than if the body was left to its own devices. This is achieved by way of manual manipulation, which will encourage restrictions within the body to break down and increase blood flow to the damaged tissue.
Our bodies are interconnected, so work on a region away from the injury can often have impressive results on the area that is causing discomfort and pain. This holistic approach can also bring about a more relaxed state of body and mind, which again will help to promote healing naturally.
Better pain management
Even the smallest of injuries can result in us feeling a great deal of pain for a considerable amount of time. Whilst healing, this pain can often be insufferable, but chiropractic treatment can bring some relief and reduce the severity of the pain experienced.
Removing some of the discomfort without the need to resort to pharmaceuticals is obviously beneficial to both short and long term health. After all, why ingest unnecessary chemicals when there is a more natural approach that can possibly bring equal, if not greater, relief.
Lower risk of injury recurrence
Another important benefit of visiting your local chiropractor if you are a runner is the opportunity to lower the chances of having an old injury reoccur. Not being able to run can be devastating for some, especially those whose running helps them with depression, so reducing the likelihood of long spells on the side-lines has obvious benefits.
Through regular sessions, the chiropractor can help bring balance to your body, which may help to prevent old injuries resurfacing. This works in much the same way as the initial preventative methods employed by a chiropractor that we discussed earlier, but if you have already suffered an injury in the past, this course of action is naturally too late.
It is an unfortunate fact that many runners stop running too early due to injuries that can be helped with a little chiropractic work. Thanks to the common misconception that chiropractors are only able to help with back and neck troubles, many runners who could get help are simply not aware that a trip to their local chiropractic specialist could soon have them back out running again.
So, give your local chiropractor a try and see if they can make a difference rather than letting pounding the pavements become a distant memory.