Runners: 4 Simple Ways to Increase Your Endurance
Your posture can have a direct impact on your speed and endurance. With good form, you can avoid many of the sports injuries common to runners such as shin splints, ankle sprains, Achilles tendonitis, runner’s knee and stress fractures.
Tread Lightly
Sports Chiropractors can increase endurance by treating and even preventing common sports injuries.
Many runners can be heard more than a block down the street with their loud, foot-clapping footsteps. This puts unnecessary stress on the feet and ankles. Strive for a quiet, springy gate. The ball of your foot – not your heel – should touch the ground first. If your heel strikes first, it can slow your speed and increase stress on your joints.
Stand Up Straight
Keep your back straight and your shoulders back. Runners who hunch forward often tilt their pelvis forward putting pressure on your lower back. This can throw the rest of your body out of alignment. If you feel yourself leaning too far forward, breathe in with your abdomen. This will remind you to straighten up, naturally.
Keep Your Elbows In
It’s true that swinging your arms along with a good leg stride helps to thrust you forward, but too much arm swing can twist your body through your shoulders – causing joint problems. Your arms should make a 90-degree angle, and your fingers should barely rest on your palms. Swing your arms in the direction of your movement – keeping everything on a straight line.
Consider Sports Chiropractors
Sports chiropractors specialize in joint function. By correcting spinal alignment, and addressing the underlying factors affecting soft tissue problems – such as poor running technique, improper footwear or training errors, they can free up your body to perform at it’s optimum level.
The sports chiropractors at Fulk Chiropractic in Olathe, KS specialize in treating and preventing sports injuries. Open 7 days a week, they are an emergency chiropractor for many athletes in the Kansas city area – offering X-rays and physical therapy at a fraction of the cost of a visit to the emergency room.