Safety first means you have to walk before you can run!

Since the day man first rose from all fours - about six million years ago - running has been a pastime for millions of people worldwide. Thousands of road races and marathons occur each year, making running the sixth most popular form of exercise in the United States. But you don't need to run marathons to gain the benefits of running; thirty minutes a day will do!

Just as there are great health benefits to be had from this excellent cardiovascular exercise, there are also risks. No one can predict who will or will not get injured from running. Until recently, it was believed that running less than 20 miles per week lowered the risk of injury.

Running more than 40 miles per week, as well as old age, increased the risk for both male and female runners to incur lower-extremity running injuries, although the risk was higher for men, possibly because they weigh more than women.

There doesn’t appear to be a connection between warming-up and lower-extremity injuries, so stretching beforehand may not reduce your risk of injury.
A history of previous injuries tends to repeat itself, however. Runners with old injuries should be extra cautious by avoiding overexertion and taking the full amount of time to recover from being injured. Today, the only fact that running experts agree on is that the most predominant area of injury is the knee.

A knee injury may be a stretching or a tearing of the ligaments, patella (kneecap), or the muscles and tendons that attach to the knee. With knee sprains, there is some tearing of the ligaments on the knee joint itself, and this usually occurs as a result of a twisting motion. Twisting or sudden unexpected jolts that can occur when running over rough terrain can also tear the meniscus, cartilaginous tissue within the kneecap. Treatment for a mild knee strain or sprain involves adequate rest, ice packs, a brace or an elastic knee wrap and eventually, light exercise.
Light moderate exercises like Straight Leg Raises will keep joints from freezing up and muscles from getting stiff. To do them, lie on your back, one knee bent, the other straight, with hands palms-down under the buttocks to support the back. Contract the quadriceps on the straight leg, and then raise the leg to the height of the other knee. Pause at the top, then lower the leg but do not allow it to touch the floor. Repeat this for 10-15 reps, three sets.

Aside from the knee, other common complaints include inflammation of the plantar fascia (the tight band of tissue that runs from the toes to the heel), heel bruises, inflamed tendons, blisters, ingrown toenails and nerve damage. There are limits to the running and jogging game. A walker puts perhaps 120 percent of his body weight on each foot—a runner throws up to four times that weight. At each stride, a 180-pound runner, sprinting on a hard surface, slams about 700 pounds through a few square inches of bone on each foot. Something’s bound to give, so be careful!

by Bruce Heath, DnC