How to protect your knees when running every day

Running is the most common fitness exercise in life, and it is also the simplest fitness exercise. There are many benefits of running. Regarding the concept of running, everyone may be ambiguous and not very familiar with some other knowledge about it. Although running can strengthen the body and make everyone have a strong physique, running will also have an impact on the knees. So how to protect the knees when running every day?

Running will inevitably wear out your knees, this is unavoidable. However, what we are talking about here is wearing out the knees, not hurting them. Your knees wear out all the time in your life. Climbing mountains will cause wear and tear, climbing stairs will cause wear and tear, and even walking will cause wear and tear (but the wear and tear is relatively minor). As you get older, your knees also age. This is inevitable in life. So, what we need to discuss is how to keep this wear and tear within an acceptable range.

Running shoes are designed to protect your knees and avoid injuries when running. They are not as important as you think, far from it. In my opinion, the importance of running shoes in avoiding running injuries is second only to the factors listed below. I state this first because many friends believe that their knee or other running injuries are simply caused by running shoes. Running shoes only have to do with the purpose they are used for and then your own personal preference. When I first started running, I bought a few pairs of Asics running shoes, but later I found that they were completely unsuitable for my running style of landing on the forefoot, so I either threw them away or gave them away. Some people run barefoot marathons, but I've never seen anyone run a 100-kilometer cross-country race barefoot. Shoes are definitely necessary. Before you assume that running shoes can better protect your knees while running, please think about this: Is your running posture correct and economical? Are your muscles strong enough to protect your joints? Have you followed the gradual progress rule of any exercise? Have you replenished your nutrition with a proper diet? Have you rested enough to recover? If you were injured before running, do you have an active recovery plan? If any of the above points are not done well, it is more likely to cause damage to the knee joint than choosing the wrong running shoes. If you are just jogging, it is recommended that you gradually transition from styles with thicker soles to styles with thinner soles. Through the accumulation of running and other strength training, you can continuously stimulate the body's own functions and gradually get rid of your dependence on shoes. As the running distance increases and the purpose of running changes - for example, transitioning from fitness jogging to marathon or ultramarathon cross-country running, you need to choose the most suitable shoes and supporting equipment according to the requirements of different events and tracks. For daily fitness jogging of short distances, it is more important to pay attention to the following points. As for running shoes, it is fine as long as they fit your feet.

Posture Proper posture is the key to avoiding all sports injuries. When you start running a few hundred meters, you must do it correctly. From starting to stopping, try to maintain the correct running posture throughout the entire process. There are still obvious differences in posture and techniques between short-distance speed running and long-distance jogging. There is a slight difference between correct running stats and efficient running stats. The latter is mainly for long-distance running. It is about how to make the body consume the least energy to move the same distance based on the correct running stats. Therefore, correct running posture is the foundation.

Muscle strength here refers to the muscle strength of the whole body, which must be developed evenly. Running is not just about the leg muscles. In fact, the small muscle groups of the feet, ankles, joints, upper limbs, shoulder and back strength, and especially core strength are all very important. Especially for those who have no exercise foundation or exercise habits and want to start exercising with running, early muscle strength training is very important. For example, core strength allows the body to remain stable during running, landing steadily, breathing steadily, and the center of gravity stable. In short, without strength, you cannot "stay stable". Running swaying back and forth will of course increase the chance of injury. The knees are just one of the parts that are relatively susceptible to injury where force is concentrated. Note: core strength does not refer to the rectus abdominis, but all the related muscle groups around the body under the chest and between the thighs. Many small muscle groups that are not normally used are included. So, if you think that core training is just doing sit-ups, you are wrong. "Plank" in various positions and variations is recommended.

The amount of running should follow the principle of gradual increase, especially in the early stages, and you should not increase it rashly. As a general principle, you don't have to run every day. It's good to run for one day and rest for one day. The running distance each time should not exceed 10% compared with last week. This is a safer and more stable method in the early stage. In fact, it depends on the individual's different physical reactions and feelings.

After reading the introduction in the article, you don’t have to worry. In fact, the wear and tear on the knees caused by running is just a slight one and will not affect people’s knees. So you can run with complete confidence. Running can make you have a strong physique and make your body healthier.