Pronation deviations that occur at the feet and ankles — called overpronation or underpronation (also known as supination) — are some of the most common underlying postural problems that adults develop. To one degree or another, collapsed arches may now affect the majority of the adult population living in industrialized nations.

Overpronation is such a prevalent problem due to people wearing unsupportive shoes, having weak legs and walking on flat, hard surfaces. All of these contribute to changes in soft tissue structures of the feet, including loosened joints that cause foot bones to shift.

Considering our feet are usually the only point of contact we have with the ground, it’s not that surprising to learn that pronation abnormalities of the feet are common source of aches and pains. These problems begin in the arches of the feet and heels but often spread up to the calves, ankles, knees and even back.

What is pronation?

The definition of pronation is “the rotation of the medial bones in the midtarsal region of the foot inward and downward, so that in walking the foot tends to come down on its inner margin.”

Although no one’s body is perfectly symmetrical and balanced, and therefore some over- or underpronation is considered normal, too much pronation in either direction affects the normal gait cycle. The gait cycle takes place as the body moves forward.

Rotation of the feet helps provide shock absorption in the lower half of the body and keeps correct form/posture through the pelvis and spine.

The body moves in one continuous kinetic chain, which depends on the position of the subtalar joint. The subtalar joint accounts for a large portion of the inversion and eversion range of motion of the hindfoot, plus determines how the tibia and femur bones of the legs are lined up.

It also allows the foot to accommodate to uneven or irregular surfaces. Over time, an overpronated subtalar joint typically forces the tibia and femur bones to rotate inward, sometimes only very slightly, but in other cases more severely.

People could be searching for low back pain relief without even understanding the source of the pain is the foot. Over- or underpronation during exercise or while playing sports can raise your risk for experiencing injuries, since pronation affects how you stand, run and distribute your body weight.

Today, a key focus of physical therapists, personal trainers, coaches and other practitioners who treat muscular compensations is identifying and correcting moderate to severe cases of overpronation problems (such as foot flattening) or those due to underpronation/excess supination (like having high arches).

Because these affect the entire “kinetic chain” of the body, they can alter how the body’s weight is distributed and shock is absorbed during movement.

What are the causes of pronation abnormalities? These can include a combination of:

• Genetics
• Muscular compensations due to poor posture or old injuries — old injuries can leave scar tissue behind on your lower legs that set the scene for future pains and weaknesses
• Poor form from not running correctly (Here’s how to how to run correctly.)
• Weakness in the lower body from too little activity or limited range of motion and stiffness due to aging
• Overuse, such as from exercising too much or standing for long periods (while rest is important for recovery, keep in mind that if the underlying problem of your heel pain is bad running form or not wearing supportive enough shoes, the core problem won’t be addressed even when you rest enough)
• Loss of cartilage in the subtalar joint of the foot, often due to arthritis/osteoarthritis
• Dysfunction of the tibialis posterior tendon is a common cause of “acquired flatfoot deformity” (severely fallen arches) in adults, especially in women older than 40, who seem to be at the greatest risk. The tibialis posterior tendon is the primary dynamic stabilizer of the middle part of the foot and arches. It helps elevate the foot’s arch, raise the small bones in the middle part of the feet and make the midfoot rigid.

Common signs and symptoms of overpronation or underpronation usually include:

• Pain moving from the foot upward. Pain will most likely occur when standing for a long time, walking or running. It might spread all the way from the underfoot and heel to the thighs and back. For example, shin splints, one of the most common running injuries, are caused over time by a series of dysfunctional musculoskeletal movements stemming from the feet and calves.
• Swelling in the ankle or heel. Most patients complain of swelling that is localized in the middle or side part (medial or lateral aspects) of the underfoot or heel. Sometimes the toes are affected, too.
• Stiffness, loss of functioning and reduced range of motion in the feet or lower body.

The good news is the arches in your feet are just like any other muscle in the body. They can be “taught” or trained to improve in terms of functionality, so pain from overpronation or underpronation is definitely treatable.

Overpronation vs. underpronation

• When overpronation occurs, the foot rolls in too much either while you’re moving (after landing the foot) or while you’re standing. Overpronation is the result of “flat feet,” or the arches of the feet “collapsing” and rolling inward. When standing, the arches of the fleet flatten too much toward the ground.
• With overpronation, the big toe and second toe wind up absorbing too much shock. At the end of the gait cycle, the front of the foot pushes off the ground using mainly these toes, applying lots of pressure, which can cause pain. Overpronation can also contribute to injuries, including runner’s knee, stress fractures, plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis in some cases.
• Underpronation (excess supination) is the insufficient inward rolling of the foot after landing on the ground. Writers of Runner’s World magazine state that compared to people with healthy, normal posture, those with underpronation don’t roll the foot inward enough (less than 15 percent) and therefore absorb shock on only a small portion of the outer foot.
• Runners with high arches and tight Achilles tendons tend to be underpronators/supinators. With underpronation, the outer toes/pinky toe tend to be bear a lot of weight when pushing the foot away from the ground during movement. This can lead to pain or overuse injuries. These may include iliotibial band syndrome that affects the knees, Achilles tendinitis and plantar fasciitis, along with general instability and stiffness.

How to spot pronation deviations

Even very small changes in the alignment of the ankles, knees and hips can cause visible changes to your posture or straining (such as valgus stress, the cause of collapsed knees or runner’s knee pain).

How do you know if you’ve developed abnormal pronation? To give you an idea of what healthy posture should look and feel like, try observing your posture.

Starting from your toes moving upward, here are several key areas to observe in your stance. These observations can clue you in to overpronation or underpronation/supination issues:

• Stand with your shoes off, facing straight forward. Place both hands on your thighs, and straighten the back upright.
• Now, check the stance of your thighs, knees, ankles and toes.
• Both feet and knees should face forward in parallel or with minor external rotation of the toes outward.
• Generally, the toes should be aligned in the same direction as the feet and ankles (forward). The ankles and knees should be facing forward, not rolling inward or outward more than very slightly.
• If the knees appear to roll inward and toes outward, this is called “internal pronation.” On the other hand, if the knees are facing outward, this is called “external supination” (also referred to as underpronation).
• You can also draw a line on the front of your legs running from your thighs, through your knees to your ankles. Check if the line is curved in any particular spot.

Conventional treatment for pronation problems

Most orthopedics or trainers complete a physical exam of the lower extremities to look for signs of abnormal pronation and imbalances. Usually, they pay particular attention to any loss of functionality or sensory function (due to nerve damage) if pain is strong.

• Once overpronation or underpronation is diagnosed, many podiatrists recommend wearing shoe inserts (sometimes called orthotics or “orthotic technology”). These can help correct alignment of the foot. They are used most often for excessive pronation or in the case of acquired flatfoot deformity.
• Orthotic inserts in the shoes consist of a longitudinal arch support with a medial heel post. Shoe inserts help lift the arches of the feet and stop the rolling inward motion of the knees that can cause pain.
• Orthotic technology products can help many people feel more comfortable while standing, reduce low back or heel pain, and prevent muscular strains due to compensations in the pelvis or spine. Although it’s rarer, custom bracing to keep the lower legs in place is also sometimes used.
• Physical therapy is sometimes also needed if pronation problems become severe. A physical therapist or corrective exercise specialist can help teach clients customized stretches and exercises to retrain the lower extremities to balance weight properly.
• If pain ever becomes very bad, some doctors might also prescribe anti-inflammatory medication to decrease swelling and tissue/joint inflammation. Only very rarely is surgery needed to correct severe pronation problems, such as acquired flatfoot deformity.

Natural ways to correct overpronation

1. Improve your posture and form

Improper form when standing, exercising or especially running is one of the most common underlying reasons for foot, heel and leg pains. This can lead to dysfunctions that cause symptoms to reappear again and again, even if you begin gradually and then rest enough in between sessions.

When it comes to exercise-related injuries, many of the most common are due to fallen arches and flat feet.

Look for any of the signs below that indicate you’re using incorrect form:

• Not rolling arches upward (having flat feet when you strike the ground), which means stepping causes your arches to collapse
• Having the heel strike the ground too abruptly without rolling it evenly forward — in other words, you’re “pounding” the foot too much
• Not lifting the toes, which can cause you to trip often

Try to have the foot/heel make contact with the ground from the outside. Experiment with landing closer to the midfoot if you’re a heel striker, and aim for a softer landing.

Most runners naturally land more lightly when they don’t lead with the heel.

Slightly increase cadence — the number of steps you take per minute. Avoid having only the toes do most of the pushing during liftoff.

This might take some time to improve, but with training and practice it will become easier.

2. Stretch your legs more

Overpronation often causes extra stress and stiffness in the leg and lower back muscles that can make matters worse. Regularly stretching the legs, especially after workouts, can help increase flexibility, range of motion and blood flow in painful areas.

Ways to stretch the calves and hamstrings include:

• If you have a foam roller (and your doctor says you are able to use it), it’s great to foam roll your calves before stretching. Be sure to hold each tender spot for at least 30 seconds. Don’t just quickly roll back and forth.
• Raising and lowering your heels and toes to the ground (toe or heel lifts).
• Easy calf raises: Sit on the edge of a couch with your feet flat on the floor. With one leg, keeping your heel on the floor, lift and point the toes toward the ceiling, so you feel a stretch in your calf muscle. Hold for 30 seconds, and then do the same with the other leg, three times per leg.
• Toe touches: Stand with straight legs, and bend from the waist to touch the floor. Hold for 30 seconds. You can also do this with your legs stretched wide.
• Rolling the ankles in the air while laying on your back.
• Try yoga. One of the many benefits of yoga involves relieving tight legs and improving overall flexibility.

3. Visit a soft tissue therapist

Massaging, loosening and activating muscles throughout the lower body and feet can help restore proper alignment and break up tissue adhesions/scar tissue that contribute to arch problems.

Even if you currently overpronate (or underpronate), it doesn’t mean you have to remain this way forever. You can “reteach” your muscles and joints how to distribute your weight in a healthier way — and having assistance makes this easier.

If you stand for prolonged periods during the day, you’re an athlete or very active, or you suffer from overused heel/knee pain, techniques like physical therapy, active release technique or cross friction can be useful for improving range of motion and reducing pronation deviations.

Other soft tissue therapies to consider that may reduce pain from over- or underpronation, plus prevent future injuries, include:

• chiropractic adjustments
• Graston technique
• seeing a massage therapist who can treat the calves, hamstrings and quadriceps.

4. Wear firmer, supportive shoes

If you’re overpronating, you may notice that the inside soles of your shoes experiences more wear and tear than the outside. Your shoes may appear to roll inward.

Here are tips for choosing the best shoes or sneakers that are most supportive for overpronators:

• Look for thicker, firmer shoes with “motion stability.” Those who have fallen arches are more prone to injury when wearing flimsier, flexible shoes that are lightweight and have less lift/cushion near the arches.
• Look for shoes with multidensity midsoles, which can stop the feet from being able to roll inward too much.
• You may also want to add custom-made or commercially available arch supports inside your shoes. Look for insoles in a drug store, or ask your doctor for recommended orthotics that are right for your feet. You may only need an insert in one foot, but in most cases patients feel best when adding support to both.
• If you have bunions on your toes due to rubbing (see below), then also consider wearing wider shoes to give you more wiggle room.
• You may also want to consider barefoot running — a phenomenon growing in popularity among those with frequent running injuries. Running barefoot may seem even riskier than wearing the wrong sneakers, but it actually helps the feet learn proper form more easily, builds strength throughout the ankles and feet, and helps increase natural range of motion (supination and dorsiflexion).

5. Treat calluses and bunions

People who overpronate can develop growths or other minor injuries on their toes and feet, like calluses or bunions, from their outside heels or toes rubbing against their shoes too much.

When pain becomes bad, you can apply ice several times a day for 20 minutes at a time. Elevate your affected foot to help reduce swelling, and try massaging the foot with an anti-inflammatory essential oil.

You can try applying a muscle rub on your foot to help keep swelling down. A few drops of organic essential oils, like frankincense and peppermint oil, diluted in a carrier oil, work for that purpose.

Natural treatment for underpronation

1. Loosen susceptible muscles

Supinators should do extra stretching of the calves, hamstrings, quads and iliotibial band. See above for recommended leg stretches and foam-rolling tips, plus add some of these routine:

• Ankle rolls (with feet overhead or while you’re sitting)
• Crab crawls to stretch the ankles
• Foam rolling the lower legs
• Massaging the fascia (soft tissue) in the underpart of the feet with a tennis ball or your hand

2. Strengthen the middle and upper legs

Leg exercises to help reduce muscular weakness in the legs include:

• Squats
• Lunges, including side lunges, lunge dips or lunge twists
• Calf raises
• Walking uphill
• Burst training or sprinting

3. Make sure your shoes aren’t worn out

Signs of underpronation (excess supination) show up in your sneakers or shoes, usually causing the outer edge of the shoe to become flimsy more quickly. Replace your sneakers regularly, especially if you exercise often.

To see if you’re due for a new pair, place your shoes down on a flat surface, and look for the outer edge to tilt outward. Experts also recommend trying more flexible, lightweight sneakers for underpronators who spend lots of time on their feet (including running or walking).

Lightweight shoes can withstand more foot motion, especially those with flexible inner edges.

Precautions

If working with a trainer to correct a pronation problem you’ve identified, keep in mind that attempting to treat the problem too quickly or aggressively can result in muscle fatigue and further compensations.

Pronation problems should be adjusted over time so susceptible or sore muscles and joints can get used to redistributing weight and shock absorption. Otherwise postural problems may become worse.

If you feel heel pain or pain radiating upward from your ankles, consider that other problems might be contributing to your symptoms. Heel spurs, tendonitis and arthritis should be ruled out as the causes of stiffness and pain, for example.

Final thoughts

• Pronation is the process of body weight being transferred from the heel of the foot up to the forefoot when moving, walking or running.
• The foot should naturally roll inward from the outside. With overpronation, the arches of the feet fall/collapse too much, and increased inward rolling becomes problematic.
• On the other hand, underpronation (also called supination) means the foot doesn’t roll inward enough. Both types of pronation deviations can cause foot or lower leg pain, running injuries, low back pain, and muscular compensations.
• Natural treatments for overpronation or underpronation include fixing form when standing or exercising, stretching and strengthening the legs more, soft tissue therapies, and wearing more supportive shoes.

The post Pronation Problems: Signs, Causes & Ways to Correct These Common Posture Issues appeared first on Dr. Axe.

When most people decide it’s time to practice some healthier habits, simply walking to lose weight and improve their health might not seem like it’s going to do “enough” to give them the benefits of exercise they’re after. The truth is walking is the oldest form of human physical activity there is, and the benefits of walking are great!

Long before the days of CrossFit, voluntarily running marathons or working out in gyms, people walked — and they walked a lot.

While it might not give you the ripped body you always dreamed of (though it’s a great butt exercise and is considered a good leg workout), walking is a great place to start if you’re new to exercising or simply lack motivation to be more active. Even if you’re a seasoned athlete and prefer really working up a sweat by doing burst-fit training, HIIT workouts or a demanding sport, walking can still be a great form of activity that complements these tougher workouts.

Considering that walking is super convenient, doesn’t wear down joints yet still burns calories, revs up your metabolism and can help prevent dozens of different diseases, there’s really no downside to walking more.

Plus, research shows that just 10 minutes of walking per day is linked to a longer life, while as little as two minutes of walking after eating can help manage blood sugar.

How Walking Supports Health

A study conducted by the London School of Economics and Political Science shined the spotlight on walking as one of the very best preventative measures for fighting off weight gain. Prior to that particular study, dozens have shown that daily walking is beneficial for keeping people feeling younger, healthier and happier.

The London School of Economics and Political Science study concluded that regularly walking for weight loss could be just as beneficial, or even more, as hitting the gym. The results of the study, which investigated the effects of various workouts on health markers in more than 50,000 adults over the course of 13 years, found that walkers tend to be thinner than those who go to the gym or regularly only practice high-intensity workouts.

Walking briskly and deliberately for at least 30 minutes a day was correlated with having a lower body mass index and a smaller waistline compared to non-walkers. What’s even more impressive is that the results were particularly pronounced in women, people over 50 and those with low incomes — three populations that notoriously struggle with their weight.

Even though people have been helping control their body weight and boost their longevity by walking since the beginning of time, we first heard about intentionally walking to lose weight and fight off certain diseases around the 1990s. Walking daily for health gained attention at this time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in partnership with the American College of Sports Medicine first recommended at least 30 minutes of “brisk walking” for all adults most days of the week.

At the same time, the American Heart Association got on board with the “30 minutes of walking daily” message. Walking has since been considered the gold standard for meeting the guidelines of daily “moderate-intensity physical activity,” since it can be done by just about anyone, at any time, for no cost whatsoever.

Over the years, walking has been linked to protection against certain conditions and diseases, including:

• Obesity
• Heart disease, hypertension, coronary artery disease
• Diabetes
• Depression and anxiety disorders
• Dementia, Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline
• Arthritis
• Hormonal imbalances
• PMS symptoms
• Thyroid disorders
• Fatigue and low energy levels

Most of what we know about the health benefits of walking comes largely from epidemiologic and correlational studies, meaning researchers observe populations who walk frequently and then compare certain factors of their health to people who don’t walk as much.

Because of that, we can’t always conclude that walking itself helps keep weight gain away or makes someone less likely to develop a disease — but we can assume that people who walk more also probably practice other healthy habits, which all come together to protect them from the various effects of aging.

Health Benefits of Walking

If you’re not already intentionally walking daily, here are several reasons you might want to start:

1. Helps You Maintain a Healthy Weight

As mentioned earlier, walking is just as effective — possibly even more effective in some circumstances — as more intense workouts when it comes to weight loss or maintenance. This is even true when compared to various “rigorous” activities that increase your heart rate and cause you to sweat, like swimming, cycling, working out at the gym, dancing, running, football/rugby, badminton/tennis, squash and aerobic exercises. All of these exercises were compared in the London School study, but the weight loss benefits of walking still held up.

If walking for around 30 minutes doesn’t burn tons of calories like other vigorous workouts can, you might wonder how it can help with weight loss. Walking at a fast or brisk pace does use up a good amount of bodily energy, but the advantage might be that it’s an easy exercise hack to keep up with, has particular mental benefits and doesn’t wear someone out the way that other demanding activities might.

At the end of the day, any type of exercise is only going to be beneficial if you actually keep up with it. Since so many people can maintain a regimen of walking without becoming injured, it seems to offer serious long-term benefits.

Some theorize that doing an intense workout for about one hour a day might make some people less likely to do much else for the remainder of the day. Things like heavy housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, mowing the lawn, etc., all take up a lot of physical energy — and for most busy adults, there’s only so much to go around.

It also could be more of a mental effect when it comes walking: Once the workout box is “checked,” the rest of the day people might feel they’re “off the hook” and don’t need to focus on moving around so much. When someone walks daily for exercise, the net effect might be that that person burns more calories overall throughout the day, even though her actual workout was less strenuous, because she perceives walking to be easier, which frees up more energy.

Additionally, walking seems to be therapeutic for many people and soothing (especially when it’s done outdoors). Since walking can help balance stress hormones like cortisol, which are known to increase cravings and fat storage, it might make it easier to stick with other healthy habits — like eating a nourishing diet and getting good sleep, which both support you in your quest to lose weight fast.

One area where fat loss can occur with a lot of walking? The inner thigh. Walking should be part of your inner thigh workout plan.

2. Low-Impact and Easy on Joints

One of the best things about walking is that it can help fight chronic diseases without putting you at even a moderate risk for exercise-related injuries. According to some studies, people who are less likely to do other types of exercise are still inclined to take up walking, both for their health and for enjoyment.

It’s just about the safest form of exercise there is, even for adults who are obese, the elderly or those with existing medical conditions, like diabetes, heart disease and arthritis, that might stop them from participating in other activities.

You might assume otherwise, but regular walking actually supports your joints since it improves circulation and helps the lymphatic system do its job, pulling toxins out of the body and lowering inflammation. Normally, joint cartilage has no direct blood supply, but the more you move, the more your synovial joint fluid circulates, allowing oxygen and nutrients to be brought to delicate or injured areas.

In fact, according to the Arthritis Foundation, staying inactive is one of the primary reasons for achiness and soreness since this results in joints being cut off from essential fluid supply.

If you’ve suffered injuries or have aches and pains from the past, you can gradually increase the intensity of your walking without needing a personal trainer or much guidance. Stretching, resting enough and starting slow can help prevent pains and further inflammation.

3. Good for Improving and Preserving Heart Health

A 2013 study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that briskly walking has beneficial effects on resting heart rate, blood pressure, exercise capacity, maximal oxygen consumption and quality of life. The study followed over 1,000 patients who had various diseases and found that walking had significant benefits in the majority of adults, offering protection from heart attacks, strokes or coronary heart disease.

Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in the U.S. and is tied to the modern-day sedentary lifestyle, with its lack of everyday physical activity coupled with high stress levels and a poor diet. Brisk walking is considered a simple, safe and effective form of exercise even for people who are older, have a history of disease or who have suffered previous injuries that stop them from doing high-intensity workouts.

Studies show that walking briskly for about 30 minutes a day, five days a week (which is what most authorities recommend) is associated with a 19 percent reduction in coronary heart disease risk, while increasing your speed and intensity (such as hitting some hills that turns walking into a great quad exercise) can give you even more protection. Essentially, the harder you work while walking, plus the more you do, the better off you’ll be.

That’s not all. A 2022 study backed up these heart-healthy claims, showcasing that walking as little as two minutes after a meal can support blood sugar levels and other biomarkers associated with heart disease.

For the most heart-healthy benefits, try gradually increasing your total walking duration, distance, frequency, energy expenditure and pace.

4. Fights Depression and Improves Your Mood

Good news: You can get the same “runner’s high” even when you take it slower and walk. All forms of exercise are beneficial as a natural remedy for depression and mood-related problems since they release “feel good” hormones in your brain, including endorphins.

Want to feel an even bigger impact from walking? Walk outdoors (a good way to work out in the cold or exercise in the heat), and practice “earthing” by putting your bare feet in direct contact with the grass or sand. Getting your blood flowing while also soaking up some sun, boosting your vitamin D levels and spending more time in nature are all super effective and easy ways to feel happier every single day.

Walking can also keep you sharp as your age. It’s associated with a decreased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, memory loss and other forms of mental decline. One study done by the University of California San Francisco found that walking is even associated with longevity and a longer life span.

Another study from the same department followed nearly 6,000 women over the age of 65 and found that walking 2.5 miles per day resulted in significantly more protection from memory loss than walking less than a half-mile per week.

In addition, it appears that walking speed and number of steps taken can affect dementia risk, so how fast and how long someone walks can be a good indicator of their potential to develop cognitive issues.

5. Supports Bone Health Into Older Age

Similarly to other types of exercise, walking regularly can help stop the loss of bone mass as someone ages. Your risk for porous bone diseases drops when you walk and move your body because you’re fighting gravity, forcing your bones to become stronger in order to support your body weight. This reduces the risk for fractures or osteoporosis, which become more common as you grow older.

One study done by Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that postmenopausal women who walked for 30 minutes a day reduced their risk of hip fractures by 40 percent.

6. Can Be Done Anywhere and Doesn’t Require Equipment

Can’t afford a fancy gym membership, or have no time to regularly attend high-end fitness classes? No problem, because walking can be done right from your own front door and costs absolutely nothing. You don’t even necessarily have to do all your walking at one time to make it count.

It all “adds up,” so to speak, since simply walking more throughout the day can gradually bring you closer to your daily goal of 30–60 minutes of exercise. Even shorter walks done several times per day, such as 15–20 minutes at a time when you have time, contribute to better muscular, heart and hormonal functioning.

Still lacking motivation to get started? Try thinking of walking as a form of transportation that at the same time conveniently also comes with numerous health benefits.

Several interesting studies have shown that walking and cycling for transportation are associated with an 11 percent reduction in heart disease risk and tied to improvements in inflammatory markets, dyslipidemia, triglycerides, diastolic blood pressure and fasting insulin levels.

Consider the layout of your neighborhood or work location, and try to build in more walking throughout your day that seems purposeful, such as doing errands by foot or walking to nearby friends’ houses.

Walking to Lose Weight: How Much Do We Need to Do?

Walking is considered a moderate-intensity activity, with most experts recommending people aim to walk “briskly” at a speed of at least three to four miles per hour to get the most effects when it comes to walking to lose weight. To put it into perspective, a “light jog” is usually done at about 5–6 mph, while sprinting can be as fast as 9–10 mph (or even more if you’re really going all-out).

Another common goal is walking about 10,000 steps per day — around four to five miles (depending on your stride) — which accumulates gradually as you go about your normal errands and activities. Normally, a mile takes about 2,000 steps to walk, so you can increase your distance slowly as you move toward a higher step goal.

Research released in 2021 found that regularly registering as little as 7,000 steps a day could lower your risk of early death by 50 percent to 70 percent compared to people who chronically who take fewer steps daily.

How much walking do you need to do to actually lose weight or notice changes in your body composition? Like all things health-related, it depends on your individual body type and also the combination of all other factors of your lifestyle — like the quality of your diet and sleep, the type of work you do for a living, and your stress levels.

After all, if your diet is pretty crummy, you always lack sleep and you sit most hours of the day besides the brief time when you exercise, simply doing more walking to lose weight probably won’t do much.

The U.S. government (and many other countries) recommends that adults do 150 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity every week. In other words, aim for at least 30 minutes of briskly walking almost every day, ideally, and don’t be afraid to do more when time allows.

Sixty to 90 minutes might be even more beneficial when it comes to weight loss, but don’t let being short on time feel overwhelming and stop you from doing anything at all. It doesn’t have to be “all-or-nothing” — every little bit throughout the day helps.

While walking is fantastic, don’t be quick to forget about the recommendations for strength training too. It’s a good idea to consider adding several moderately intense, strength-building workouts into your weekly routine — that is if you’re capable enough to do so.

Walking to lose weight is even more effective if you challenge your muscles and continue to switch up how you train your body (and your mind).

For example, performing one to three high-intensity interval training workouts along with walking can speed up results big time. HIIT workouts can be shorter than your walks, done in just about 10–20 minutes, and high-intensity interval training benefits are far-reaching when it comes to weight loss, metabolic function, muscle building and blood sugar control.

Plus, experts point out that doing purely aerobic training is great, but when you ignore building strength you might actually put yourself at a greater risk for orthopedic injuries, bone loss, muscle loss and other issues.

The bottom line? Get moving, but switch things up and keep it fun to support your body best.

Tips and Workouts

If you’re not already active, it’s a good idea to start slowly and kick up your intensity gradually, even if you’re eager and want to get walking to lose weight. Aim for an initial goal like walking for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, once or twice a day depending on your schedule. Increase your duration and pace so you reach 30–60 minutes daily, including a warmup and cool-down session and some stretching to help prevent injuries.

• To warm up: Take it slower at first, and walk at a speed that’s about 50 percent your maximum effort. Once your legs feel looser, you can move up to 60 percent to 75 percent of your max effort. If you’re capable, eventually you can combine walking with sprinting for a higher-intensity interval workout, alternating between very intense short bursts and rest periods to catch your breath.
• Despite what most people think, stretching is a lot safer and beneficial when your muscles are already warmed up, since this helps them become more flexible. It’s not always necessary to stretch before walking, but it’s definitely a good idea if you’re prone to injuries or you plan to alternate between walking and running (especially if you’re just beginning running). To safeguard your body, after your short warmup you can focus on stretching your calves, front of thigh (quadriceps), back of thigh (hamstrings) and lower back, holding each stretch for 30 seconds ideally.
• Once you feel loosened up, start to walk at a faster pace, such as 3–4.5 mph (or the time it would take you to complete a mile in about 15 to 20 minutes). In terms of your effort, you should be able to carry on a broken conversation while you walk but not so well as you speed up.
• When it comes to proper walking form, keep your chest upright and your shoulders relaxed. Allow your heel to strike the ground first, rolling forward while you push off your toes in order to prevent common walking/running injuries. You can also pump your arms to help propel your body and use even more energy or let them swing naturally. Squeezing in your core will help activate your stomach and back muscles.
• To end your workout, you can take it easy for the last five minutes of your walk to catch your breath. Then cool down by doing some more stretching, especially focusing on your hamstrings and quads, which can become tight. Using an inexpensive foam roller after a workout is a great way to massage the deep fascia tissue that can become sore when walking or running, so consider keeping one at your house.

As your stamina and endurance improve, you can add five to 10 minutes to your walk every couple of days. You might start out walking three times per week and soon find you’re walking five to six days. That’s what can happen when you notice the positive difference in your body and mood!

You can even start trying rucking, which is walking with a rucksack for added weight to build more muscle.

Once you’re walking for 30–45 minutes, you can focus on improving your speed or distance — for example, making your goal to walk a longer distance in the same amount of time (such as three miles in 40 minutes instead of 2.5). The more time you can spend in a “high effort” zone, such as 50 percent to 60 percent of your maximum exertion, the more benefits you will get, so try to aim for at least 20 minutes at this level.

Remember that you can keep things interesting by walking with a destination in mind (such as the grocery store or even to work), changing up your route, taking the stairs more often instead of an elevator or parking your car farther away from where you’re going.

Still worried about injuries? The good news is that people are actually most prone to injuries when they stay inactive, so the more you do, the better you’ll be protected. Just like the old saying goes, “Move it or lose it.”

You also can help prevent injuries by wearing proper shoes, stretching, warming up and starting slow.

If your sneakers are old and worn-out, try replacing them and even having your feet fitted at an athletic store to make sure your sneakers support your form best. Look at the heels of your sneakers to see if they seem worn-out and uneven, which is a sign you need new ones!

Some initial soreness in your joints and muscles is normal at first when you begin walking, but this should go away as your muscles adjust to your new activity level.

The post Benefits of Walking to Lose Weight, Manage Blood Sugar & Extend Life appeared first on Dr. Axe.

As runners, we all know that we need to be hydrated — but what does that really mean, and what happens if we fall short?

In this article, I’m going to dive in to exactly what happens — both internally and externally — when we’re dehydrated. In addition, I’m going to examine the best ways to spot dehydration and, most importantly, how to stay hydrated so you don’t have to worry about getting dehydrated in the first place.

What Is Dehydration?

Dehydration occurs when our bodies lose vital electrolytes through sweating, which is essentially the body’s built-in cooling mechanism.

The American Chemical Society describes electrolytes as salts, ingested mainly through food, that dissolve into positive or negative charges. In the scope of athletic performance, the most crucial electrolytes are potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium.

So why are electrolytes so important for runners? Electrolytes control water movement in the body’s cells, as well as your body’s nerve impulses. This means these salts play crucial roles in brain function, muscle firing and even the beating of your heart.

During a training session, the following things happen when we lose these electrolytes:

1. Muscle fatigue sets in earlier.
2. Heart rate increases.
3. Performance decreases.
4. Mental clarity suffers.

In addition, dehydration impacts recovery long after the run or training session. Because it impedes your muscles’ recovery process, dehydration during just one workout can actually hinder your workouts for the few days after that. Since your muscles will not have fully recovered, performance may continue to suffer.

Signs of Dehydration for Runners

The most well-known indicator of dehydration is thirst. As a general rule, if you’re thirsty, you are likely already dehydrated.

In addition, dry mouth, dry eyes and even dry skin can also serve as signals. Look out for headaches and nausea as well!

Other, lesser known signals include mental fatigue, a lack of motivation and increased heart rate while at a normal run pace.

Additionally, over-sweating and under-sweating can both indicate dehydration. Over-sweating is your body’s way of warning you that you are expending energy and losing electrolytes that need to be replaced.

Under-sweating is a bit more complicated of a signal. Absent sweating in conditions you would normally sweat in, also known as hypohidrosis, often indicates heat exhaustion, which can be partially, or fully, caused by dehydration.

Heat exhaustion refers to any sort of mild heat-related illness. Nausea, vomiting and weakness are all symptoms of heat exhaustion that occur when your body fails to cool itself through sweating.

Extreme heat exhaustion is called heat stroke and indicates your body’s total failure to regulate its temperature. Symptoms of heat stroke include high fever, rapid heart rate and loss of consciousness.

While dehydration is not always the cause of under-sweating, it is likely a factor if you are under-sweating during a training session.

Because of this, be sure to take note of your mid-training sweat levels. Hydrate often to replenish electrolytes if you are over-sweating, and find a way to externally cool down your body’s temperature if you are under-sweating.

Dehydration looks different on everyone, so you likely won’t have all of the symptoms mentioned above if you do, in fact, get dehydrated. As a result, it’s important to know your own body and find out what your body’s response is to the loss of those vital electrolytes.

Hydration Tips for Runners: How to Avoid Dehydration

Daily hydration is the easiest way to avoid all of the above symptoms and signals.

Experts recommend drinking eight to 10 glasses of water per day, every day, while also incorporating foods with high water content into your diet. Cucumbers, watermelon, spinach, iceberg lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, tomatoes and green peppers are all great options to help you stay hydrated.

In addition, you should find a good hydration product that you can use before, during and after your training sessions to replenish any electrolytes your body loses.

A hydration product provides key electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium), as well as crucial minerals,that are typically lost through sweating during a run or workout. Sports drinks are the most common hydration products, but a lot of them can be extremely high in sugar, which can have other adverse effects on your body.

When choosing a hydration drink, look for a product that has between 250–350 grams of sodium and under 10 grams of sugar. Be sure to hydrate with this every 20 minutes or so while training, as well as before and after the session.

People at The Run Experience love S.O.S, because it’s medically formulated to be similar to an IV hydration supplement that a patient would receive in a hospital. It also tastes good and is high in sodium but low in sugar.

It can take up to 48 hours to recover from dehydration, but you can avoid it completely by simply drinking enough fluids throughout the day and making sure to hydrate with a high-quality product while training!

Race Day Prep

Remembering to hydrate during your workouts and drinking water throughout the day are all steps in the right direction for a hydrated race.

However, you should be sure to use all of your training sessions as hydration test runs for race day! If hydrating every 20 minutes on your long run left you with a headache or another dehydration symptom at the end, that’s a good sign that you may need to bump up your efforts and try hydrating every 10 or 15 minutes on your next training run.

Give yourself an honest evaluation of how your hydration program works after every training run so you know exactly what your body needs during your big race.

Additionally, be sure to check the course and weather forecast before a race. Dehydration is one of the worst surprises to have on race day, but doing a little advance prep can help you avoid dehydration altogether.

Checking out the course ahead of time can tell you how many aid stations there will be, so you can pack your own hydration products accordingly.

Also, if you know the race is going to be hilly, hot, largely in the sun or heading into the wind, you can try to train in those conditions so you know what it takes to keep your body hydrated for optimal race performance.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, staying hydrated as a runner is really just a matter of knowing your own body. Monitor your symptoms, and use trial and error to see what works for you.

To keep your body hydrated on a regular basis, drink water throughout the day, and drink a well-formulated hydration supplement to replenish any lost electrolytes during your training, and you should be good to go.

Holly Martin is a  running coach and personal trainer. With a 20-plus-year background in dance, Holly brings a strong focus on technique and mobility to all of her coaching. She trains clients and coaches online with The Run Experience, an online training community for running training programs and workouts. She enjoys writing tips for running that help you become a better, stronger and injury-proof runner.

The post Hydration Tips for Runners, Including Race Day Prep appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Both supination and pronation are terms used to describe the rolling motion of the heels and feet during the body’s gait cycle, which takes place as we run or walk. Supination describes the rolling outward motion of the foot, therefore oversupinators don’t roll their feet inward enough.

Excess supination is also called “underpronation” — since supination is the opposite of pronation of the foot (rolling inward). Both oversupination and overpronation put too much stress on the underneath or outside edges of the foot, often leading to leg pains.

For most adults, too little supination is usually more of a problem than too much, but oversupinating the foot can also lead to complications. Who tends to struggle with supination problems most often? Runners with high arches (the opposite of “flat feet” or collapsed arches) and tight Achilles tendons tend to be underpronators/supinators.

Some of the aches and pains associated with supination abnormalities include:

• rolling or spraining the ankle
• developing “hammertoes” (clawed toes)
• Achilles tendinitis
• running injuries like plantar fasciitis
• shin splints
• iliotibial band syndrome affecting the knees
• general instability and weakness

The reason underpronation causes such an array of problems is that the muscles in the legs and feet become trained to push the foot away from the ground with mostly the outer toes/pinky toes. Considering these are generally weak areas of the feet, they tend to bear more weight and pressure than they can handle, sometimes causing scar tissue to form.

Other overuse injuries can occur, too.

You can see why it’s not just the feet that are impacted by supination or related postural problems — but can contribute to muscular compensations that wind up affecting the entire body. 

What Is Supination?

Supination (underpronation) is the insufficient inward rolling of the foot after landing on the ground. Compared to those with “normal,” healthy posture of the lower body, those with oversupination roll the foot outward too much (less than 15 percent of an inward roll when landing). This causes the ankle and only a small portion of the outer toes to absorb shock when the foot hits the ground, often triggering pain in the ankle, foot and lower leg.

As the body moves, in order to accept weight onto one leg and propel forward, a shift in weight must occur at the feet, knees and hips. A natural amount of supination occurs during the push-off phase when propelling forward.

Supination helps the heel lift away from the ground, which brings the forefoot and toes down to land in a way that moves the body. However, too much supination contributes to common running injuries due to instability in the ankles.

Weak ankles set the scene for postural problems, as well, like too much pressure applied to susceptible areas of the lower legs and higher risk for spraining.

Preserving proper alignment through the midline of the body, all the way from the head to the toes — by keeping the feet symmetrical and rolling them properly — is crucial for learning normal weight transference, which protects the whole body, including the spine.

Causes and Symptoms

Some of the reasons that people develop abnormalities related to pronation, supination, dorsiflexion and other motions of the feet or legs include:

• Genetics (genetics affect the length of the legs, width of the feet, stability of the ankles and curvature of the foot’s arches, for example)
• Walking on flat, hard surfaces (rather than natural terrain)
• Wearing worn-out shoes or those that are unsupportive
• Muscular compensations due to poor posture in the legs, sacrum and spine
• Old injuries, including ankles sprains, stress fractures in the legs or tendon tears, which can leave scar tissue behind that causes instability
• Poor form when running or exercising
• Overuse, including exercising too much or standing for long periods
• Limited range of motion and stiffness due to aging
• Loose ligaments or loss of cartilage in the joints of the feet or ankles (such as those of the subtalar joint)
• In some cases, leg discrepancy (legs are different lengths)
• Weakness in the ankles or lower body from too little activity (a sedentary lifestyle)

Here are some common signs that you’re likely an over-supinator (underpronator)

• Frequent ankle sprains
• Pain underneath the feet (in the ball of the foot) or pain often in the ankles
• Clawed toes/hammertoes
• Throbbing or weakness gets worse when running, walking, exercising or standing for a long time
• Dysfunctional musculoskeletal problems in the ankles, calves, outer thighs or knees
• Swelling in the ankle, foot or heel — sometimes the toes are affected as well and develop calluses or bunions
• Loss of functionality and reduced range of motion in the lower body

Supination vs. Dorsiflexion

• Supination and dorsiflexion are terms related to motion and stability of the feet and ankles. (They can sometimes also be applied to other body parts that bend back, like the hands)
• Deviations (abnormal amounts) of ankle supination or dorsiflexion are usually used to describe form and postural problems that cause common running injuries when the foot strikes the ground. These can include injuries like plantar fasciitis, shin splints, runner’s knee, heel spurs and Achilles tendon pains, among others.
• While supination describes the outward rolling motion of the foot, dorsiflexion describes the bending backward of the foot. Dorsiflexion decreases the angle between the foot and the ankle. In other words it means the toes are lifting up and away from the ground, toward the ankle/body.
• Proper dorsiflexion is also needed to bring the knees over the ankles, such as when bending over, squatting or jumping forward.
• Abnormal dorsiflexion, or backward flexion of the foot, is a common problem related to not only running injuries, but those caused during other sports/exercises. Proper mobility of the ankle is crucial for allowing the body to propel forward, especially when jumping, sprinting or running quickly.
• Without enough ankle dorsiflexion, it’s also hard to sustain proper form when performing resistance training using the knees, such as squatting or lifting weights. The torso can’t remain vertical due to stiffness in the ankles (too little dorsiflexion), therefore you can’t keep a neutral spine. The knees can also cave in, which adds stress to the back.
• On the other hand, too much dorsiflexion is also problematic. Stability is equally important in the ankles, because too much motion due to weakness in the muscles and joints of the feet can contribute to ankle rolling or spraining, along with symptoms of runner’s knee.

Conventional Treatments

If your orthopedic, physical therapist, trainer or another doctor sees signs of abnormal supination or dorsiflexion in your feet, she or he will likely recommend improving your form and wearing more supportive shoes with inserts. Changing your sneakers/shoes when exercising is usually the first step, which makes orthotics even more effective. 

Orthotic inserts used in sneakers or shoes consist of arch support and sometimes a lifted heel to control the rolling-forward motion of the foot. They can take pressure off the small toes and help stabilize the ankle. This is beneficial for protecting the knees and back during movements such as running or lifting weights.

Consider using orthotics if your doctor thinks they might be helpful for improving comfort during standing for long periods, lower back pain relief or reducing heel pain.

Depending on how severe your supination problem is, your doctor might also recommend physical therapy. Physical therapy can “reteach” your muscles and joints how to distribute your weight in a healthier way, starting from your feet upward, allowing you to sustain proper form all the way through your sacrum, pelvis and spine.

5 Natural Ways to Create Proper Supination

1. Fix Your Form

Here are some tips for helping you to correct your stance, which is the groundwork for learning proper running/walking form. Proper form and posture through the spine are especially important when adding extra pressure or weight to the feet, such as when you’re lifting weights or sprinting very fast.

• When running or walking fast, aim to lower the feet with a soft landing. Some try to image “running on eggshells” or attempting to run on water. Remain light on your feet instead of pounding the feet too hard onto the ground.
• Focus on landing closer to your midfoot, rather than at the back of the heel. Try to land with a mostly flat foot, attempting to avoid too much curving of the toes inward or outward or landing too much to the side of the foot.
• Slightly increase your cadence, and potentially shorten your stride to keep proper form in the feet and legs.
• Run with upright posture through your back, and stay relaxed.

2. Stretch to Loosen Tight Muscles (Including the Ankles)

Supinators should do extra stretching for the calves, hamstrings, quads and iliotibial band (basically the whole leg). Gently stretching/mobilizing muscles in the legs helps break up adhesions and allows you to sustain proper form more easily. Stretching the ankles can also improve dorsiflexion, or ankle mobility/stability. 

Many soft tissue therapists and physical therapists recommend starting any activity by massaging sore feet, loosening the ankles and stretching tight calves. Since weak, stiff ankles are often one of the major contributing factors that cause supination problems, you can also add some of these leg stretches to your regular workouts:

• Use a foam roller on the floor, positioning your body on top so the roller is under your calves, then moving back and forth gently. You can practice the same on the back or sides of the calves too. Roll the area, and hold tender spots for 30 to 60 seconds, repeating up to five times every day. This should be done right before stretching.
• Try massaging the fascia (soft tissue) in the underpart of the feet with a tennis ball under the foot as you roll around while applying mild pressure.
• Get into pushup position, and then walk your feet forward slightly to come onto the balls of your feet (holding an upside down “V” with your body). Lift the heels away from the ground as you balance on the balls of your feet, and then lower them back down again. Repeat about 10 times, more than once a day if you’d like.
• As you lay on your back, lift the legs in the air, and flex the ankles back and forth. Or make small circles (turning toes toward your body and away). Repeat for several minutes.
• Place your toes up against a wall, tilting the toes back toward the body. This releases the ankles and opens up the calves.
• Use a resistance band (also known as exercise band) wrapped around the ankle to gently pump and improve ankle flexibility.
• Do basic heel raises by raising and lowering your heels and toes to the ground, then back up. Do 10 to 15 at a time. Try using a step if you’d like.
• Sitting up on one shin, bend the opposite knee, and slowly bring the knee past the ankle, rocking the knee back and forth to improve dorsiflexion.
• Stand with straight legs, and bend forward from the waist to touch the floor or shins. This helps stretch the hamstrings. Hold for 20 to 30 seconds. You can also keep your legs wide apart with toes facing outward slightly to loosen the inner leg and hamstrings.

3. Strengthen the Leg Muscles for More Support

Strength-building leg exercises to help reduce muscular weakness in the ankles and calves include:

• Squats — All types of squats require proper mobility and stability in the ankles (dorsiflexion) and also increase strength in just about every part of the legs. Try basic squats or squatting while lifting weight overhead. Keep the tailbone tucked and core tight to protect the back.
• Lunges — Side lunges, lunge dips or lunge twists.
• Crab crawls — Bend your knees, and bring your hands behind you, squatting down in front of your arms. Use your hands on the ground to help you stretch the ankles back and forth to increase range of motion. You can stay in this position while stretching the heels and toes.
• Calf raises — Perform gentle calf raises by lifting your heel off the floor, then reversing and lifting/pointing the toes toward the ceiling. Make sure you feel a stretch in your calf muscle. Hold for 30 seconds, three times per leg.
• Doing any type of burst training, HIIT workouts or sprints (good for the whole lower body).

4. Wear the Right Shoes (Not Worn-Out Sneakers!)

Podiatrists usually recommend more flexible, lightweight sneakers for underpronators, especially those who spend lots of time on their feet (including runners or those who do lots of brisk walking). Lightweight shoes can withstand more motion of the ankle while still supporting the feet, especially those with flexible inner edges.

For people with wobbly, weak ankles, higher-top sneakers that stabilize the ankles might be a better choice.

Signs of underpronation/supination will show up in your sneakers or shoes, usually causing the outer edge of the shoe to become flimsy more quickly. Replace your sneakers regularly, especially if you exercise or run often. To see if you’re due for a new pair, place your shoes down on a flat surface, and look for the outer edge to tilt outward.

In addition to wearing the right shoes, consider using some of these inserts:

• Orthotic inserts
• Inserts to lift the heels (deep heel cups)
• Lateral insoles that stop foot rolling

You may also want to consider easing in to barefoot running — a phenomena growing in popularity among those with recurring running injuries. Running barefoot may seem even riskier than wearing the wrong sneakers, but it actually helps the feet learn proper form more easily, builds strength throughout the ankles and feet, and helps increase natural range of motion (supination and dorsiflexion).

5. Begin Exercise Gradually and Rest to Prevent Injuries

If you’re new to more vigorous types of exercising — such as running, hiking or walking uphill — or spending more time on your feet, try to keep these tips in mind:

• Aways warm up with a dynamic stretch (described above). Loosening the ankles and calves is most important.
• Set a goal to practice consistently, but give yourself rest in between to avoid adding too much stress to connective tissue. If your feet, ankle or leg muscles become too fatigued or swollen, you’ll be more likely to develop scar tissue and fall into improper form.
• Incorporate burst training and cross-train using different exercises to strengthen all over, instead of only certain leg muscles.
• Choose the right sneakers and shoes. (I can’t stress this enough.)
• Watch out for uneven or hard surfaces that may make your form and foot pain worse.
• Listen to your body. Take time off if pain worsens and spreads up the legs.
• After workouts, icing, massaging your calves and feet, plus foam rolling are simple ways to recover and help prevent swelling and tightness.

Precautions

If foot/ankle pain gets worse and lasts for more than several days or you find that the exercises above don’t help prevent ankle rolling, talk to a doctor about correcting your stance with orthotics.

Always be careful when beginning any new exercise program, watch out for signs of inflammation and overuse, and consider seeing a therapist who specializes in soft tissue therapies if supination/dorsiflexion is an ongoing problem.

Final Thoughts 

• Supination and pronation are terms used to describe the rolling motion of the heels and feet as we run or walk forward. Supination describes the rolling outward motion of the foot, while pronation describes the rolling inward. Excess supination is also called “underpronation,” a less common problem compared to overpronation.
• Signs and symptoms of oversupinating include ankle, leg or heel pain; frequent rolling/spraining of the ankles; calf weakness and tightness; reduced range of motion when exercising or lifting weights; and loss of functionality.
• Natural ways to improve supination include exercising and stretching the ankles, calves and lower body; wearing proper shoes/sneakers; using proper shoe inserts (orthotics); and correcting your form when running.

The post Do You Suffer from Excess Supination? Warning Signs & Remedies for This Running Problem appeared first on Dr. Axe.

One of the major draws for people who take up running to keep in shape is how little is needed. There’s no fancy equipment or expensive memberships to worry about — just lace up your sneakers, throw open the front door and hit the road.

While the runner’s high is fantastic, you might start to notice some not-so-great side effects: achy muscles, blackened toenails or plantar fasciitis, and other common running injuries.

That’s why I’ve compiled this list of nine ways to get the most out of each and every run. Even if you’re an intermediate, these running tips for beginners will improve your running, keep your body safe and make running a healthy activity you can enjoy for years to come.

9 Running Tips (for a Better Run!)

1. Warm up

You have your playlist going, and you’re ready to pound the pavement — but have you warmed up yet? Failing to do so before a run can lead to pulling a muscle, hurting a tendon or starting off at a too fast a pace that leaves you feeling exhausted and burnt out way before you’d like.

Skip static stretching, which does more harm than good. Instead, try a routine that will get your blood flowing and heart rate up, give your muscles a chance to warm up gently, and open your joints at a slower pace.

Start by walking at a brisk pace for several minutes, then transitioning to a light jog for another few minutes. Then add some dynamic stretching and movements, like jumping jacks, squats or butt kicks to finish up.

2. Set a goal and run consistently

Sometimes we just want to get outside to get fresh air and clear our heads, but in general, establishing a goal, whether it’s long-term or session-specific, will motivate you and can even improve your running.

For instance, are you training for a race or hoping to reach a certain distance? Will you focus on interval running in this session instead of keeping a consistent pace? Are you simply hoping to get out for a run a certain number of days a week?

Remember, regarding running tips for beginners, the only way to achieve your goals is to keep at them. Some days you might not get the quality of run in you want, or you’ll head outside for less time than you’d have liked. That’s OK: Running consistently is more important than being a superstar every single time.

Keep in mind that you want to set goals that are realistic and achievable, especially when you’re just starting out. Going from the couch to a full marathon in two months isn’t realistic (or good for you!), but going from the couch to a 5K is doable.

In general, I don’t recommend increasing your mileage or running volume by more than 10 percent a week.

Eventually, if you aim to run a marathon, according to a 2013 International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, runners are advised to run a minimum of 18 miles per week before a marathon to reduce their risk of suffering a running‐related injury.

3. Incorporate burst training

You don’t need to spend hours running to get great physical results. Burst training, or interval training, is one of the best ways to burn fat and lose weight.

It combines short, high-intensity bursts of exercise with slow recovery phases repeated during a single exercise session. You’ll go for 85 percent to 100 percent of your maximum heart rate instead of keeping it in the 50 percent to 70 percent range, the way you do when exercising at a moderate pace.

A simple way to do this after warming up is by sprinting for 20 seconds, then jogging for another 20 and repeating the cycle for 10 minutes to half an hour. Burst training is easy to modify to your level, too. The beauty of it is that it uses your personal “max strength” to get results.

If your version of sprinting is walking briskly, that’s fantastic. If you can run like the wind around the track, that’s great, too. Just remember to keep challenging yourself, no matter where you’re at.

4. Cross-train

As great as running is for the body and mind, it shouldn’t be the only type of exercise you do. Running tips for beginners also include incorporating other types of workouts, or cross training, to strengthen muscles that aren’t used when running — also helping prevent injury — and give running muscles a chance to recover.

Plus, it helps prevent burnout — eventually, running for every single workout will get boring!

Make sure to alternate cross training on days when you’re not running, or add it onto shorter running days. If you’re a long-distance runner, don’t risk the temptation to sneak in cross-training activities during rest days — your body does need those to fully recover.

Unsure what to do? Swimming provides a great cardio workout while giving joints a chance to rest. You’ll strengthen your upper body and arms and increase endurance.

Cycling is another cardio-centric exercise that complements running well. A Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study showed that cycle cross-training helped maintain aerobic performance during the recuperative phase between the cross-country and track seasons, comparable to devoting all cardio time to running only.

Strength training is also critical. It gives you a chance to focus on underused muscles and strengthen your core, which maintains your form while running and keeps you from getting tired.

Yoga and Pilates are also excellent workouts to stretch, increase flexibility and develop core strength, or try Crossfit workouts to seriously challenge yourself.

5. Get the right pre- and post-run fuel

Your body needs the best foods for athletes before and after a run. The right mix will keep you energized throughout your workout session and then help muscles recover afterward. In general, I recommend eating between one and two hours before running and then again 20 to 45 minutes after.

If you’re running a long distance or super intensely, I recommend getting something with a 4:1 carb to protein ratio beforehand, like goat milk yogurt with fruits, nuts and granola; sprouted grain bread (like Ezekiel bread) spread with your favorite nut butter; or a quinoa stir-fry.

Note: If you’re doing a long run at a steady pace, you’ll want some healthy fats in your meal to help endurance. If you’re working out for a short period of time at a really high intensity, avoid fat, as the fat will hinder digestion when your heart rate goes up.

If you’re going out for a moderate-level run an running for weight loss, I recommend a 2:1 carb to protein ratio, like a banana and a handful of nuts. For everyone, I recommend avoiding spicy foods, foods high in fat that are difficult to digest or high-fiber foods — and remember, see what works for you best.

6. Choose the right shoes

Running tips for beginners must also pertain to the type of shoes you use when you exercise, for it can make a huge difference on your comfort while running. I recommend going to a running store, being fit for a shoe and experimenting with different types. Depending on your foot’s shape and any previous injuries, you might find one style or brand suits you best.

Take note of sizes, as well. With a running sneaker, you’ll likely want to choose a shoe that’s one size up from your normal size. That’s because, as you run, your foot swells, and you’ll want room to accommodate your newly grown feet.

One sign your shoes aren’t the right size? You’re toenails are turning black or falling off often.

In the last several years, there’s been a surge and decline in barefoot and minimalist shoe running (think Vibrams, the five-fingered shoes). That may pique your curiosity, but don’t ditch your shoes just yet. If you have foot injuries, this style may exacerbate them while adding stress to feet.

For example, 2013 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that running in minimalist footwear appears to increase the chance of injury, with full minimalist designs specifically increasing pain at the shin and calf. (

Meanwhile, another BJSM study that concerned only barefoot running was less conclusive about injury rate. Instead, it noted that “barefoot running changes the amount of work done at the knee and ankle joints, and this may have therapeutic and performance implications for runners.”

For example, there’s considerably less flexion at the ankle joint and knee joint, which can work well for some of us but not so well for others.

If you’re determined to feel the ground beneath your feet, stick to a low mileage on grass (where you can also benefit from the earthing effect) or a track instead of pavement. You can also try a neutral shoe with light cushioning.

It’ll provide the protection your foot needs while minimizing “extras.”

7. Watch out for surfaces

The surface you run on can be just as important as the type of shoes you wear. Because running is a high-impact sport, your joints and tendons are affected by what you clock miles on.

There are pros and cons to every surface. While grass is usually considered one of the best surfaces to run on because it’s soft and fairly low impact, you’ll need to be aware of uneven stretches to avoid twisting your ankle. If you’re training for a race, running on asphalt (aka the road) is useful so your body can acclimate to the conditions well before race day, though you’ll need to watch out for cars.

Treadmills are smooth and even, but they sure can get boring — run on an incline and incorporate interval training (try the Tabata protocol) to keep engaged. Concrete sidewalks are considered one of the worst surfaces to run on, because of how hard they are, it might be the only option available to you.

Again, this one comes down to the options available to you and how your body responds. The best choice might be to alternate surfaces when you can. Get a quick, high-energy morning run on a treadmill, take a long weekend run on a dirt trail, go for a jog with the dog in a grassy park and take a few midweek runs on concrete.

8. Listen to your body

You might have noticed that I’ve mentioned seeing how your body responds throughout this article. That’s because it’s so important!

Your body is constantly speaking to you, but it’s up to you to listen. When something hurts — and not the “hurts so good” type — don’t force yourself to soldier through. Take a rest, or see a doctor.

Remember that what works for others, whether it’s a shoe, a time of day to train or even when to eat, might not be the same for you. Resist the urge to compare yourself and your running rituals to others, and focus on keeping your own body happy.

9. Stretch!

After keeping you going through a workout, your muscles deserve a well-earned stretch, focusing on glutes, hamstrings, quads, IT bands (or iliotibial bands) and feet. I produced a video of my favorite IT band and glute stretches, especially for those of you who are used to sitting most of the day. The IT band runs along the outside of each leg and can be prone to tendonitis if you don’t take steps to keep it supple. You can also check out some calf exercises and stretches.

Yoga is also extremely helpful here, as many yoga poses ease tension in these places. I also highly recommend using a foam roller after each run to massage those body parts and work out any kinks that have developed.

If you suffer from plantar fasciitis, rolling the bottom of each foot over a tennis ball can help.

The post 9 Running Tips for Beginners appeared first on Dr. Axe.

By now, everyone knows there are numerous benefits of exercise, and one of those benefits includes the potential to extend life. This is even true for people who are already in their 60s and 70s.

In fact, recent research published in the journal JAMA Network Open found that women 65 and older who met the recommended guidelines of at least 2.5 hours of aerobic exercise and at least two days of strength training per week had a lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who did not.

“We found that each type of physical activity was independently associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality in older adults,” study author Dr. Bryant Webber, an epidemiologist in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shared with CNN.

“Those who met the muscle-strengthening guideline only (versus neither guideline) had (a) 10% lower risk of mortality, those who met the aerobic guideline only had 24% lower risk of mortality, and those who met both guidelines had 30% lower risk,” he said.

What is the one specific exercise that helps you live longer? According to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, running may extend your life up to three years. (The new sport of pickleball also boasts some longevity benefits.)

Running: Exercise that Helps You Live Longer

That’s right — running is a life extender, even if you run as little as five minutes per day. Even more remarkable, subjects in the study who ran lived about three years longer than non-runners, even if they were overweight, drank, smoked, or run slowly or sporadically.

How can this be so? Good question.

What, exactly, did the researchers find in reviewing this study? According to Dr. Duck-chul Lee, a professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University, and his study co-authors, running dropped the risk for premature death by nearly 40 percent — even when controlling for a history of health issues like obesity or hypertension, smoking and drinking.

Extrapolating that data, the researchers concluded that if the non-runners in the study began running, there’d be 16 percent fewer deaths and 25 percent fewer fatal heart attacks.

You might be wondering, in order to make running an exercise that helps you live longer, how many miles a week should I run? That’s the fascinating part:

Perhaps most interesting, the researchers calculated that, hour for hour, running statistically returns more time to people’s lives than it consumes. Figuring two hours per week of training, since that was the average reported by runners in the Cooper Institute study, the researchers estimated that a typical runner would spend less than six months actually running over the course of almost 40 years, but could expect an increase in life expectancy of 3.2 years, for a net gain of about 2.8 years.

As little as five minutes a day has benefits on longevity, with the life-extending powers plateauing at about four hours of running per week. However, running more than four hours a week did not show any adverse effects, just a plateau, meaning there is no harm in running long so long as you give yourself enough recovery time and rest between workouts.

The reasons behind these findings are still unclear, and this does not mean that running necessarily causes longevity to increase. It’s more likely, according to Lee, that because running combats so many health issues — such as high blood pressure and excess weight — it helps overall health, which in turn boosts longevity.

In fact, running isn’t the only exercise that helps you live longer. Walking, cycling and other exercise have also been shown to drop mortality risk by about 12 percent. It’s just that running seems to be the most effective exercise that helps you live longer.

Running and Telomeres

Beyond just combating high blood pressure, obesity, coronary heart disease and more, running seems to lengthen telomeres, segments of DNA at the end of our chromosomes that control aging.

One of the largest studies to date on telomeres shed some light on telomeres’ effect on a person’s health. Researchers collected saliva samples and medical records of more than 100,000 participants. Their findings showed that shorter-than-average telomere length was associated with a boost in mortality risk — even after adjusting for lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol consumption and education that are linked to telomere length.

The study found that individuals with the shortest telomeres, or about 10 percent of the study’s participants, were 23 percent more likely to die within three years than those with longer telomeres. While science still isn’t 100 percent sure how telomere length affects how we age, it’s clear that the longer our telomeres are, the better. As luck would have it, it turns out running helps extend telomeres.

Research published in the New York Times about how exercise keeps your cells young found that middle-aged adults who were intense runners (45–50 miles a week) had telomere lengths that were, on average, 75 percent longer than their sedentary counterparts.

Running Tips

While running is clearly an exercise that helps you live longer, you also don’t want to live in pain. That means you need to learn how to run properly and light on your feet.

According to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine and tips from Harvard researchers, take the following directions to heart while running:

• Experiment with landing closer to the midfoot if you’re a heel striker. Most runners naturally land more lightly when they don’t lead with the heel.
• Slightly increase cadence — the number of steps you take per minute. This seems to reduce pounding from each stride.
• Imagine you’re running on eggshells or attempting to “run on water,” so to speak, trying to remain light on your feet.
• Don’t overstride. It places a big impact and shock wave that travels up your body. It also causes a deceleration of the body, so you have to work harder to keep your stride.
• If you focus on forefoot striking too much, you may overstride and cause more stress. Conversely, as we’ve noted, heel striking is bad. So focus on a flat-foot, midfoot strike. A very pronounced forefront or rearfoot strike is bad.
• Increase your stride rate. A high stride rate keeps your stride short and your bounce springy.
• Upright posture is important. If you lean forward, it puts big angular torque on your upper body, causing your body to want to fall forward, putting more stress on your lower body.
• Be relaxed. Don’t waste effort by tensing your upper body.

Keep these running tips for beginners in mind as well, if you want to take up this exercise that helps you live longer:

• Warm up
• Set a goal and run consistently
• Incorporate burst training
• Cross-train
• Get the right pre- and post-run fuel
• Choose the right shoes
• Watch out for surfaces
• Listen to your body
• Stretch

More Exercise that Helps You Live Longer

Running isn’t the only exercise that helps you live longer. As mentioned, walking, cycling and other exercise can also extend life, as well as weight training and high-intensity interval training.

A 2017 study published in Cell Metabolism examined 72 healthy but sedentary men and women who were 30 or younger or older than 64 for 12 weeks. The participants were assigned to one of four exercise groups.

The control group did not exercise. One group rode stationary bikes 30 minutes a few times a week and did light weight training the other days; another group did extensive weight training several times per week; and the final group participated in brief stationary bike interval training three times a week, resting three days and then repeating.

Here’s what the researchers found:

• High-intensity interval training improved age-related decline in muscle mitochondria.
• Training adaptations occurred with increased gene transcripts and ribosome proteins.
• Changes to RNA with training had little overlap with corresponding protein abundance.
• Enhanced ribosomal abundance and protein synthesis explain gains in mitochondria.

What does this mean? Here’s what Dr. Sreekumaran Nair, a professor of medicine and an endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic and the study’s senior author, says:

It seems as if the decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging was ‘corrected’ with exercise, especially if it was intense. In fact, older people’s cells responded in some ways more robustly to intense exercise than the cells of the young did — suggesting that it is never too late to benefit from exercise.

This shows both HIIT workouts and weight training can help delay muscle aging, which in turn makes them good for longevity as well.

Conclusion

• According to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, running may extend your life up to three years.
• Running dropped the risk for premature death by nearly 40 percent — even when controlling for a history of health issues like obesity or hypertension, smoking and drinking.
• The researchers estimated that a typical runner would spend less than six months actually running over the course of almost 40 years, but could expect an increase in life expectancy of 3.2 years, for a net gain of about 2.8 years.
• Some of the reasons this may be so is that running helps combat issues that increase mortality risk, such as high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease, and it also seems to lengthen telomeres, segments of DNA at the end of our chromosomes that control aging.
• Researchers note that running doesn’t directly cause increases in longevity, but runners do seem to live longer, due in part to the reasons listed above.
• Other exercise that helps you live longer includes walking, cycling, weight training and HIIT workouts, among others.

The post Can Running, Strength Training & Other Exercise Help You Live Longer? YES appeared first on Dr. Axe.

It’s well known that proper run form will help prevent running injuries. But what we sometimes fail to realize is that we need to work on proper run form outside of our runs.

And if we do contract a running injury, or if we feel pain somewhere after a run, it’s often the result of tightness or misalignment elsewhere in the body.

In particular, knee, shin, ankle and foot injuries are frequently the result of hip tightness. Your hips’ range of motion has a large impact on your foot position as it strikes the ground, and your knee and shin alignment over your ankle.

If you’re working to treat an injury or to prevent future injuries, testing out your hips’ internal and external rotation is a great starting point.

Testing Out Your External Hip Rotation

We’ll start by testing your external hip rotation. To do this, we’re simply going to be performing an air squat.

Separate your feet a little wider than hips’ distance apart, with your toes pointed straight forward.

As you squat down, try to press your knees laterally outward, aiming to press them outside of your feet.

Be sure that you are going all the way down in your squat as you do this. The hips are in flexion as you squat down, which is an action that works in combination with your external rotation.

If this gives you trouble, don’t worry! We’ve got some hip strengthening exercises for runners to help with your external rotation below.

This is simply a test to gage your body’s natural external rotation.

Testing Out Your Internal Hip Rotation

Next, let’s check out your hips’ internal rotation. For this, we’ll be doing some simple leg swings.

For our internal rotation check, we’re going to work in extension.

To start, stand on one leg and start to swing your other leg forward and back, keeping the range of motion small at first.

From here, just start to notice what your leg and foot does as it swings back. Does it turn out? Or does it stay totally parallel to the ground?

If you notice that your foot is turning outward as your leg swings back, that is your body’s way of compensating for a lack of internal rotation.

Again, if that’s you, don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with some post run stretches to help.

Exercises to Improve External Rotation

To work on both types of rotation, we’ve got one hip strengthening exercise and one stretch.

For external rotation, that strengthening exercise is going to be the same air squat we did to test our range of motion before. Easy enough.

So again, spread your feet a little wider than hips’ distance apart, keep your toes pointed forward and squat down with your knees pressed outward.

If you want more of a challenge, hold a kettlebell to your chest, or add a barbell on your shoulders to increase the difficulty of these squats.

Try 3 sets of 20 squats, adding a set if you’re feeling up to it. The more you practice this exercise, the greater your external rotation will be.

Next, we’ll use a pigeon pose stretch to further work on external rotation.

For this one, sit on the ground with one leg straight behind you, with the knee down. Next, take the front leg and bend it at a 90 degree angle, or any degree less than that to keep your knee comfortable.

Just like you see in the image below, try to keep your hips facing forward here.

Exercises to Improve Internal Rotation

To strengthen our internal rotation, we’re going to work on some split lunges.

To start, take a couple of leg swings. On one of your swings back, kick back into a runner’s lunge, dropping your back knee to the ground if that’s comfortable.

Keeping your hips facing forward, take a couple of lunges raising up and down, tapping that knee on the ground at the bottom each time. Your feet will stay planted in that split stance the whole time.

Here, try 3 sets of 10 split lunges on each side, adding an additional set if you choose.

After that, spend some time at the bottom of the lunge for our internal rotation stretch.

You can just hang out at the bottom of that lunge if that’s a good stretch for you. To deepen it, go ahead and twist towards your front leg, really maximizing that internal rotation.

Be sure to keep your back foot anchored in one spot as you take that twist.

Putting It All Together

Our hip rotation is a sneaky factor that can make or break our running form! To be sure it’s not holding you back, incorporate these stretches and strengthening exercises once or twice a week.

1. Check external hip rotation (air squat)
2. Check internal hip rotation (leg swings)
3. Air squat (optional: with weight)
4. Pigeon pose stretch
5. Split lunge

Throw them into your running training plan, or at the end of your pre-run warm-up once you’ve gotten your blood flowing!

Holly Martin is a San Francisco-based running coach and personal trainer. With a 20+ year background in dance, Holly brings a strong focus on technique and mobility to all of her coaching. Currently, she coaches online with The Run Experience, an online training community for running training plans and workouts. She trains clients at Midline Training and Nfinite Strength. Check out her blog for more advanced running tips and techniques

The post Internal and External Hip Rotation: Why Runners Need Both appeared first on Dr. Axe.

There’s no doubt about it, drinking enough water to stay hydrated is important for many reasons — such as preventing fatigue, regulating blood pressure and even controlling hunger. But can you have too much water?

The answer is yes, you definitely can. In fact, water intoxication (a severe form of hyponatremia) is considered to be a life-threatening emergency that must be diagnosed and treated promptly to prevent serious complications. Below we’ll look at the dangers associated with drinking too much water, plus how much water should actually be consumed daily for optimal hydration.

What Is Water Intoxication?

The definition of water intoxication is: “A lowered blood concentration of sodium (hyponatremia) that occurs due to the consumption of excess water without adequate replacement of sodium.” (1)

Water intoxication is referred to in a few different ways, including: hyponatremia, water poisoning, hyperhydration, or excessive water intake. All of these terms describe the same serious health condition that is caused by an electrolyte imbalance — specifically having too much water (H2O) in the blood in relation to sodium.

Hyponatremia means low sodium levels in the blood (the term, which has Latin and Greek roots, literally means “insufficient salt in the blood”). Water intoxication, or hyponatremia, is the opposite of hypernatremia, the condition that occurs due to dehydration (low levels of body water).

The Causes of Water Intoxication:

Because it’s preventable, you might be wondering in what types of situations is water intoxication most likely to occur? Studies have found that this condition commonly develops in hospitalized patients and those with mental disturbances, although it can also affect people who are otherwise healthy. Water intoxication has been described in several different clinical situations:

• Compulsive water drinking is known as psychogenic polydipsia. This is most often associated with either mental illness or mental handicaps.
• Water intoxication is commonly associated with a combination of drinking lots of fluids and also having increased secretion of vasopression (also called antidiuretic hormone), which causes the kidneys hold onto water.
• Young people who are in good health, such as athletes or army recruits, might develop hyponatremia (overhydration) following heat-related injuries. They may drink a high volume of water to try to prevent dehydration, but this can backfire if they consume far too much. One study investigating hyponatremia in otherwise-healthy army recruits found that 77 percent of hyponatremia cases occurred in the first four weeks of training, and that most of the recruits who were affected had exceeded drinking two quarts of water per hour. (2) The authors concluded that “hyponatremia resulted from too aggressive fluid replacement practices for soldiers in training status. The fluid replacement policy was revised with consideration given to both climatic heat stress and physical activity levels.”
• Accidental water intoxication can sometimes occur due to abnormal renal failure/kidney dysfunction, diabetes insipidus or gastroenteritis ( inflammation of the lining of the intestines caused by a virus, bacteria or parasites). In these situations hyponatremia is typically treated with gastric lavage, or stomach pumping/gastric irrigation. (3)
• Iatrogenic causes of water intoxication are due to complications that occur when illnesses are treated by medical intervention, such as the use of intravenous fluids or electrolytes, elemental nutrition, nasogastric tube feeding, or when taking certain neurological/psychiatric medications.  This is unlikely to affect people who have normal kidney function and are generally healthy, but it’s possible if they experience changes in antidiuretic hormone secretion, since this causes fluid accumulation.
• In some cases, water intoxication has occurred due to “water-drinking contests” that lead people to consume large amounts of water despite becoming ill while they do it.
• When people take the illegal drug called MDMA (or “ecstasy”) they put themselves at risk for electrolyte imbalance because the the drug makes them feel very hot, causes increased perspiration and increases thirst, while also causing more sodium to be lost via urine and sweat. This can lead to drinking large amounts of water/fluids, which in some cases may led to water intoxication. (4)
• In rare cases, forced water intoxication has been recognized as a form of child abuse, which commonly leads to brain damage and can be fatal.

Signs & Symptom of Water Intoxication

• Headaches, confusion and disorientation.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Impaired mental state and psychotic symptoms, such as experiencing psychosis, delirium, inappropriate behavior, delusions and hallucinations. Sometimes these symptoms can also contribute to water intoxication because the person doesn’t realize what is happening to them and doesn’t seek help.
• Muscle weakness, cramping, twitching, aches and fatigue.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Frequent urination.
• Changes in blood pressure and irregular heartbeats.
• Severe drowsiness, seizures, respiratory arrest, brain stem herniation, and coma.

Because water intoxication messes with normal neurological functions and nerve signaling, it can manifest as a psychotic illness in its early stages that can go unrecognized by doctors. For example, if someone is admitted to the emergency room for water intoxication medical providers might mistake the patient’s symptoms for a high fever, seizure, or mental disorder such as chronic paranoid schizophrenia.
Water intoxication doesn’t just affect adults; it can also occur in babies, especially those under 9 months old, and in children. Symptoms of water intoxication in babies or children can include: crying, changes in behavior, vomiting, twitching or shaking, irregular breathing, and, in severe cases, seizures, coma, brain damage and death.

Dangers of Water Intoxication

Why, exactly, is drinking too much water dangerous?

Some of the negative health impacts associated with water intoxication include:

• Developing dangerously low sodium levels due to water flushing too much sodium from the body. Serum sodium concentration can fall to below 110–120 mmol/liter, when the normal serum reference range is about 132–144 mmol/liter. In severe cases sodium might even fall to 90–105 mmol/liter, which can cause a number of serious symptoms and potentially be deadly.
• The kidneys becoming very stressed due to overhydration because they are responsible for regulating fluid levels. When you consume too much water in a short period of time the kidneys struggle to balance electrolytes in the blood, causing the body to become “waterlogged.”
• Experiencing neurological impairment due to the movement of water into the brain cells, in response to the fall in extracellular osmolality. Hyponatremia causes cells to swell, and in the brain this swelling increases intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral edema. Unlike most other cells in the body, brain cells have very little room to swell and expand inside the skull, so even slight swelling can be dangerous. Swollen brain cells can cause central nervous system dysfunction, which is what causes seizures, brain damage, coma or death.
• Damage to the heart valves, including left ventricular hypertrophy.
• Fluid buildup in the stomach and abdominal organs.
• Raised blood cortisol levels, due to the body experiencing a strong stress response.

Can water intoxication cause death — and, if so, how much water does it take to kill you?

While staying hydrated is important, there’s also such a thing as a fatal water overdose. In severe cases, hyponatraemia that is not treated can lead to seizures, coma and death. This is why experts say that early detection is crucial for preventing severe hyponatremia. How severe water intoxication becomes depends on how much and how quickly water was consumed, and the rate at which the sodium concentration in the blood falls. For water intoxication symptoms to be experienced someone would have to drink more than five cups of water per hour.

How Much Water Is Too Much?

Several factors can affect how well someone is able to excrete (remove) excess water from their body in order to prevent hyponatremia/water intoxication. For example, as mentioned above, being under a lot of stress and/or having existing medical conditions both take a toll on the kidneys and nervous system, which can increase the likelihood that water intoxication symptoms might occur.

So how much water is too much to drink within a short period?

• • When someone has normal/healthy kidneys they should be able to excrete about 800 milliliters to 1 liter of fluid each hour. This is equal to about 3.3 to 4.2 cups, 0.21 to 0.26 gallons, or about 0.84 to 1.04 quarts per hour.
  • Drinking more than this amount will cause an imbalance of electrolytes and likely some early symptoms associated with hyponatremia. Also remember that if someone is heavily exercising (such as running a marathon or training or a sport) while also drinking lots of water, they will hold onto even more water because their body is experiencing a stress response.
  • Water intoxication is not likely to happen unless someone drinks a large volume of water within a short period of time (one or two hours). Water intoxication can be prevented if a person’s intake of water does not grossly exceed their water losses via urine or sweat.
  • In one case study, water intoxication was the cause of a 64-year-old woman dying due to severe hyponatremia. She had drank 30–40 glasses of water within several hours before going to sleep. Because she was experiencing delusions, she kept drinking more and more water even though she was vomiting and not feeling well. (6)

• In 2014, The Daily Mail reported that a 17-year-old high school football player died from water intoxication after drinking four gallons of fluids to stop cramps during practice. (7)
• A 2002 investigation of several military cases of water intoxication and three deaths that have occurred as a result of overhydration and cerebral edema found that all  cases were associated with more than five liters (usually 10-20 L) of water being consumed during a period of a few hours. (8)
• In 2007, Scientific America published an article that mentioned a 28-year-old women who died after competing in a water-drinking contest in which she consumed an estimated six liters of water in three hours. (9) The same article pointed out a 2005 study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine that states “one sixth of marathon runners develop some degree of hyponatremia, or dilution of the blood caused by drinking too much water.”

Treatment for hyponatremia and water intoxication comes down to regulating fluid levels in the body, specifically raising sodium levels. Intake and excretion of salt versus water must be balanced. Keep in mind that while sodium/salt might have earned a bad reputation — mostly because it’s found in highest concentrations in processed foods — sodium is actually an essential nutrient. For example, some of the roles that sodium has include:

• Helping to regulate the amount of water in and around your cells.
• Controlling blood volume.
• Regulating blood pressure.
• Allowing your muscles and nerves to work properly.

 When it does occur, water intoxication treatment involves:

• Gastric lavage, or stomach pumping/gastric irrigation.
• Sodium correction therapy.
• Use of intravenous electrolytes.
• Diuretics to increase urination and excess blood volume.
• Vasopressin receptor antagonists.

The Importance of Hydration

Even though drinking too much water and experiencing overhydration can be very dangerous, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t drink water regularly throughout the day. Dehydration (or hypernatremia) causes its own set of health problems. In fact, many dehydration symptoms are similar to the symptoms of water intoxication.

Water (H2O) makes up more than 60 percent of the human body, so it’s no surprise that we need a steady supply of water to function optimally. (10) Everyday we lose water through a combination of urine, defecation/bowel movements, sweat and exhaled breath. Staying hydrated is important because it helps prevent symptoms like:

• Diarrhea
• Dizziness and fainting
• Brain-dog and disorientation
• Edema, bloating, constipation and fluid retention
• Weakness and fatigue
• Muscle spasms and cramps
• Bad moods or mood swings
• High blood pressure
• Cravings and appetite changes

Who is most likely to suffer from dehydration?

People who should be especially careful to drink enough water/fluids (but not too much) are:

• Athletes, such as endurance athletes like marathons runners
• Anyone who exercises for an extended period of time (more than 60–90 minutes), especially if they are exercising or competing in a humid, hot climate
• People who eat a diet high in salt, or those who don’t drink enough water
• Elderly people, who might not notice sensations associated with being thirsty
• People recovering from illnesses such as a stomach virus or the flu that causes diarrhea
• Anyone recovering from surgery
• Infants, babies and young children who might not drink enough fluids if not given to them

How to Stay Hydrated Without Overhydrating

How much water is safe to drink at a time? To put this another way, how much water is too much to drink in one hour?

>To prevent hyponatremia from developing and potentially progressing to water intoxication, it’s important to:

• Even during times of heavy sweating and exercise, limit fluid intake to no more 1 to 1.5 liters per hour (about 4–5 cups).
• Drink according to your thirst. If you’re not thirsty at all, don’t force yourself to down water or fluids.
• Aim to balance what you’re drinking with what you’re sweating. Drink the right amount of water in proportion to how much sodium you’re consuming and how much water you’re losing (through sweat, urine, etc.). Remember that water is not the only fluid that can cause an electrolyte imbalance: herbal tea, sports drinks, juice, etc. can also deplete sodium levels.
• Eat a balanced diet that includes water-rich foods and also some sources of real sea salt.
• Treat any underlying health conditions like intestinal inflammation, diabetes, kidney disease or renal failure.
• Get help for mental disorders that might put you at risk.
• Take care of your adrenal glands and normalize cortisol levels.

How much water should you drink a day?

In regards to how much water to drink daily, the most common advice is to drink eight, eight-ounce glasses of water per day. However, this is just a general recommendation and not necessarily the best amount for every person. In fact, according to a 2002 review published in the American Journal of Physiology —Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, there isn’t much scientific evidence to support drinking this amount. (11)

Each person is a bit different in terms of how much water they need, but overall it’s best to aim for about six to seven glasses or potentially more per day (8 ounces per glass). You might need less if you eat a water-rich diet, such as lots of fruit, salads and smoothies. And you might need more if you exercise frequently, live in a hot climate, are ill, or eat a salty diet. Rather than counting glasses of water, pay attention to how you feel. A good way to know if you’re drinking the right amount of water each day is to pay attention to the color of your urine: you want your urine to normally be a pale-to-medium yellow color, as opposed to clear or very dark yellow/orange.

In terms of the best water to drink, I recommend using a water filter at home rather than drinking contaminated tap water or bottled water. Why? A three-year study conducted by the Environmental Working Group found 316 chemicals can be found in tap water throughout the U.S! Using an at-home filter is your best bet because this helps remove toxins that might be lingering in the water supply. There are several different types of water filters, including:

• Pitcher
• Faucet-mount
• Faucet-integration
• Countertop filter
• Under-sink filter
• Whole-house water filter

Choose the option that works best with your family’s lifestyle and that will be easiest to use consistently.

Proper Hydration In Babies & Children:

Parents might think it’s a good idea to give their young children water and other fluids to prevent dehydration, but when a baby is breast-feeding the mother’s breast milk or formula actually provides all the fluid healthy babies need. The Johns Hopkins Children’s Center advises parents with babies younger than 6 months old to never give their babies extra water to drink. If babies are thirsty, they need to drink more breast milk or formula. (12)

According to James P. Keating, MD, the retired medical director of the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Diagnostic Center, if a baby seems to need additional water then parents should “limit the child’s intake to two to three ounces at a time, and water should be offered only after the baby has satisfied his hunger with breast-feeding or formula.” (13) Older babies can be given small amount of water at times to help prevent constipation or if they are in very hot weather, but it’s usually best for parents to discuss this with their pediatrician.

Children up to about 8 years old should get water from hydrating foods in their diet (like fruits and veggies) or drink the equivalent of about five to seven glasses of water per day (eight ounces per glass). (14) Water or fresh-squeezed juice in small amounts is the best thing for children to drink when they are thirsty, rather than sugary fruit drinks, soft drinks, sports drinks, iced tea and flavored beverages.

Stats/Facts on Water Intoxication

• Surveys have found that hyponatremia develops in 15–30 percent of all patients during hospital stays. Not all cases of hyponatremia will lead to water intoxication but a small percentage will.
• A 2002 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that investigated hyponatremia in Boston marathon runners stated: “Hyponatremia has emerged as an important cause of race-related death and life-threatening illness among marathon runners.” (15) The study found that 13 percent of runners finished the race with hyponatremia, while 0.6 percent had critical hyponatremia (sodium levels of 120 mmol per liter or less). The analysis showed that hyponatremia was associated with “substantial weight gain during the race, consumption of more than 3 liters of fluids during the race, consumption of fluids every mile, a racing time of >4:00 hours, female sex, and low body-mass index.” The study also found that hyponatremia was just as likely to occur in runners who chose sports drinks as those who chose water.
• It is difficult to say just how many water intoxication deaths occur per year, but the number is believed to be small (under 10 per year in the United States).

Precautions Regarding Water Intoxication

If you suspect that you or someone else is experiencing water intoxication, then visit the emergency room for help right away. Look out for sudden symptoms of an electrolyte balance like confusion and dizziness, especially after high-intensity activities or if you have conditions like low blood pressure and/or diabetes. Make sure you drink the proper amount of water during a hospital stay, after surgery, when partaking in a marathon/long-distance race, or during a bout of dehydration or illness (like a fever). 

Final Thoughts on Water Intoxication

• Water intoxication is a severe form of hyponatremia, an electrolyte imbalance caused by too little sodium in the body in proportion to water.
• Water intoxication is most likely to occur when someone consumes more than 1.5 liters of water within an hour, especially if they are exercising intensely, have renal failure, kidney damage, diabetes, or a mental condition that affects their judgement.
• Symptoms of water intoxication can include confusion, disorientation, nausea, vomiting, headaches and, in severe cases, brain damage due to swelling, seizures, coma and, potentially, death.
• Hydration is important, but to prevent water intoxication and hyponatremia you should make sure to drink the right amount of water in proportion to how much sodium you’re losing, to manage underlying health conditions, eat a balanced diet, and pay attention to your thirst.

Read Next: Diabetes Insipidus: Causes & Symptoms + 5 Natural Treatments

The post Water Intoxication: How Much Water Is Too Much? appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Shin splints are a reminder that it’s important to exercise in a truly healthy and moderate way rather than beginning too fast, expecting too much of yourself or failing to get adequate recovery. One of the most common running injuries, shin splints are caused over time by a series of dysfunctional musculoskeletal movements. (1)

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), shin splints usually occur after vigorous physical activity, usually running, but also if you are just starting a fitness program. (2) Besides ankle sprains, shin splints are one of the most common lower leg injuries.

Anyone who has ever dealt with shin splints will tell you that they can hurt a lot! Shin splits can start out as dull muscle aches in the shins and then slowly progress into mild “shooting pains” and increased swelling. Usually, they happen in only one leg, the dominant one, although some people can experience them in both at the same time. Sometimes they can become so bad that it’s hard to even stand or walk without experiencing throbbing.

Common among runners, dancers and athletes who overwork their bodies, shin splints refer to the feeling of pain along the front of the shinbone, which is actually the tibia. (3) The tibia is the large bone running in the front of your lower leg that connects to other other muscles, tendons and bone tissue to help you move around.

Let’s dive into shin splints symptoms, causes and then treatment (both conventional and unconventional) options.

Symptoms of Shin Splints

Common symptoms of shin splints, the common name for a condition called medial tibial stress syndrome, include:

• not being able to walk or run without pain
• pain and tenderness in the lower half of the legs (especially the lower third of the shins, in the inside of the calf near the Achilles tendon)
• bone and joint pains that get worse with exercise
• small bumps or bruising on the shins
• pain when standing for long periods of time

Shin pain can come on suddenly when you begin a new exercise routine (like running), or it might build over time.

Overall, there are four muscles involved in the development of shin splints that lead to pain and tenderness: the tibialis anterior, tibialis posterior, gastrocnemius and soleus. These are the muscles in the calf and heel that allow the heel to lift and the arches of the feet to roll upward when you walk or run.

Symptoms develop when these muscles stop working as they normally should, usually because they experience conflicting and simultaneous demands due to poor running form. (4) In other words, there’s trouble with how your muscles and bones work together in the shins and feet.

Three muscle groups are typically involved with shin splints. The medial group — running down the inside (medial) side of your shin — includes the posterior tibialis, flexor hallucis and flexor digitorum muscles. The front (anterior) part of your lower leg consists of the anterior tibialis, extensor hallucis and extensor digitorum muscles. The third group involves the outside (lateral) side of the lower leg. It involves the peroneus longus, peroneus brevis and peroneus tertius muscles.

Shin splint pain usually occurs on the lower inside one-third part of the leg. It can involve posterior medialis tenderness, or it may consist of sharp pain alongside the tibia bone or even isolated areas on the bone. If shin splint pain is experienced on the front side of the upper one-third leg, it often involves muscle tenderness in the anterior tibialis. If pain occurs on the outside of the lower leg, it usually  means the peroneus group on the lower one-third of the leg. (5)

You might choose to self-diagnose your shin splints or visit a doctor if the situation becomes serious enough. Shin splints can be detected through X-rays, a physical exam, and talking to your doctor or physical therapist about past injuries and your current workout routine.

Sometimes, acute compartment syndrome is mistaken for shin splints, which is far more common. (6) Compartment syndrome is when an enclosed part of the body, such as the lower leg, stops receiving blood flow and becomes overly inflamed and stiff. It’s far more serious than shin splints. Pain in the lower leg could also be a stress fracture, which is an incomplete crack in the bone, but that too is much rarer than shin splints.

Causes of Shin Pain

The most common trigger for shin pain is running. Some of the instances that lead to shin splints include:

• running with bad form (fallen arches, overpronation or supination, for example)
• not giving yourself enough recovery time between runs
• running on hard surfaces (such as pavements or a track)
• running uphill or downhill, which puts pressure on the shins
• running on unstable terrain (like rocky hills)
• beginning a workout routine too aggressively, without slowly progressing
• running before stretching or warming up, or not properly stretching afterward
• wearing new or worn-out sneakers that don’t support the feet or that you’re not used to yet

If you’re an avid runner, the last thing you probably want to hear is that running is the exact cause of your pain, and ceasing to do so for a while, plus changing the way you run, is the fastest route to recovery. Indeed, running tips for beginners and advanced runners both center around proper recognition of pain vs. injury and muscle recovery.

So why do some runners deal with shin splints, while others don’t? One of the reasons is a phenomonen called muscle memory. Essentially, your muscles, joints and bones can remember an injury from your past, making you more susceptible to future injuries, wear and tear, or pain. This is even true if you feel like you’ve let enough time go by and have fully healed.

Old injuries in your calf can leave behind scar tissue that heals incorrectly. Imbalances in the body caused by repetitive motions, bad running form for many years, and not stretching your IT bands, glutes, calves and heels enough can cause damage. Injuries done to tissue in the past can make you more vulnerable to suffering from shin splints than someone who never dealt with these issues.

Even if you notice symptoms appear within a very short period of beginning exercising, chances are damage to your lower legs has been forming for some time. Old injuries can leave scar tissue on your lower legs and set the scene for future pain.

A major cause of shin splints is not giving your body enough time to rest. We’ve all heard that we need “recovery days” and ample time between workouts to repair broken-down muscle tissue, but some people still choose to push themselves too far for one reason or another.

The trouble is that overtraining can lead to musculoskeletal problems that can become very painful and take a long time to heal. Repetitive stress placed on the connective tissue between the muscles and bones in the shins is the primary cause for shin pain.

Resting between runs is important for lowering symptoms of shin splints, but in some cases rest alone won’t do the trick. If the underlying problem is bad running form or not wearing supportive enough shoes, the core problem isn’t addressed when you rest. This is why shin splint symptoms can go away temporarily with rest but reappear quickly for many people.

How to Get Rid of Shin Splints Fast in 5 Steps

Once you rule out other causes for your shin pain, you can take some simple steps to reduce shin splints from reoccurring.

Unfortunately, most experts believe that it’s important to stop running altogether for a period of time to help the muscle and bone heal. Once you start making changes, a reduction in pain might take three to six months, depending on how severe the damage is and how much you rest.

If your pain is bad enough, taking over-the-counter painkillers along with icing the shins can help reduce pain while you heal. Conventional treatment usually consists of taking acetaminophen (Tylenol®) or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), such as ibuprofen or even Voltaren® Gel. Also, icing the affected area by applying ice packs for 15 minutes a few times a day can help lower swelling.

Although these shin splint self-care steps won’t help solve the underlying issues, these are the types of conservative treatment options usually prescribed. And some of these common treatments have also helped many other lower extremity musculoskeletal conditions. (1)

Here’s your step-by-step shin splints natural treatment plan:

1. Fix Your Running Form

Proper running form luckily can be learned if it doesn’t come naturally to you. Some of the best ways to change your form are to meet with a physical therapist, who can show you how to properly roll your feet when running, or watch a video explaining proper form at home so you can practice.

Proper form involves beginning with lifting the toes, rolling the arches upward (called inversion), striking the ground using the outside of the foot as much as possible, gently rolling the foot inward (called eversion) and then lifting the heel. You ideally want your heel to lift evenly without pushing too much on one side.

Some of the ways people incorrectly run with poor form include:

• not rolling arches upward/having flat feet, which means stepping causes your arches to collapse
• having the heel strike the ground too abruptly without rolling it evenly
• overpronation of the foot, which means rolling inward and putting too much stress on the toes
• not lifting the toes, which can cause someone to trip often

One of the biggest things to correct is bad heel form. Normally, the foot/heel should make contact with the ground from the outside. Overpronation means the foot rolls inward too much, which results in the ankle not being able to stabilize the foot and absorb shock properly. This form can also cause the toes to do most of the pushing during lift-off, which puts added stress and pain on the toes.

2. Start Slow, Take Rest and Recovery Days

Muscle recovery is crucial, for running when your muscles are already worn-out can cause too much scar tissue to form and muscle tissue adhesions to develop where they shouldn’t. Start any new exercise program slowly, building up by not more than 10 percent mileage or time every week. After all, it’s easier to help prevent shin splints than to treat them once they’re already formed!

When you have a minor tear or injury, the muscles try to resolve the situation by overcompensating and forming extra attachment sites. Newly formed abnormal adhesions put added pressure on the shin bone and strain on the lower part of the legs. Opposing motions can take place since muscle tissue and bones now interact in ways they shouldn’t.

You want to prevent overgrowth of scar tissue by allowing your muscle tears to heal properly, so make sure you get enough rest between workouts. You can still exercise in a way that doesn’t put stress on the shins, such as swimming or possibly cycling.

You might notice that your shin pain goes away when you rest enough and take some time off from running. However, this isn’t always the case — recurrence of shin splints symptoms is common when someone’s form isn’t addressed.

3. Cross-Train and Stretch to Vary Your Workouts

To beat shin splints, you can reduce the amount of stress you put on your legs by cross-training, meaning doing multiple types of exercises each week instead of continuously running. This helps build strength in other areas that support you during running and take pressure of your shin and heel.

For example, exercise to strengthen your core, or try strength training several times per week to build muscle in your upper and lower body (including glutes and thighs) without straining your shins. Swimming laps, yoga, TRX, biking or simply walking are also good ways to break up your week.

Before, after and in between workouts, also make sure to properly stretch. To stretch and strengthen your calf muscles as part of your shin splint treatment, try toe raises, which are done by lifting your toes, then slowly lowering your heels to the floor over and over.

You can gently stretch your Achilles heel by kneeling on the floor with your legs and feet together and toes pointed directly back. Gently sit back onto your calves and heels for at least 12–15 seconds, which stretches the muscles of your shin. Check out other calf exercises and stretches.

4. Try Massage Therapy and Foam Rolling

Icing, massaging your calves and feet, plus foam rolling, are all simple ways to help prevent future pain and swelling. These are beneficial for more than just shin pains, too — they treat pain throughout the legs. When scar tissue is formed to heal muscle injuries (broken-down muscle fibers that result from exercise), the adhesions between tissues can become stiff and tightly attached if the muscles aren’t moved around.

Safely mobilizing muscles helps break up adhesions. Some massage therapists and physical therapists recommend starting by massaging the calves.

Calf therapy using a foam roller can be done by placing the foam roller on the floor, positioning your body on top so the roller is under your calves, and moving back and forth. You can practice the same on the back or sides of the calves, too. It might feel painful or tight, but this is a good sign and prevents future aches.

Roll the area for 30 to 60 seconds, then take breaks for an equal time period. Repeat this for five to 10 minutes every day, ideally.

5. Wear Supportive Shoes

Some sneakers support your shins and feet when exercising better than others. Choose the right shoes for your feet by talking to a professional when you purchase shoes so he or she can properly measure you and look at your arches. An important part of shin splint treatment is wearing footwear that is made for your specific exercise or sport, along with replacing your sneakers once they’re worn-out, which for runners is usually every 350 to 500 miles. (6)

You can also purchase supportive insoles to place inside your sneakers if you’re prone to flat feet. There’s some evidence that the use of shock-absorbing insoles can help stop shin split pain, which has been tested on military personnel. (7) These can even be custom-made to correctly fit your feet and resolve poor form.

Compression socks and compression wraps are other options that help stop inflammation and swelling around damaged bone or muscles.

Read Next: 7 Natural Solutions for Healing a Heel Spur

The post How to Get Rid of Shin Splints Fast appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Why should you read an article about iliotibial band syndrome? Well, if you’re a runner, the chances of you having iliotibial band syndrome at some point is quite high since it’s the second most common running injury. (1)

If you’re not a runner but regularly engage in physical activity that involves repetitive knee motion, then you’re also at risk. What if you never engage in any athletic activities? If you currently have knee pain or lower back pain, it could be caused by your IT band not working optimally.

You definitely want to avoid iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) since it can keep a you on the sidelines for weeks or even longer. Get to know the signs and natural ways to treat and prevent this painful condition today — like stretching your IT bands and glutes!

What Is Iliotibial Band Syndrome? 

The iliotibial band (ITB or IT band) is a thick band of fascia that runs down the outside of the thigh from the pelvic bone to just below your knee on the tibia (shin) bone. Where the ITB passes the knee, there is a water-filled sac called a bursa. The bursa functions like a water balloon to reduce friction and wear of the ITB against the bony bump of the outer knee. Iliotibial band syndrome takes place when the ITB becomes swollen and irritated from rubbing against the bone on the outside of your knee.

The ITB’s primary function is to control and decelerate the adduction (inward movement) of the thigh when the heel strikes the ground, as during running. The ITB crosses two joints, the hip and the knee joints, so it can be involved in problems in both areas. The ITB is most commonly implicated in knee pain issues but is also involved in the development of some forms of “snapping hip” and in trochanteric bursitis.

Typically, iliotibial band syndrome results from an overuse injury, seen most commonly in long-distance runners and other athletes whose sports require a great degree of knee bending. The condition is also commonly seen in cyclists, soccer and tennis players, skiers, and weightlifters (especially those doing power-lifting moves, such as squats).

Natural Treatments & Prevention of Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Surgery is rarely necessary to treat iliotibial band syndrome. As with many acute and chronic inflammatory conditions, surgery is considered the last resort. Plus, there are many things you can do yourself to heal and prevent iliotibial band syndrome.

1. Walk First

Before engaging in running, biking or another knee-bending exercise, walk a quarter- to a half-mile. This helps warm up your whole body, especially your legs, for more strenuous exercise. (2) This is one of the best running tips for beginners and for anyone dealing with ITB pain.

2. Rest

One of the best and easiest things you can do for iliotibial band syndrome once you have it is to rest. The condition typically improves when the activity that provokes pain is avoided. If you feel pain on the outside of your knee, you should take a few days off from your usual exercise and decrease your mileage/length of workout when you return.

In the majority of runners, resting immediately prevents pain from returning. If you don’t give yourself a break from running, iliotibial band syndrome can become chronic.

3.  Stretching & Strengthening

Consistently stretching the iliotibial band, hamstrings, quadriceps and glutes is one of the best things you can do to prevent and treat iliotibial band syndrome.

One study in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine even showed that a runner’s low back and sacroiliac pain seemed to originate from a dysfunctional iliotibial band. This case illustrates how important it is to consider iliotibial band tightness as a possible cause of low-back and sacroiliac pain and that proper management may need to include stretching of the iliotibial band. (3)

Strengthening the hip abductor muscles has also been shown to be helpful for ITBS. A study in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine showed that long-distance runners with ITBS have weaker hip abduction strength in the affected leg compared with their unaffected leg and unaffected long-distance runners. Additionally, symptom improvement with a successful return to the preinjury training program parallels improvement in hip abductor strength. (4)

4. Running Modification & Gait Analysis

Try to run on flat surfaces, avoiding concrete surfaces as much as possible. When running on a track, change directions repeatedly. You can also try wearing a bandage or knee sleeve to keep the bursa and ITB warm while you exercise.

Modification of a runner’s actual way of running — aka his or her gait — has also proved to be very helpful for iliotibial band syndrome. Gait analysis is a common and very helpful way to alleviate ITB issues.

One study of a 36-year-old female runner with a diagnosis of left knee ITBS, whose pain prevented her from running greater than three miles for three months, showed how a change to her gait directly led to her recovery from iliotibial band syndrome. This subject’s foot strike and vertical displacement were evaluated and improved during the course of study.

These changes to her gait led to complete recovery from knee pain six weeks later. She was able to run up to seven miles with comfort and an improved feeling of strength by implementing her new gait and running form. (5)

5. Ice & Heat Therapy 

Both cold and hot self-care can help your iliotibial band heal. Use a heating pad or hot water bottle on the painful area to warm the area up before activity. Then, use ice following activity to decrease the possibility of pain. (6) You can apply ice to the painful area for 15 minutes every two to three hours. Do not apply ice directly to your skin.

6. Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is routinely prescribed for iliotibial band syndrome. The goals of physical therapy include targeted increases in flexibility and strength associated with some of the intrinsic factors contributing to the syndrome. Stretching the ITB, hamstrings and the quadriceps is crucial. Strengthening the hip abductors is also important. (7)

One treatment that some physical therapists can perform for IT band pain relief is dry needling, which has been shown to help.

7. Rolfing

Rolfing is known for its ability to improve athletic ability. Rolfing for athletes focuses on changing their limiting physical behavior and educates them on how to use gravity in their favor. It can help athletes of all degrees gain improved physical ability by improving posture, lengthening constricted muscle fibers, relaxing areas of tension and improving ease of motion.

By helping the muscles operate more efficiently, rolfing increases the body’s ability to conserve energy and develop more economical and refined patterns of movement for athletic activities, as well as everyday activities — and it helps prevent your IT bands from getting overowrked. (8)

8. Foam Rolling

Foam rolling is a commonly prescribed remedy for iliotibial band syndrome. However, it can actually cause more harm than good if you’re trying to work directly on an ITB that’s already inflamed. If you do this, you can actually increase inflammation of the ITB.

Instead, work on the primary muscles that attach to the IT band first, especially the gluteus maximus (the largest muscle in the buttocks) and the tensor fasciae latae (a muscle that runs along the outer edge of the hip).

9. Check Your Footwear

Always make sure your shoes aren’t worn along the outside of the sole. If they are, you need to replace them stat. Worn-out sneakers definitely negatively affect you if you’re a runner, and they affect you negatively even if you just use your shoes to walk from place to place.

10. Specific Changes for Cyclists & Runners 

Bicyclists can often benefit from a custom fit of their bikes. More specifically, lowering the seat slightly is often enough to avoid critical impingement of the iliotibial band against the femur, which occurs at about a 30-degree angle of knee flexion (bending). Adjusting the foot position on the cycle pedals may be helpful as well.

Runners can benefit from avoiding unidirectional running on banked surfaces (like an indoor track, beach or graded roadside) and avoiding intervals, track workouts and hills. (9)

Symptoms of Iliotibial Band Syndrome 

How do you know if you have iliotibial band syndrome? The easiest way to tell if you have ITBS is to bend your knee at a 45-degree angle. If there is a problem with your IT band, then you’ll feel pain on the outside of the knee when bending the knee at this angle.

Doctors can also perform an MRI to confirm that you have iliotibial band syndrome. Typically, X-rays show negative results while an MRI can reveal if there is a thickening of the iliotibial band, which results from inflammation. (10)

Other common signs of iliotibial band syndrome:

• Pain, tenderness, swelling, warmth or redness over the iliotibial band at the outer knee (above the joint) that may travel up or down the thigh or leg.
• Initially, pain at the beginning of an exercise that lessens once warmed up.
• Eventually, pain that is felt throughout the activity, worsening as the activity continues and potentially causing the person to stop in the middle of exercising or competing.
• Pain that is worse when running down hills or stairs.
• Pain that is felt most when the foot of the affected leg hits the ground.
• Possibly, a crackling sound when the ITB or bursa is moved or touched.

Causes of Iliotibial Band Syndrome

This injury is most often the result of overuse, especially for runners and cyclists. The longer distance you run or cycle, the more likely you are to experience this syndrome. For these two physical activities, bending the knee over and over again can create irritation and swelling of the iliotibial band.

Other causes include (11):

• Being in poor physical condition, including a lack of strength and flexibility, especially a tight iliotibial band
• Not warming up before exercising
• Having bowed legs
• Having arthritis of the knee(s)
• Poor training techniques, including sudden changes in the amount, frequency or intensity of workouts, as well as inadequate rest between workouts

Complications & Precautions of Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Iliotibal band syndrome is typically curable within six weeks if treated appropriately with conservative treatment and resting of the affected area. Without appropriate treatment and an adequate amount of time for rest, prolonged healing time is required for iliotibial band syndrome.

In additional, having a chronically inflamed ITB and bursa can cause persistent pain with activity that may progress to constant pain. Recurrence of symptoms is likely if activity is resumed too soon or workouts are not modified appropriately once resumed after a period of rest.

ITBS Action steps

The biggest takeaway is listening to your body, particularly when you regularly engage in running, cycling and similar exercises. If you feel pain, the first step is to rest and find the cause of the issue. From there, you must ease back into exercise when your body tells you’re ready.

Of course, the best treatment is prevention. If you follow these 10 techniques, you stand a better chance of avoiding iliotibal band syndrome altogether, particularly by stretching and strengthening your muscles, warming up properly before jumping in to your workout, and resting between workouts.

So pay attention to the details and hear what you’re body is telling you. It not only can help you heal from ITBS, but it can also help prevent it!

Read Next: How to Stretch IT Bands and Glutes

The post Iliotibial Band Syndrome: the Cause of Your Knee Pain? appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Today, I want to talk to you about how to overcome common running injuries or athletic injuries. Whether you’re a runner, soccer player, basketball player or any other type of athlete, and you’ve had an injury that was running- or jumping-related, there are specific things you absolutely want to do to overcome that injury, deal with muscle ache treatments and start to heal very quickly.

Related: The Best Knee Strengthening Exercises to Relieve Pain

6 Steps to Recovering from a Running or Athletic Injury

1. Rest the Area

The first thing you want to do is rest the area, at least for 72 hours (which may be hard for you exercise diehards). For example, if you’re looking for ankle sprain remedies or plantar fasciitis treatment, the first thing I tell people to do is immediately rest and continue to elevate the area for at least the next three days. 

2. Do Non-Impactful Exercise

Next, you want to start actually doing exercise that is non-impactful. Typically, the best things to do, especially if you’re a runner, is to start cycling and swimming. With cycling and swimming, you’re still going to be working your lungs and exercising larger muscle groups like your legs, so it’s going to help your body stay in shape at the very same time increasing circulation into that area, helping you heal faster.

So again, if you’re not able to run right now, start swimming and start cycling on a good spin bike or do spin classes (though you may want to avoid the standing position in spin classes, as that could also aggravate that same running injury). That’s the first thing you want to do when you’re overcoming a running injury once that area feels well enough for you to start being active again.

3. Change Your Diet

Surprising to some of you, it’s also key to change your diet when you get injured. You’ve got to start eating omega-3 fatty acid-rich and anti-inflammatory foods — like such great omega-3 foods as wild-caught salmon, grass-fed beef and chia seeds.

Also you want to start consuming anti-inflammatory herbs, as ginger and turmeric benefits are truly impactful. Turmeric, for example, has so many healing properties that currently there have been 6,235 peer-reviewed articles published that prove the benefits of turmeric and one of its renowned healing compounds, curcumin.

In general, just getting more fruits and vegetables in your diet is important. Also, liquid coconut water can help you overcome low potassium, as that mineral can actually help eliminate toxins in your system and can help heal an area that’s injured from a running injury.

4. Strengthen Your Muscles

The next step and thing you want to do for common running injuries is start strengthening your muscles, and one of the best things to do is to do resistance band exercises. Bands are very non-impactful, and they actually help your body work through a full range of motion. So start using bands for both your upper and lower body. 

It’s also important to begin to seriously work your core, as strengthening these muscles may have prevented the injury in the first place. In particular, there are some important exercises you can do to strengthen your core and lower back muscles to help prevent pain and injury.

5. Get Work Done on Your ‘Soft Tissue’

The next step is to get some soft tissue work done. I’d go and find a good quality athletic trainer, or a manual or massage therapist. Somebody who can really look at your body, feel for different knots or muscular or physical imbalances, and then work them out, including deep issue massage.

It could be possible that you have a muscular imbalance or a muscle spasm somewhere that’s causing your body to run out of balance. Let’s say you have a short leg, and you’re running all the time, then you’re putting extra stress on one joint more than the others over, and over, and over again. And that’s when you may even consider seeing someone like a chiropractor and try out the benefits of chiropractic adjustments. 

So again, seeing a natural holistic physician — whether it would be an athletic trainer, manual/massage therapist or chiropractor — they can really look at your physical structure as well as musculature and help balance things out. Dry needling is one natural therapy than can alleviate muscle soreness and pain. 

6. Start Back Slowly

When you start running again, do so on softer surfaces and work your way up slowly. A lot of times we increase our mileage too fast, which can cause re-injury or another running injury. Therefore, simply increase only 10 percent a week in your running volume or athletic volume or whatever you’re doing.

You can trust me on all of this about rehabbing from common running injuries and athletic injuries, because not only am I a physician, I’m a former triathlete, runner, swimmer and cyclist. So I feel your pain when it comes to running injuries! I’ve had them before, and I’ve rehabbed myself and thousands of patients as well.

Read Next: 7 Natural Solutions for Healing a Heel Spur

The post How to Recover from Common Running Injuries appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Fartlek may sound like a funny name, but not to the people of Sweden. That’s because Fartlek is a Swedish term meaning “speed play,” and it helped take the cross-country success to whole new levels decades ago. Now, athletes and everyday runners around the world are benefiting from the training technique that is considered an unique interval form of speed running.

It’s one of my favorite types of running workouts because it helps increase my running economy and it’s fun, not monotonous like some types of running workouts. Fartlek is definitely more of a freestyle speed workout, meaning it improves speed and endurance but you can do it almost anywhere. It’s way less structured than a typical track workout might be.

I hear so many people complain about being a slow runner, saying they struggle to run faster. Still, most of those people aren’t implementing speed work necessary to gain speed. Remember, Olympians are not born Olympians, they have to work at it. 

What Is a Fartlek Workout?

Let’s take a closer look at the fartlek workout. This type of running involves fast and slower portions of the run. The slower segments allow for recovery. You may be familiar with track workouts involving intervals of 400 meters with a 200 meter jog, for example. That is typically a very structured workout at a very specific pace for a very specific distance; however, a fartlek workout is usually less structured. There is a specific intention with the workout: gain speed and running economy. And while you can do fartlek training on a track, it can actually be done anywhere — on the road, trails, hills and even on the beach. (1) 

Fartlek improves your running through speed development, stamina, economy, the ability to perform endurance work and overall performance. The idea is to have freestyle, more spontaneous sprint bursts combined with the amount of active recovery you feel you need to go a bit faster on the next one, and the next one and so on. Active recovery is when you continue moving, but usually at a resting pace such as an easy jog. Studies indicate that interval cardio training can greatly help with VO2 max, which is the maximum oxygen uptake, helping you to become more efficient with practice. This has even been shown to be effective for anyone dealing with obesity. (2) 

The intention of fartlek training is to help instill the ability, both mentally and physically, to surge during races — especially if you’re competing. I want to note that even though it is a bit less structured, I recommend determining the fartlek workout you want to do before you head out the door. You are more likely to do it if you plan it.

5 Benefits of Fartlek Training

1. Fartlek Breaks Up the Monotony of Day-to-Day Training 

It’s not uncommon to get burned out with your workouts. The fartlek may be the perfect way to bring new energy and results back to your workouts when you’re feeling bored and uninspired. (3) 

Sometimes you just need a little variety to make it more interesting and a little fun. Fartlek training is a great way to add variety to your workouts. You can even do this with a friend to make it even more fun. On your next run, after warming up, choose a starting point. At that point, such as the next red light, run for 1 minute at marathon pace, then run for 3 minutes at an easy pace. Continue this pattern, performing 4 or 5 intervals to start. You can work up 8 to 10 intervals as you gain strength. (4) 

2. Fartlek Will Make You Stronger 

If you do the same thing over and over, it may become comfortable but eventually your body will not respond as well. The body gets used to the activity and, over time, can plateau. What happens is the nervous system and muscles, for example, adapt to your routine. This happens pretty fast — maybe as soon as 6 to 8 weeks. At that point, you may not feel very challenged, mentally or physically.

To stay sharp, engaged and to enhance your performance, you may need to change things up. Fartlek workouts can offer the perfect challenge and you can change the fartlek routine, rotating through several options. One week, you may run sprints for a period of 30 seconds while the next, you may run them for 2 minutes. The options are nearly endless and can help the body gain strength and efficiency. (5)

3. Fartlek Helps You Burn More Calories 

Speed work will definitely burn more calories in less time. According to a recent study, performing interval types of workout burns more calories because you are working more systems in the body which requires more effort. More effort will burn more calories than if exercising at a steady state.

This could make the fartlek a great workout for anyone who has less time for exercise but wants to be as effective as possible. (6)  Think about it this way: walking leisurely burns calories and even breathing burns calories, but walking fast is going to burn more calories and fat in a shorter amount of time because you are using more energy.

Running faster does the same. A leisurely jog is great for good health, but doing a little speed play can increase your calorie burn in way less time than a leisurely jog while improving your muscle development. The more muscle we have, the more calories we burn at rest. By combining both rest intervals or an easy jog with some hard sprints, you can get a great workout and burn calories at the same time. (7)

4. Prevent Injuries with Fartleks 

Fartleks may be a great way to prevent injuries in runners. Interval training can allow the body to safely recover between intervals so that you minimize your risk of injury. It is very common to see runners getting injured because of doing too much too soon. By doing intervals, you can start with a few and work your way up, while giving the body ample time to recover. The American Council on Exercise states that by doing short bouts of intervals using a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio, such as 1 minute fast with 2-3 minutes of easy recovery, you can get a great workout while putting less stress on the body. (8) 

5. Use Fartlek for Increased Speed and Endurance

Finding a workout that can increase speed and endurance all at the same time is ideal for many. The fartlek may be your workout if this is what you are trying to achieve. According to Active.com, the result of a good fartlek workout is speed and endurance. This happens because you are working the cardiovascular system each time you kick up the pace. With practice, this helps your system improve its level of effort and overall threshold. (9)

Fartlek vs HIIT vs Tabata

A fartlek workout could be likened to a HIIT or Tabata workout given that you run, or perform exercise, for a period of time or distance; however, the main difference is that with fartlek, you run easy to moderate for an active recovery period to prepare your body for another interval. A study  shows that active recovery increases VO2 max more than passive recovery, such as standing. (10) 

Men’s Fitness reports that HIIT style workouts are a great way to help athletes gain more fitness through helping their bodies and minds adapt and learn how to work at a higher intensity. Because it is set for a very short period of time, it allows the body to hit it hard. But if you were to ask your body to perform that same level of effort for 10 to 15 minutes, it would likely not be possible for most people. The rest intervals give the muscles time to rest. This work provides amazing “physiological adaptations, fat burning, insulin sensitivity and skeletal muscle oxidation.” (11) 

Tabata is similar in that it is filled with bursts of hard work, but it is typically structured in 4 minute segments with 20 seconds of hard exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. HIIT is usually designed in a more 1:1 or 1:2 ratio — a little more similar to the fartlek style.

Ultimately, the longer the work interval, the longer the rest interval though the workouts can vary to make them more challenging such as the one I have provided below. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise by Izumi Tabata shared a study stating that intense 4-minute workouts performed five days a week over a six week period of time improved VO2 max in subjects as well as their anaerobic system. If a workout is shorter, it should be more intense. However, it is common to find Tabata style class at the gym that lasts for 30 to 60 minutes which is considered a Tabata adaptation. 

At-a-Glance Comparison

Fartlek
Work: 30 seconds to several minutes
Rest: 30 seconds to several minutes
Heart Rate: 70–85% of max heart rate 
Total Workout Time: 30–60 minutes
(12) 

Tabata
Work:  20 seconds
Rest: 10 seconds
Heart Rate: About 100% of max heart rate
Total Workout Time: 4 minutes

HIIT
Work: 1–2 minutes
Rest: 60 seconds to 2 minutes. 1:1 or 1:2 ratio, such as 1 minute of work with 1 minute  of rest or 1 minute work and 2 minutes rest. You can add variety such as 2 minutes of work and 1 minute of rest.
Heart Rate: 80–95% of max heart rate, according to American Council on Exercise (ACE)
Total Workout Time: 20–40 minutes

History of Fartlek

The fartlek style workout was developed in 1937 by the Swedish cross-country coach named Gösta Holmér. The training strategy was the result of a long string of Finnish cross country defeats. Holmér developed a plan to focus on speed and endurance training using short bursts of “faster than race pace efforts during training runs.” (13) 

Through a fartlek training plan, the record for the mile toggled between Gunder Hagg and Arne Anderson in the 1940s. Hagg eventually took the record with an impressive 4:01 in 1945 and held that record for nine years. (14, 15)

Fartlek Workout

You can gain amazing benefits from doing a fartlek workout. You can perform this workout on the road, at the track, on hills and even on the treadmill at the gym.

Fartlek Risks

Keep in mind, that as I mentioned before, too much too soon can result in injury. (That goes with just about any type of exercise.) Take it slow and it is best to have some base running under your belt first. If you are uncertain, check with your doctor or your coach. Speaking of coach, you may want to consider getting one (if you do not already have one) to help you with your goals and workout plans, as well as accountability.

Final Thoughts on Fartlek

Changing up your routine can add some spice to your workouts as well as provide strength, speed and endurance. While these goals are not for everyone, it could be worth a try, especially if you hit a plateau in your fitness routine or desired results. Consider inviting a friend and make it fun. Workouts should be a time to get away while improving your overall health.

Read Next: Best Butt Workouts — Great Butts Are Made, Not Born

The post Fartlek: A Swedish Training Trick for Better Running appeared first on Dr. Axe.

Running is one of the best full-body aerobic exercises known to mankind, great for burning calories and working multiple muscle groups. Unfortunately, it also leads to common running injuries, such as shin splints, a stress fracture or a heel spur. The good news is there is new research out that may give runners a guide on how to run to avoid injury.

A new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in December looked at why some longtime runners sustain many injuries while others never experience any injury at all. This is major, since up to 90 percent of runners sustain injuries that lead them to miss training time every year, according to some estimates. (1)

Conducted by folks at Harvard Medical School and other universities, the study involved 249 experienced female runners who are all heel strikers, meaning they all strike the ground with their heels when they run. Participants completed questionnaires about injury history and ran on a track with force monitors in order to measure impact loads. The runners were then tracked for two years, with the volunteers using a running diary and injury log during the study time.

Over the two years, more than 140 runners reported sustaining injuries, more than 100 of those injuries requiring medical attention. The other 100 or so reported no injuries, but of greater note to the researchers, 21 also had not had a prior injury either. To determine why this was the case, they turned to impact loading data, comparing the pounding metrics for those who have never been injured to those who have been seriously injured.

Just as suspected, the runners who avoid injury land far more lightly on their feet than those who had been seriously hurt. (2)

How to Run Light on Your Feet

This is a huge breakthrough, since most runners are believed to heel strikers. Turns out, this running technique does lead to more injuries because heel striking leads to a higher impact load on the foot, leg and body than landing near the middle or front of the foot. (3)

In fact, a 2012 study conducted by the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise examined 52 runners, 36 of whom primarily used a rearfoot strike and 16 of whom primarily used a forefoot strike. Researchers found that “approximately 74 percent of runners experienced a moderate or severe injury each year, but those who habitually rearfoot strike had approximately twice the rate of repetitive stress injuries than individuals who habitually forefoot strike.” They ultimately concluded that “runners who habitually rearfoot strike have significantly higher rates of repetitive stress injury than those who mostly forefoot strike.” (4)

Another 2014 study published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy also found that rearfoot striking puts more pressure on the lower limbs, particularly the ankles, than forefoot striking. (5) So if you’re wondering how to run optimally to avoid injury, you want to focus on avoiding landing on your heel.

Those findings reinforce what was found in this more recent study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Dr. Irene Davis, the Harvard professor who led the study, said the findings also suggest that thinking about “a soft landing” can help. In addition, she provided some additional tips on how to run to avoid injury:

• Experiment with landing closer to the midfoot if you’re a heel striker. Most runners naturally land more lightly when they don’t lead with the heel.
• Slightly increase cadence — the number of steps you take per minute. This seems to reduce pounding from each stride.
• Imagine you’re running on eggshells or attempting to “run on water,” so to speak, trying to remain light on your feet.

Davis’ Harvard colleague, professor Daniel E. Lieberman, has a few more tips on how to run properly as well: (6)

• Don’t overstride. It places a big impact and shock wave that travels up your body. It also causes a deceleration of the body, so you have to work harder to keep your stride.
• If you focus on forefoot striking too much, you may overstride and cause more stress. Conversely, as we’ve noted, heel striking is bad. So focus on a flat-foot, midfoot strike. A very pronounced forefront or rearfoot strike is bad.
• Increase your stride rate. A high stride rate keeps your stride short and your bounce springy.
• Upright posture is important. If you lean forward, it puts big angular torque on your upper body, causing your body to want to fall forward, putting more stress on your lower body.
• Be relaxed. Don’t waste effort by tensing your upper body.

If you’re a newer runner and wondering how to run from the get-go to avoid injury, keep these running tips for beginners in mind as well, in addition to this new research:

• Warm up.
• Set a goal and run consistently.
• Incorporate burst training.
• Cross-train.
• Get the right pre- and post-run fuel.
• Choose the right shoes.
• Watch out for surfaces.
• Listen to your body.
• Stretch.

Final Thoughts on How to Run Light on Your Feet

Changing your running style is not necessarily easy, but it can really have an impact — no pun intended — on your injury incidence. Most people are heel strikers when they run, but this is actually detrimental and leads to more injury. Numerous studies confirm this, noting that rearfoot strikers put more impact and strain on their limbs than midfoot or forefoot strikers.

Seeing as running injuries are so common and can interfere with exercise and training, it’s wise to focus on your running technique. Here are some tips on how to run with proper running technique by staying light on your feet to avoid injury:

• Warm up.
• Set a goal and run consistently.
• Incorporate burst training.
• Cross-train.
• Get the right pre- and post-run fuel.
• Choose the right shoes.
• Watch out for surfaces.
• Listen to your body.
• Stretch.
• Think about a soft landing.
• Focus on landing closer to your midfoot.
• Slightly increase your cadence and potentially shorten your stride.
• Try imagining you’re running on eggshells or attempting to run on water to remain light on your feet.
• Don’t overstride.
• Land flat-footed or close to it.
• Run with upright posture.
• Be relaxed.

Read Next: How to Recover from Common Running Injuries

The post How to Run Light on Your Feet & Avoid Injury appeared first on Dr. Axe.

When providing running tips for beginners, one of the questions they’ll ask is how much to run. Truthfully, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced pro, all runners — or those thinking about taking up running — wonder, “How many miles a week should I run?”

According to new research, that answer is surprisingly low, at least in terms of getting the maximum health benefits of running. How low? The number surprised even me!

How Many Miles a Week Should I Run to Improve My Health?

According to a review of studies, as little as five to six miles per week can have remarkable health benefits. You read that right. Running just a mile a day five or six days a week — or even two miles every other day — can vastly improve your health. That’s less than an hour a week for most people, even beginners, in their cardio workouts. (1)

The Mayo Clinic reviewed studies published in PubMed since 2000 that included at least 500 runners and five-year follow-up to analyze the relationship between running and health, focusing on cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. What researchers found was shocking in a good way. Runners who ran five to six miles a week weighed less and had a lower risk of obesity than people who ran fewer than five miles a week or not at all. (2)

That’s not all. Non-runners were more likely to have high blood pressure, cholesterol issues, diabetes, stroke, arthritis and certain forms of cancer. That means this little bit can lower blood pressure naturally, lower cholesterol and more.

In addition, evidence suggests there may even be a maximum number of miles, because “running strenuously for more than about an hour every day could slightly increase someone’s risks for heart problems, as well as for running-related injuries and disabilities,” Dr. Carl J. Lavie, medical director of cardiac rehabilitation and prevention at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans and lead author of the review, told the New York Times.

Now, if you’re an avid runner and are now concerned you’re running too much, don’t change up your whole routine just yet. If you want to be faster and competitive, you can still keep up your mileage. The key is to know your body and monitor your health — and watch out for common running injuries as well as overtraining.

For instance, iliotibial band syndrome is an injury common among runners that results from overtraining and improper form. If you reduce your miles and rest more, and instead focus on form as opposed to distance, you can heal and prevent this knee pain — which can really hinder your workouts.

If you begin to develop heart complications or frequently injure yourself, that’s a sign you may be running too much — and with this new research, it’s clear you can still get remarkable health benefits at decreased mileage.

The Other Part of the Running Equation

While this information from the Mayo Clinic is good news, no doubt, simply running won’t provide you optimal health. Why? Cardio workouts like running alone don’t allow your body to burn fat as well as building muscle through resistance training.

That’s because while cardio is tremendous for your heart and good at burning calories during the exercise, the fat-burning benefits end when your run does. Conversely, when you build lean muscle, that muscle continues to burn calories and fat throughout the day, even when you aren’t exercising. This is known as the afterburn effect.

A study published in the Journal of Exercise Science showed that the afterburn effect is associated with an elevation in metabolism due to the thermic effect of activity regardless of your current fitness level — and some experts believe that this can cause around a 10 percent increase in calorie expenditure for the day following just 20 minutes of high-intensity exercise. (3)

To turn on the afterburn effect by increasing your muscle mass, you can incorporate shorter, more intense workouts like HIIT workouts and burst training, which is the No. 1 exercise to burn belly fat fast.

Final Thoughts on Running

When looking at this question — “How many miles a week should I run?” — it really is surprising to hear that as little as five to six miles of running per week can provide an insane amount of health benefits. But perhaps this shouldn’t be such a shock.

With all we know today about the necessity of rest between workouts, muscle recovery and simply not overdoing it, the less is more movement is taking hold. No, that doesn’t mean necessarily working out less. It means working certain muscle groups for less time and doing shorter workouts, instead switching up your routine to incorporate all types of exercise. That means a mix between cardio/aerobic exercise with resistance training and, of course, rest.

Throw in a healthy diet, and you’re one your way to the healthiest you can be. So if you’re thinking about running or worried about getting those miles in, remember this study — as little as five to six miles can make a real difference in how you look and feel.

Read Next: How Long Should You Rest Between Workouts?

The post How Many Miles a Week Should I Run? appeared first on Dr. Axe.