Running into trouble?

As a runner, your running style, pace, stride, balance, weight and biomechanics will all play a part in reducing or increasing the risk of common running injuries. You can look to your chiropractor or spinal specialist – mine is Dr Christian Farthing at BodyWell Group in Blean – to assess your running technique and advise on improvements you can make that will reduce your risk of injury.

For example, misalignments in your feet can lead to painful conditions affecting your feet and ankles – such as plantar fasciitis and achilles tendinopathy. These conditions are worsened by the impact of running so it’s important to resolve the problems of misalignment as promptly as possible if you want to stay on your feet.

Uneven weight distribution through your lower legs can cause calf strain at the back or shin splints at the front. Calf strain is typically caused by having a short stride, so its easy to understand why chiropractic advice is helpful in lengthening your stride and checking for any vertebral misalignments in the lower back. Shin splints meanwhile, are often caused by over pronated or over supinated feet (flat footed or high arches). A chiropractor can resolve the issues of poor biomechanics in your feet and ‘fix’ your shin splint pain.

Understanding the causes of pain

Patella Femoral Pain Syndrome comes with a general all round pain and sometimes grinding or clicking on bending or straightening the knee. Iliotibial Band Syndrom (ITB Syndrome) meanwhile, has a sharper pain above the knee.

Pain is a funny thing though. Once it starts, we begin to compromise our posture, over analyse our symptoms and before you know it, we can struggle to define the precise problem with our knees. Your chiropractor will be able to analyse your running style – which is itself a diagnostic tool – as well as assess your standing X-ray, muscle imbalances and biomechanics and then correct them.

Keeping your spine in good health

How could I write about running injuries without mentioning Lower Back Pain. Poor posture and/or vertebral misalignments (subluxations) will put your spine under a great deal of stress, particularly when the impact of running is taken into account. Corrective chiropractic care has been proven in a wide range of studies to be highly effective in dealing with back pain. To keep on running and to maintain a healthy spine, you owe it to yourself to make the most of your chiropractor’s knowledge and skills.