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Women’s Health: Running Wrong Will Ruin Your Joints

Women runners tend to get more injuries than men. Women also tend to have less strength in their hips and core compared to men. Typically, women tend to have strong quadriceps and weaker hamstrings. Collectively, weaker hips, cores and hamstrings cause women to run with a collapsed posture. This causes the knees to rub against each other and the feet to roll inward (pronate).
Running reduces the body's stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators.
Running reduces the body’s stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators.
RUNNING WRONG –  GET IT RIGHT
To offset injury adjust your style of running. Most runners are heel strikers. Heel striking is believed by many running experts to cause higher impact than landing near the middle or front of the foot, possibly contributing to an increased risk of injuries.
  • Consciously change your landing at the midfoot.  Don’t lead with the heel to soften the impact.
  • Increase your cadence slightly, (the number of steps per minute) to reduce the pounding from each stride.
Cross Train. Stick to exercises that closely mimic the motion of running such as cycling and swimming.
Regulate your breathing. Breathe through your mouth, slowly and deeply.
The best way to remain injury free is to improve your range of motion. Flexibility helps your body move smoothly with each stride, diffusing the pressure on your joints.
Run on uneven terrain. This forces the body to stabilize itself by engaging and strengthening the hips and core. The terrain also forces you to take smaller steps. A higher stride rate equates to fewer injuries.
Running helps reduce stress and prevents illness if done properly. Regular exercise helps lower your blood pressure, improve your cholesterol, and reduce your blood sugar. Exercise slows the aging process, increases energy, and prolongs life.
Don’t run in pain. If you experience a throbbing, piercing, sharp, or dull pain. Don’t think that you can work through the pain. Most of the time, the pain will persist or get worse.
Don’t take chances with your health. Go see a doctor, better yet make an appointment with a physical therapist.
To learn more about physical therapy treatment programs for running or to strengthen muscles and joints, set up a free exploratory examination with one of our doctors today.
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Moriarty Physical Therapy is the premier physical therapist provider here in the Hudson Valley with centers located near you. To find out more about physical therapy or to book your first appointment with a physical therapist, visit our website at www.moriartypt.com or contact Moriarty Physical Therapy at (845) 454-4137.

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Come visit one of our physical therapy clinics in New York or North Carolina and one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy will do a 15-minute consultation to see if physical therapy is right for you. In the consultation, we’ll help determine the source of pain and movement restrictions to see if you would benefit from physical therapy or might need the assistance of another healthcare professional. If so, we’ll make a referral and help speed up achieving your health goal.

You have nothing to lose; the screening is free! And if physical therapy could help you, we can perform the examination right then–even without a prescription–with Direct Access (covered by insurance).

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