Running: Look at the Big picture!

OK, the weather is warmer, the sun is shining, well maybe not this last week of April, but you get the idea, right?  Point is, you are ready to R.U.N.! Whether your a recreational runner, or getting ready for all these 5K’s (that pop up everywhere like those beautiful spring flowers), you can, and may end-up, injuring yourself.

Maybe you got new running shoes, maybe you just decided to get up out of your chair and start running like Forrest Gump, or you have activated (or not activated for that matter) muscles that are crucial to your running form, and you, now, are in PAIN! OUCH!

It is important to listen to how you run! Even with your earbuds in, you can still “notice how you strike the ground,” as physical therapist Robert Gillanders, PT, DPT, OCS says. Or, as recrational runner Katie McDonald Netiz stated, “I could not squeeze my glutes, which sounds ridiculous that a runner wouldn’t be able to do that, but I couldn’t.”

So, take a minute to refresh the do’s and dont’s before you put your body on that running regimen. Here is a link to a wonderful guide to healthy running: the E-book: The Physical Therapist’s Guide to Healthy Running.

As therapists, we are the experts in restoring and improving motion in people’s lives. Kara George, PT, DPT, CSCS is our running expert and go-to professional who can create specialized treatment and injury prevention plans for runners of all levels.

So whether you are returning to running, or just beginning we can get can help you get to the starting line of your running regimen!