Can you believe…….
That it is coming up on TWO YEARS since I have been able to go running????!!!!!! 😱
^^These guys get it!! The freedom that comes from exerting yourself in the form of running or jogging – – and having a furry friend by your side makes it even better, I’m sure!!! 🏃🏾♂️🐶
The last time that I strapped on my running sneakers was in Cape Coral, Florida, March 2019. This was while I was spending time with my Mom and Stepdad at their favorite vacation spot before heading to the Appalachian Trail for the biggest adventure of my life to date. 👟🏞
Now, it is coming upon the two-year mark since I have needed to eliminate running from my vast collection of exercises.
And I can picture the two main reactions to this statement of mine: Either “And that’s a bad thing???!!” or “Oh no, that’s terrible!!!” Depending on if you actually like to run OR if you would STILL think-twice about running even if a monstrous beast appeared and started chasing you! 😆👹
Well, for me, going for a run would always take me to my “happy place,” where I could zone out, push myself with sprints or long-distance challenges, get lost in my music, and just GO! It always felt really good on my body.
And then I started thinking about why this isn’t the case for some people. I mean, seriously, when it comes to running, generally we either love it or hate it, right? Most people have an instant opinion about it!!! Like, if I asked you to go running with me right now, what would be your initial reaction to my question?? 😉
And don’t worry, I am physically unable to go running at this time so there is zero pressure to ACTUALLY choose whether you shall join me or not!! However, what was your immediate response to this running invitation? Where did your mind go? It’s mighty interesting to look into your initial perspective on running, especially the WHY behind your response.
In any case, once we get to the summer, and I have had my knee surgery and I CAN finally go running again, I will repose the question to you and see where we’re at!!! Then I’m gonna make you choose!!!!!!
😉😁🏃🏻♀️❓❓
SO, let’s chat a bit about running. Is it really a “bad thing” and “hard on the joints?”
🤔
Now, hold on a sec, before you dive into your own experiences on running – – like if you have ever gone running and developed knee pain, shin pain, ankle pain, foot pain….just PAIN of some sort – – OR before you sift through your prior conversations with a doctor or with someone you know who has told you that running creates TONS of stress, impact, and erosion on the joints, let’s do a major pause here!!!!! ⏸
I now ask you to please forget your opinion and personal experiences on running. Right now, we all have AMNESIA. Which means we have ZERO preconceived notions of what running feels like or “should be.”
Are you with me?????? 😃
Now, think of toddlers and children and how their energy and vitality course through their veins all day, every day. How often do we see them run???? SO OFTEN. And how much fun do they have while they are running??? Usually, THE MOST FUN EVER!!! Whether they are playing tag or a game or a sport or for no reason at all, they run with joy and laughter, without being taught HOW to run. It’s an instinct of the body after learning how to walk.
My question for you is: have you ever told a toddler or a child that running is bad for their knees and their joints? Have you ever found yourself on “Run Patrol,” shaking your finger at running children and trying to stop them because you are worried about their bodies?? And I’m not talking about the times where children are running around pools or around dangerous environments and you’re worried about their safety – – OF COURSE watching them and telling them to be careful is necessary!!! However, the act of running for a child is most often expected, applauded, and encouraged.
When does that change? And WHY does that change? Because running is a natural activity when we are children, right? So, as we get older how does it morph into the “worst thing we can do to our bodies” for some AND THEN for others, it still brings such pain-free joy, peace, (that runner’s high!!), and fulfillment?
I have come to learn and believe that as we grow up, our activity level changes. We start going to school and sitting for longer periods of time. We have televisions, computers, phones, and video games, where we sit for longer and longer periods of time. We drive our vehicles and we find jobs or choose a profession that often involves repetitive motions, more sitting, one-sided habits, or imbalanced movement patterns. Running becomes no more, unless we choose to seek it out for ourselves, and what is left is a body that is used to lots of sitting and that has developed imbalances from the compensations that we have created over the years.
Children that grow up to play sports generally carry their ability to run as they continue to get older. For those of us that were not athletes in middle school/high school/college, running perhaps has become a lost art of the body. And unless it is redeveloped and properly relearned by the body, the body no longer remembers proper running mechanics….The whole “if you don’t use it, you lose it” concept is 100% true, since the body always seeks the path of least resistance. So, if we haven’t run in a while, the brain learns that running is no longer important and it lets it go in order to focus on what we ARE doing.
WHICH MEANS that if we do not consider ourselves a “runner” and/or we haven’t run in an extended period of time, and we choose one day (out of the blue!!) to go running without any attention to our form and our running posture, can we REALLY be shocked that something is going to hurt after we run?? Our body is doing everything it can to do what we’re asking it to do – – power the legs and propel ourselves forward through “running”- – and yet allllll the potential sitting (which, as we know, is crazy prevalent now, thanks to the modern age of technology) and the years of developed compensations have layered onto the body’s ability to execute this “running phenomenon” properly. Not to mention that the brain may have removed running from the equation, if running hasn’t been a part of our usual lifestyle for quite some time.
Makes sense, yes??
And YET, what do we often say if we don’t run for weeks/months/YEARS, finally go running, and end up with searing knee pain or any other discomfort or injury? “I’m not as young as I used to be” OR “I hate running” OR “I’m getting to THAT age where running is bad for my body” and so on…….
I challenge you to go beyond these initial limiting thoughts and ask yourself this question: IS running really the reason I’m having knee pain or is my posture compromised BEFORE going running which creates the pain in my knee (or any other place in the body) AFTER running?
Another way to look at this is what is the position of my body that I am bringing to go running? Or to play tennis or to walk or to golf or to sit at a desk all day long?
If we already start out imbalanced with postural deficiencies, then it doesn’t matter what activity we are about to do. We carry those deficiencies with us to the activity! Which means that the body has one side (or muscle or joint) working differently than the other side and symptoms will inevitably develop because of it.
Again, it doesn’t matter what activity it is!! Rather, it matters where our alignment falls BEFORE THE ACTIVITY and whether we are in good and optimal body positioning, poor and detrimental body positioning, OR somewhere in the middle.
Example time!!!!!! If I began to favor my left side to protect a sore ankle, perhaps that means that I would put more weight over my right side, leaning away from the discomfort. And this could be a conscious or an unconscious choice – – the body is a mechanical genius and it makes these compensations to “help” the body continue to move and do what is asked of it.
If I THEN chose to go running, with this conscious or unconscious compensation that already creates more impact on my right side, should I be surprised that my right ankle, knee, hip, and/or shoulder (or anywhere else, really) may be really sore and in pain after my run?? The compensations have to go somewhere!
AND should I REALLY be accusing RUNNING of being “bad” for me?
RUNNING: SIMPLIFIED – – –
BOTTOM LINE: Running is not bad for the body. Running with poor form and a misaligned body can be (and VERY often is) bad for the body. Especially over time OR going from zero to 100, in terms of never running and then rolling out of bed and deciding to run for multiple miles….
…..as it is with a “COUCH TO 5K” decision, you know!?!?!
And rather, the body can do the most incredible things if we are exerting our bodies through various exercise modalities AND following the proper form, technique, and execution!!
For instance, I have read multiple studies that say power lifters, who can squat anywhere from 500-1,000 pounds (or more), actually strengthen their ACL’s because of the constant force generated through their training and performing these epically-heavy lifts. When at first it might seem like power lifters who squat over 900 pounds may be doing severe damage to their knees, this may be true if they lose the form and aren’t ready for that huge load. Otherwise, these power lifters create super-sonically-strong ACL’s because of the massive loads that they lift!!!!
And in a similar way, I have also read multiple studies that speak about running and how cartilage in the knees can actually be hardened and made stronger through the impact of running with proper form.
The “proper form” bit is key. Because when form (or the body’s alignment) is off, the risk of injury increases. And when form is WAY off, the risk of injury tends to be off the charts. And this goes for everything that we do, not just exercise and sports.
Interesting, isn’t it?!?!?!?!
SO, where are you on the running spectrum?? If you are an avid runner, good for you!!! If you hate running because it’s boring, that’s totally fine, too, and I hope you choose something else that makes you feel engaged and happy!!!! BUT….if you have trouble running OR you have pain during or after a run OR you haven’t run in a really long time yet you’d like to get back into it……I totally suggest checking out your posture and your running form. Without any doubt at all.
ALIGN & RUN!!!!!!
Be aware of where your alignment is, learn to rebalance and correct the deviations that may be there, and relearn the proper running mechanics that the body is designed to do. Research for yourself or find someone or a team to help you out!Then the ability for you to go out and have a successful running experience goes up dramatically!
And I swear, it’s in the true design of the human body!!! If it wasn’t, little kiddos wouldn’t be running nonstop everywhere like it was this instinctual movement – – because it is an instinctual movement!!! Just like squatting and deadlifting, kiddos have this natural ability to just DO it. No teachings or lessons needed – – just the natural ability within the human body’s design. We can learn (and relearn) a TON by interacting with toddlers and kids and the ease by which they move.
And it can still be this way as we age – – Moving pain-free and with ease! Because:
“ALIGN & RUN”
ALSO means that if we align our own body, (again, working to restore the body’s natural design), we can run our lives so much better, with more freedom and less limitation. We just have to start being aware of our “24/7 form” or the body positioning that we have daily that we are bringing to the jobs, tasks, activities, and to our everyday life. To begin to notice how our posture could be affecting all of these aspects in our lives. Because what our body’s autopilot habits do, when we’re not even aware of it, is most often the reason for pain, limitation, one-sided wear and tear, one-sided cartilage erosion, one-sided hip dysfunction….and so on.
And that is a FACT. Because it shows that one side of the body is working differently than the other. Alignment is off. Period.
And this is also a FACT:
It is not “normal” for the body to be in constant pain or discomfort and to have these one-sided-joint and spinal deteriorations as we get older. Just like it’s not “normal” to experience weird body pain with running….unless it’s muscle burn or lung burn because those can definitely happen!! 😉 Seriously, though, it all comes back to our posture, whether our body is working symmetrically from right to left and from back to front, and therefore if there is balance and integrity within the structural alignment of our body.
From Pete Egoscue’s book, called “The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion,” page 7
Super important stuff that greatly impacts the quality of life!! I should know because I have focused on my alignment for the past 11 months straight and the knee damage that I had from my awful ACL tear over the summer of 2019 actually healed dramatically and it continues to heal – – according to my most recent MRI’s and CT scan!! This stuff works!!!!!!!!!! ✨💫🌟✨💫🌟
SO:
If you enjoy the thrill and the hardcore nature of running, then AWESOME and I look forward to joining you all again over the summer, fingers crossed!!! 🤞🏻
And if your answer is NO at this time or you’re on the fence about running, then please don’t give up on that genius body of yours, no matter what!!! And maybe jogging and running (OR skiing, golfing, tennis, or whichever activity you may be unfortunately avoiding due to pain, discomfort, or limitation) could once again be a part of your repertoire!! IF you pay attention to YOU – – to your posture, to your movement patterns, to the compensations and possible dysfunctions you may have developed over the years, AND IF you put in the time to return your body to it’s sought-after balanced and aligned state.
Then, you can:
ALLOW YOUR BODY TO RUN WITH EASE!!!!! Both with function/movement AND with 🏃🏻♀️🏃🏼🏃🏾♀️🏃🏼♂️🏃🏼♀️🏃🏿♂️‼️‼️‼️ 😃