Running Strong: The Role of Chiropractic Care in Enhancing Running Performance
Running initially appears to be an athletic activity for which little training is needed. If you can walk, you can run, right?
Not so fast.
While practice definitely makes it better in terms of improving endurance and speed, optimizing performance and preventing injury while running involves mastering multiple vital training fundamentals.
A sports chiropractic approach to running focuses on much more than maintaining a certain pace over a particular distance but equally prioritizes balance, strength, flexibility, and power alongside endurance and speed.
Balance
At any given time, a runner is placing all of his or her body weight on one leg as it propels the body from that leg to the other. Balance is important not only for maintaining stability in a one-legged position but as it applies for the even distribution of weight during motion. Lack of stability and body balance can cause excessive and uncontrolled motions that lead to rolled ankles, a runner’s knee, or other overuse injuries as muscles try to compensate for imbalances. Improving body balance and stability skills enhances performance efficiency by ensuring runners don’t waste energy on excessive motion.
Strength Power
Strength training and running might seem mutually exclusive, but focusing on muscular strength (not size) directly translates to more power, speed, and endurance. Improving a runner’s leg and core strength allows them to generate more force as they propel forward, which decreases fatigue during activity and leads to faster running times. Improved strength also contributes to better balance, stability, and running posture, which eases pressure on muscles, joints, and tendons, allowing for freer movement.
Flexibility
Flexibility is important to running performance because the range of motion is key to efficient movement and preventing injury. While many runners eschew stretching to preserve the running burst they believe comes with tighter muscles, some measure of flexibility is vital to improving stride length and promoting proper biomechanics. A good balance of strength and flexibility can help the body better absorb the forces to joints that come with each foot strike, as well as encourage faster recovery times and prevent injuries.
Chiropractic Adjustments
Misalignments in the spine, knee, and hips can affect running efficiency by impeding nervous system communication and limiting range of motion. Adjusting misaligned joints can dramatically eliminate training pain and aid in faster recovery overall.
DTX Sports Medicine can guide your athletic training program toward mastery of all of the fundamentals of running. When combined with regular chiropractic adjustments and a whole host of recovery therapies, your enhanced strength, balance, and flexibility will translate to better training outcomes through improved biomechanics and fewer injuries.
Whether you are competing against other runners or just your own personal best, sports chiropractic care can help optimize your running performance and make training more satisfying.
