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A client of mine who is a runner said he felt like his running had become effortless. This was the effect of balancing the loading joints and muscles, thus giving him more power and endurance to function in his sport. We'll take a look into this client's ability and how you can have the same ability in this weeks article.
Working with runners has always interested me. They are lean, usually low body fat and very strong. They also have an incredible mindset and can power through things that appear to be impossible.
By the time you get to my office, you are not feeling strong due to painful joints and muscles. Their issues are usually involving low back, hips, knees, ankles, and feet. They have single sided soreness in muscles and intermittent pain. Once the pain gets to a certain point, you may take time off running and, in some cases, decide not to run any longer. Stretching helps to alleviate temporary discomfort and pain, however it could be a band aid that covers up the real root cause.
I treat this with postural therapy. What this means is correcting posture which decreases pain. Treating the posture balances the eight loading joints which consists of shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. Balancing the loading joints eliminates muscle imbalances. It’s the muscle imbalances when corrected, that decreases and eliminates pain.
Whether you have neck and shoulder pain or foot pain, changing the posture is going to alleviate the imbalances, increase strength and function, while propelling you into the “zone”.Once the loading joints are balanced, we begin activating the muscles that have been affected by the posture. This increases the function of your body and makes you feel stronger.
How does this occur? When muscles are imbalanced and not working properly is going to slow you down and there is more struggling during your run. You have to push yourself harder and expend more energy while feeling like you are weaker and not as strong. Once your muscles are in balance again, you have an increase in performance and you are not putting all your energy into struggling with pain and lack of performance.
A client of mine who is a runner said he felt like his running had become effortless. This was the effect of balancing the loading joints and muscles, thus giving him more power and endurance to function in his sport. When you are suffering from painful joints or muscles, this steals the joy out of your sport. It’s hard to keep going when you are fighting the pain and not getting the performance from your training. It’s like your greatest struggle is just trying to overcome or deal with the pain.
Getting a program that helps you to overcome the pain and increase function is going to provide more opportunities to participate in your sport and enjoy being outdoors and running alone or with friends. If you are an avid runner and looking to decrease pain or increase performance, you can schedule a free postural assessment. In less than 45 minutes you will have answers to questions about why this is happening and what you can do to change into ahigh-performance runner.
Click here to schedule your free postural assessment.
Happy running and see you on the pavement!
Carolyn Vanzlow
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