A Local Chiropractor Talks about the Impacts of Running

School is back in session, and it’s sports season again.  We talked about football and soccer; now let’s turn our focus to one of Dr. Shayne Durbin’s favorite sports: running.  As a runner, I know the impacts, the strains, and what can happen when you’re not properly adjusted.  Runners, listen up!

But I have also seen how incredibly well people perform when they are adjusted.  And I have seen those who thought they could never run again, get back out there and pound the pavement because their bodies are adjusted properly.

Common Injuries Experienced by Runners

Running is a great way to keep your heart in good shape, exercise your muscles, and overall improve your fitness.

But it’s also considered to be a high impact sport.  A high impact sport is one where the bones and joints experience considerable force with every step.  Because of this, there are a few injuries that we can predict will come up at some point in runner’s career.

Runner’s Knee – Technically called patellofemoral pain, but nobody wants to rattle off that tongue twister.  Runner’s knee happens when the cartilage (your natural shock absorbers) wears down or gets “fatigued.”  Basically, runner’s knee can be just a catch-all phrase for knee pain.

Stress Fractures – Your bones are pretty strong.  But if you go from not running, to running a lot, your bones aren’t ready for the impact.  Combine that with weakened leg muscles (your leg muscles can prevent your bones from taking the full impact), and you can get little itty bitty fractures.  These things will heal with rest, but they hurt.

Shin Splints – The front of your tibia is your shin.  Shin splints happen when you change up your exercise routine too fast, and you stress out the areas around your shins.  The muscle, tendons, and bone tissues get sore and inflamed.  Often they’ll go away without issues, but it takes rest.  Ease into a more strenuous routine to avoid them.

Plantar Fasciitis – Plantar means referring to the sole of your foot.  Fascia is a thin connective tissue that essentially holds your muscles in place.  –itis means inflammation of.  Put them all together, and you have inflammation of the fascia on the bottom of your foot.  Essentially it really hurts to take steps when this happens, with icing, stretching, and taking it easy you can recover.

Twists and Sprains – We’ve probably all twisted our ankle at one point or another.  A really bad twist is called a sprain, where you actually do a bit of damage to the tendons and ligaments.  The important thing to remember is that afterward, get those bones back in place so the tendons and ligaments don’t heal in a stretched out position.

How Chiropractic Care Prevents Injuries

Alright, we know what could happen if we’re not careful out there while running.  But if you’re not injured, why see a chiropractor, right?

Well, not exactly.

Just about everyone is set up to be injured.  It’s just a matter of time.  It’s a joint that’s just a bit out of whack, and it’s causing you to compensate a little bit.  It could be so subtle you don’t even realize it!

But then, over time, especially with high impact and repetitive exercise like running, you stress it a little bit more until something gives.

But seeing a chiropractor regularly helps to keep things in line, so that you’re not getting out of line.  Or, you know, injuring yourself.

How a Chiropractor in Billings Helps Injuries Heal

But what happens if you’re already injured?  A doctor fixes you, right?

Well, again, not exactly.

A doctor can help get you set up to heal, but your body does the healing.  With injuries that aren’t incredibly severe (in other words, they don’t require surgery to repair the damage), a chiropractor can get your body set up to heal itself.

By aligning your joints, and making sure your nervous system is transferring information, you can heal faster than if everything is left to chance.

Schedule an Appointment with a Chiropractor Near You

By now you’re saying, “Okay doc, we get it!  Us runners need you, but how do we make an appointment?”

It’s easy.  Just call the office at 406-545-2128, or fill out the appointment request form, and we’ll get in touch with you shortly to help prevent injuries, or to help you heal from those you’ve already incurred.