Speed Up Your Running With Chiropractic
By Chris Brown
While in high school football, I always aspired to run a sub 5-second 40-yard dash. However, despite my efforts in the gym and on the track, I could never quite get my legs moving fast enough to pass that threshold. In hindsight, my inability may have had less to do with my leg strength than it did my running mechanics. Chiropractic has been shown to increase running speed by optimizing joint function and mechanics. Who knows? A session or two at The Joint Chiropractic may have been all that was standing between me and my running goal all along.
Why Restricted Joints Limit Running Speed
While muscular strength is important, form and technique are even more essential for fast running according to a study published in the UK journal, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. The study highlighted running technique as a key factor in running speed improvement and endurance. Even the gained running efficiency from small adjustments in form resulted in significant increases in speed.
Joint restrictions often play huge roles in a runner's bad form, as a single joint restriction can force an alteration to the entire kinetic chain of the runner's stride. This misoriented running form pulls the body from its optimal forward momentum, reducing overall running speed. Joint restrictions occur through injury, inflammation, or simply poor form repetition. Correcting these restrictions is the first step towards optimized, faster running.
Chiropractic Optimizes Running Form By Removing Joint Restrictions
Chiropractic maximizes your running form by ensuring that all joints are moving restriction-free. While one may think efficiency lies in adjusting the joints of the ankles and knees, chiropractic's holistic approach involves the body's entire kinetic chain, such as the hips and back. Free hips are crucial for quickening the pace at which the legs move forward in running. Chiropractic excels at eliminating restrictions of the pelvis and the lower back which reduces the hip's tightness. In a Swedish study published in 2008, healthy runners who received chiropractic treatments on their hips improved both hip extensibility and their 30-meter sprint times. If such results can occur in healthy, young athletes, chiropractic's treatments may generate even grander results for older athletes and those limited by past injuries.
Speed up your running pace with a visit to The Joint Chiropractic. The Joint offers efficient and effective treatments at affordable, insurance-free rates. No appointments are accepted, so you can conveniently walk-in for treatment before running out to the trails. There's no reason not to give The Joint a try today. Your track lap time may just thank you for it.
To learn more about your health, wellness and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Orlando, Fla.