1. Stay in Shape

Most people take on running as a means to lose weight. Running is actually a great way to lose weight efficiently; in fact it is one of the most commonly used forms of exercise. People that want to shed the extra pounds can expect to get results with running and eating healthy. Because running burns calories, the healthier you eat the faster you will lose the weight. Even after you are at your normal weight, you can continue your running routine to maintain a nice figure. Running also helps tone various muscles in your body, thus giving you an excellent physique.

2. Prevent Heart Disease

Today, having a healthy heart is more difficult to accomplish than ever before. Lack of exercise and bad eating habits only lead to health issues such as heart disease. Most people know that exercising reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. But exactly how does running help prevent these issues? Getting a daily cardio-workout such as running makes the arteries in the heart more elastic. This means that the heart will not have to work as hard pumping blood throughout the body. This is good news for people suffering from hypertension. The heart rate, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels may be reduced and kept at normal ranges with regular running.

3. Maintain Healthy Muscles and Bones

Poor bone and muscle health can be a consequence of inactivity. Failure to provide your bones and muscles with the needed exercise to stay fit will cause them to become weak. Running enables the body to increase bone density and strengthen muscles. This form of exercise enables the body to form new bone tissue. For this reason, running is especially beneficial to maintaining physical health as we age. Regular running can ultimately help prevent bone-related disease such as osteoporosis.

4. Fight Insomnia

Another issue most people are faced with today is not getting sufficient sleep. Getting adequate rest is extremely important for our health, yet only a few people truly get the needed sleep. Insomnia affects the body in so many different aspects. People with the condition often experience depression, body aches, and susceptibility to infections. Running allows your body to sleep better and longer periods.

5. Improve Mental Health

How does running help with mental health? Running produces endorphins in your body, which cause a feeling of well-being. People that run on a regular basis report that they feel more optimistic. This is sometimes called a “runners high” because the effect can sometimes be instantly. Self-esteem and happiness is also improved with regular running. This is mostly due to the fact that runners maintain physical health and are content with their appearance.

Tips for Running More Efficiently

• Stretch – It is crucial to stretch before beginning a running routine.
Stretching allows the body to get rid of lactic acid. This is the substance
that is responsible for causing pain in your body after working out.
• Run Quietly – Taking lighter steps will automatically increase your speed and
efficiency. You’ll be running faster without even noticing it!
• Breathe Correctly – Keep a steady breathing rhythm throughout the workout.
Breathing should be done with the diaphragm and not the chest. Practicing
breathing techniques will help you build endurance.
• Relax – Tension only decreases exercise efficiency; make sure to let your arms,
shoulders, and mouth relax.
• Run with Proper Posture – Do not slouch or bend the knees too much. Stand up
tall and try to extend your legs more. This will help build strength in
your body’s core.

The health benefits of running truly go beyond just giving you good looks. It helps prevent heart disease, osteoporosis, insomnia, and many other health issues. Other conditions that can be prevented with regular running include; diabetes, sexual impotence, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. Although running is not 100% guaranteed to prevent you from developing certain health issues, there is nothing to lose. After all, you’ll be working to maintain your body figure and will also gain good health with no extra effort given.

Knee pain while running can really hurt!

Running with knee pain can be extremely dangerous.  Every day hundreds of people have to go through knee surgery, and in many of the cases the surgery could have been prevented.

It is a common myth that for every step we take, we damage our knee. Studies have shown that knee injuries are quite common for runners, but the injuries can easily and quickly be corrected if they are handled properly. Many people guardian themselves from seeing the doctor, this is never a good idea. If the pain doesn’t go away make sure to pay the doctor a visit. If you do it early enough it might save you a visit to the surgeon.

If you don’t find the pain strong enough to visit the doctor a rule of thumb should be: If the  pain increases for every time you run, stop running for a while. If the pain decreases, it shouldn’t really be a big issue. And also, when you are experiencing knee pain while running it is not the proper time to participate in marathons or setting new personal records.

There are also some other precautions you can make to reduce/prevent knee pain:

Surface: Avoid hard surfaces like asphalt. While it might seem the as the easiest paths to take it can be fatal for your knee. A hard surface will return strong force when your feet makes contact with the ground, which creates a strong shock that is observed by the knee. This increases the chances of knee injuries and in general makes the entire running trip less enjoyable. Running on grass or in the woods is therefore preferable. And running in wild doesn’t feel as repetive as running on roads etc. If you don’t have any woods or grass areas close to where you live, the shoes you wear is a major factor in your knee’s health.

Shoes: Knee pain while running is also often caused by your shoes. The main job running shoes does is to absorb the shock from the pavement. When your shoes are of low quality and doesn’t really suppress these shocks your knee definitely feels it. The best way to find great running shoes are basically to ask the employees in the shop for advice. Tell them your approximate budget and also ask them for personal experiences with shoes. As in sport stores the majority of the employees are actually runners themselves.

Genetics: Genes are actually the main factor that decides if you feel knee pain while running or not. While it is incredible hard to change your genes it is important to be aware of them. If your family have had a lot of problems with their knees it is likely that you are exposed to knee pain as well. And even though you have the best running equipment in the world you shouldn’t push yourself too far with poor genes. 

All in all knee pain while running can be very painful and the best thing is probably to see your local doctor. If you decide not to, make sure to listen very careful to your body while running with knee pain. Pain is the body’s method to say that something is wrong. Sometimes it fixes itself, but not always.

Sources: 
Knee pain in general: http://www.medicinenet.com/knee_pain/article.htm 25.12.2011

Runners knee: http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/knee-pain/runners-knee 30.12.2011