How to Run Without Hurting Your Joints

Running can be so freeing. When the wind is whipping through your hair and your feet are pounding the pavement, all of your problems seem to just melt away. 

But after so long, running starts to take a toll on your body. Your joints begin to hurt and injuries become more frequent. Running becomes more of a chore. 

Thankfully, with these four tips, you can learn to run without hurting your joints.

1. Change your diet

If you’re currently struggling with joint pain, cutting gluten out of your diet can be very helpful. Gluten has been known to cause pain, swelling, and inflammation all over the body (yes, even in your joints). 

In fact, all unhealthy inflammatory foods should be cut from your diet if you’re suffering from joint pain. At Independence Wellness, we understand that changing your diet is a huge commitment. This is why we take a special approach to our nutritional guidance, helping you understand how your body works and what foods it needs in order to reduce your pain.  

2. Consider hiring a personal trainer

If you’re a frequent runner, it’s extremely important that you are running in the proper form and with the proper motions. 

A personal trainer is one of the best ways to receive feedback on your running stance. They can relieve and prevent joint pain by helping you avoid excessive pounding, assessing your foot points of contact, correcting hyper-extension, identifying where you’re applying unnecessary pressure on your joints, and offering you personalized insole or brace recommendations.

3. Practice resistance training

Resistance training is key to decreasing your risk of injury. It strengthens the muscles surrounding your joints, helping you keep the proper form and decreasing your risk of misstep injuries. A resistance trainer will help you create a personalized plan that will allow you to run and train while minimizing your risk of injury. 

4. Try pulsed electromagnetic field therapy

Nearly every injury or disease starts with a drop in cell energy. In order to prevent this from happening and heal pre-existing injuries, cell energy must be replenished.

This is where PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic field therapy) comes in. 

PEMF is one of the most powerful and biggest kept secrets of professional athletes. This therapy works by using a gentle electrical pulse to charge your cells and enhance your body’s natural ability to heal itself. 

Olympic athletes, CrossFit trainers, and cross-country runners rely on this advanced treatment to heal their injuries and enhance their athletic performance. At Independence Wellness, we proudly operate one of the two strongest PEMF machines in the state of Louisiana. Run without hurting your joints and request an appointment with us today!