http://www.fitsugar.com/ Healthy, happy you. en http://www.fitsugar.com/261188 <p>A lot of people skip running as a form of cardio because they are worried it will ruin their knees later in life. Running with an injury (or inflaming a previous injury) can definitely lead to further injuries (<a href="http://fitsugar.com/214832" >ITB Syndrome</a>, runners knee or even arthritis) but there are ways to keep those knees safe...</p> <p><span class="inline left"><img src="http://images.teamsugar.com/files/users/1/12981/20_2007/running-knees.jpg" alt="" title="" class="outline right image preview" height="302" width="225"></span>Abnormal joint stress can increase your risk for arthritis and can be caused by running on an injured joint, poor biomechanics, or muscle weakness due to inadequate cross-training. However, when done with care, running is a fabulous cardio activity and will still keep your knees in good shape, so use these tips for knee protection on your future jogs:</p> <ul> <li>Always warm-up and cool-down (brisk walking and stretching work great) to prepare your body for the physiological (and psychological) effects of the run.</li> <li>Make sure you've got <a href="http://fitsugar.com/111314" >good sneakers</a>. Switch them out frequently (<a href="http://fitsugar.com/95752" >350-550 miles</a>) to make sure your lower body is getting the support you need.</li> <li>Consider getting custom <a href="http://fitsugar.com/179047" >orthotics</a> to reduce stress and excessive <a href="http://popsugar.com/g2/entries/pronation" >pronation</a>.</li> <p>There's more, so </p> <p><a href="http://www.fitsugar.com/261188">read more</a></p> http://www.fitsugar.com/261188#comment injury knee problems knees Running Thu, 24 May 2007 08:45:00 -0700 FitSugar http://www.fitsugar.com/261188