Run Today. Run at 90.
For many people, running isn’t just exercise.
- It’s a stress relief after a long day.
- It’s time alone before the family wakes up.
- It’s training for the next race.
- Or simply proof that your body is still capable of doing amazing things.
Unfortunately, many runners assume that soreness or pain is simply “part of running.”
It isn’t.
While running itself isn’t bad for your body, running with poor mobility, stability, or strength often leads to unnecessary stress on tissues that weren’t designed to absorb it.
The good news?
Many running injuries are preventable.
Before You Log More Miles…Assess Your Movement
At Upwards Physiotherapy and Elite Personal Training Studio, we believe the best running program doesn’t start with a new pair of shoes.
It starts with understanding how your body moves.
Before adding mileage or speed, we want to answer a few important questions.
1. Do your glutes work well?
Hip flexor mobility loss and hip extensor weakness is common and often overlooked, especially for people who spend much of the day sitting.
Running requires good mobility and strength. Limited hip extension forces your body to compensate with the low back, knees, or hamstrings during every stride.
Over thousands of steps, those small compensations can become significant problems.
Self tests:
- Can your leg extend 15 degrees beyond your spine?
2. Can you extend your hip to raise you up to a level position with your spine’s alignment?
2. Does your big toe move properly?
Your great toe is your final point of contact with the ground.
Without adequate big toe extension, your body often compensates by rotating the foot outward, shortening your stride, or increasing stress elsewhere in the lower extremity.
Small mobility losses can have surprisingly large consequences over the course of a run.
One consequence is overstriding. Striking the ground too far in front of your body will increase your joint reaction forces and lower your running efficiency.
Overstriding
Land & Push Off “inside the box”
Mobility Is Only Half the Equation
Even if you possess excellent mobility, your body still needs the strength and motor control to use it.
Notice in this photo, how the pelvis drops when the leg is lifted. There’s a stability or motor control loss.
Running is essentially a series of thousands of single-leg hops.
Every step requires your body to absorb force, stabilize, and generate power before repeating the process again. When these systems work together, running becomes more efficient and places less unnecessary stress on your joints and tendons.
That’s why we also evaluate:
- Foot stability and arch control
- Hip stability during single-leg loading
- Core control and trunk position
- Balance and movement coordination
Strength Training Makes Better Runners
Many runners believe that running alone is enough. Research consistently shows otherwise.
A well-designed strength program can help runners:
- Improve running economy
- Increase power production
- Reduce injury risk
- Maintain muscle mass with aging
- Continue running longer throughout life
Our goal isn’t simply helping you prepare for your next race.
It’s helping you continue enjoying running decades from now.
Mobile hips and ankles give you the freedom to move efficiently.
Strong glutes create powerful stride mechanics.
A strong core provides an efficient foundation for force transfer.
Strong calves and feet tolerate the repetitive loading that running demands.
Strength today becomes independence tomorrow.
Don’t Just Treat Pain—Find the Cause
Soreness or Pain isn’t always the problem. Sometimes it’s simply the messenger.
At Upwards Physiotherapy, we identify movement limitations that may be contributing to pain or limiting performance.
Rather than focusing only on the area that hurts, we combine our approach with personalized strength coaching at Elite Personal Training, where you receive both:
- A roadmap identifying what needs to improve so you maximize running economy while decreasing biomechanical stress.
- A long-term plan to build the mobility, strength, power, and resilience necessary for lifelong running.
Our Goal
We don’t simply want you to recover from injury.
We want you to continue enjoying the physical and mental benefits of running for decades.
Whether your goal is your first 5K, another marathon, or simply being able to run with your children or grandchildren someday, your movement quality matters.
Don’t wait until pain forces you to stop running.
Schedule an evaluation at the link below to discover how your body moves, identify limitations before they become injuries, and build a personalized plan that keeps you running for life.
Your future self will thank you.
Godspeed,
Kevin Ford, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT, CSCS
Upwards Physiotherapy
(803) 800-4606