By Ben Croxford
You won’t find many greater advocates for the benefits of running than myself. As a physiotherapist, I love promoting running for all its health benefits and stand firm in my belief that everyone can run.
Running is great for your cardiovascular fitness, musculoskeletal strength and mental health. It’s beneficial for younger and older folk. You don’t need a gym membership, you can do it anywhere and you don’t have to be coordinated.
Unfortunately, running is associated with a high risk of short-term injury, primarily because running is considered a high-impact activity. Whilst our bodies are fundamentally built to run, they need time to adapt to the loading patterns of running. Most running injuries occur when we train beyond the current capacity of our muscles, tendons and bones.
Even though running has a high risk of injury, the common myth that running is bad for your knees and the long-term health of your joints is wrong. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite: lifelong recreational runners have consistently been shown to have a lesser risk of developing lower limb osteoarthritis than non-runners. Running is safe and you are not wearing out your joints.
The most important aspect to consider when getting into running fitness is to build up your training slowly but consistently. You should also change up each run with variables such as speed, intensity, duration and terrain, to reduce the risk the risk of overuse injuries. Good footwear is important, but not the most important thing. Lastly, you need to enjoy it to stick at it – so run with friends or somewhere scenic to keep it interesting. There are a lot of great places to run around here!
Being a runner myself, I love encouraging and supporting other runners in my role as a physiotherapist. Injuries certainly can occur, but that usually means you haven’t got your training routine right just yet. We can help you with that.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re experienced or a beginner, young or old, big or small…you can run!
Ben Croxford is a Physiotherapist and leads the team at Form & Practice Mt Evelyn, Olinda and Chirnside Park. His writings explore his favourite health topics, challenge common myths and aim to empower you to take control of your own health. Find out more at formandpractice.com.au
