Your joints are designed to absorb the shock of running. When the joints in your body are properly aligned, they generally do a good job of this. When they fall out of alignment, however, one side of the body ends up absorbing more shock than the other, and injuries begin to occur. Hip misalignment, where one hip sits lower than the other, is particularly common in runners.
If you've been experiencing hip pain after workouts or find that you are continually developing injuries such as Iliotibial band syndrome and runner's knee on one side of the body, hip misalignment may be to blame. Your chiropractor can easily diagnose this condition by comparing the length of your legs. If one leg seems longer than the other, then chances are, your hips are misaligned. A spinal adjustment and some stretches can put your hips back where they belong, but unless you address the primary causes of hip misalignment, chances are they'll work their way back out of alignment again once you start running.
Every case of hip misalignment is different, but here's a look at common causes in runners:
Running on the side of the road.
Roads are banked to encourage water draining. When you run on the side of the road, one leg sits lower than the other, and over time, this pushes the hips out of alignment. Avoid hip misalignment by running on flat surfaces whenever possible, or at least by switching sides of the road periodically.
Gait abnormalities.
If you've been running through pain or an injury that causes your gait to be uneven, your stride may be driving your hips out of alignment. This is one reason why it's important not to run through injuries – the change in stride that an injury causes may lead to more injuries down the toad.
Imbalanced muscular strength.
If one side of your body is stronger than the other, this may cause you to favor one side, pulling your hips out of alignment. To avoid imbalances in strength, always perform strength-training exercises equally on both sides. If you do have a weaker side, perform some extra strengthening exercises on that side to bring it up to par with the other side, and then continue to train both sides evenly.
A hip misalignment may cause minor hip soreness at first, but it can lead to severe injuries if left untreated. If you think your hips may be imbalanced, visit your chiropractor at places like Yaeger Chiropractic for diagnosis and treatment, and remember to avoid the three common causes of hip misalignment discussed above. When your hips are aligned properly, all of the joints in your legs can absorb the shock of running as they are designed to do, and you'll feel the difference.
Share9 January 2015
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