Osteoarthritis breaks down the cartilage in our joints, which can cause pain and stiffness in our knees, hips, feet and back. Running does not usually cause a condition like osteoarthritis, but it can worsen the condition once you have it. However, it is important to exercise with osteoarthritis to prevent stiffness and weakness, and to keep off weight that will otherwise put extra force on your joints. If done correctly and safely, running can be performed with osteoarthritis. (References 1 and 2)
Instructions
1. Run on softer surfaces. This will relieve the joints of extra pressure that would come from hard surfaces, which could cause injury to a joint. Instead of running on sidewalks and streets, opt to run on grass, dirt, a treadmill, a synthetic track, sand or woodchips.
2. Visit a shoe store that specializes in running shoes. Have a worker look at your feet, watch you run and decide what type of shoe is best for you. The more support you have in your feet, the less demand placed on joints during a run.
3. Strengthen the muscles around your knees. Between running workouts, perform strength training workouts for your lower body. The higher your strength levels are, the more the muscles around the joint can help relieve the joint of running pressure.
4. Try a Pilates or yoga workout between your running workouts. These classes will work your core, your hips and your flexibility. As with strength training, these workouts stretch and strengthen key muscles that will alleviate some of the demand on the joints.
Tags: muscles around, running workouts, strength training, that will, with osteoarthritis, your feet