Sunday, February 8, 2009

Tips to Prevent Running Injuries

On Saturday, West Stride hosted Dr. Thomas Myers with Myers Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center. Having recently recovered from runner’s knee, I was anxious to get his advice on injury prevention.

Dr. Myers’ key tip for runners is that you can’t limit your physical activity to running. Core body strength is essential. It provides stability that helps prevent strain and overuse of muscles. This month’s issue of Runner’s World has a section dedicated to exercises for developing core body strength.

Along with core body strength, weight training is also important. Strong quad muscles help support the knees. Keep in mind that if you’re experiencing cartilage damage or arthritis, exercises such as leg extensions can be hard on the knees. Consider exercises that work the quad muscles while keeping the leg straight to minimize stress on the knee such as using elastic bands while lifting the leg up.

Rather than post a running route this week, I want to give another plug to WalkJogRun.net. You'll find 30 running routes in Metro Atlanta posted at the site. It's a great resource for local runners.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Debbie,
We at WalkJogRun.net just want to thank you for using our site! Let us know if there is anything you'd like to see from us!

-Adam, Jeff, and Briana