Running is forever. Fitness trends come and go, but running is a mainstay of exercise for millions of Americans. After all, all one needs is a pair of sneakers and some will power to start running. For many, running is more than fitness, it’s a way of life. Running is their method of stress relief and psychotherapy rolled into one. For others, its becomes a competitive passion. Runners will compete against themselves and/or others in sprints, 5ks, 10ks and even the mighty marathon.

As with anything though, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. Any habitual motion pattern tends to be hard on the body. Running, because of the distances involved and constant impact with each step, wears the body down quickly. Pavement and concrete are very unforgiving surfaces. Since the ground doesn’t ?give? when your foot lands with all its weight, something else has to ?give.? Regardless of running shoes, impact is transferred to the skeleton and joints of the body. This causes compression, erosion and inflammation at the joints, especially those of the ankle, knees, hips and low back.

In addition to the impact stress placed on the body, predictable muscle-tension patterns emerge in the calf, hamstrings, gluteus and hip-rotator muscles.