How Osteopathy Can Help Your Running
Running can be demanding on your body. Whether you go for a casual jog or are a competitive marathon runner, it’s easy to take your body for granted until something goes wrong. This is where Osteopathy can help! Osteopaths focus on treating the whole body, understanding how the bones, muscles, ligaments, nerves and other connective tissue work together to support movement. For runners, Osteopathy can play a key role in enhancing performance, preventing injuries, and speeding up recovery.
What is Osteopathy??
Osteopathy is a holistic approach to healthcare that highlights the importance of neuromusculoskeletal systems in overall health. Osteopaths identify and treat neuromusculoskeletal imbalances and dysfunctions, which can affect both general health and specific performance needs in sports, like running.
When should you seek Osteopathic treatment??
If you experience..
aches or pains that don’t go away with rest
tight muscles, joint pain, or persisting niggles during or after running
difficulty with your running technique or want to boost your running performance
ongoing issues with your posture, alignment, strength or mobility
recovery time taking longer than expected
… then it may be time to make an appointment
Even if you don’t have any pain, Osteopathy can used as a preventative measure. Regular Osteopathic care can help keep your body in balance, reduce the risk of injuries, and ensure that you maintain your optimal running performance.
How Does Osteopathy Benefits Runners..
Improved Posture and Alignment
One of the first things your Osteopath may address is your posture and spinal alignment. Poor posture, whether from sitting at a desk all day or improper running mechanics, can lead to muscular imbalances, pain, and inefficient movement patterns. Your Osteopath can work with you to correct these imbalances, ensuring correct alignment and movement during both training and rest. Proper alignment can help you run more efficiently, prevent injury, and reduce unnecessary strain on your joints and muscles.
Enhanced Mobility and Stability
Running is more efficient with full range of motion in your hips, knees, and ankles. Tight and weak muscles, stiff joints, and restricted connective tissues can limit your running stride and lead to compensation in other parts of your body, which may lead to strain or overloading of neuromusculoskeletal systems. Osteopathic treatments include hands-on techniques such as stretching, joint mobilisation, soft tissue massage and myofascial release, all intending to help restore your mobility, stability and flexibility to key muscle groups, joints and other tissues. Improved mobility and stability enables smoother, more powerful running mechanics and helps prevent common running overuse injuries.
Injury Prevention and Management
The repetitive nature of running makes runner’s more prone to overuse injuries, like shin splints, runner’s knee, iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome, plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinopathy. Your Osteopath will not only help manage existing injuries but also play a key role in preventing future ones by addressing the underlying issues before they develop into an injury.
Optimal Recovery
Running, especially long distances or high-intensity training, can put considerable strain on your muscles and joints. Post-run recovery is essential to avoid burnout or injury, and Osteopathy can help speed up this process. Treatment may include massage, soft tissue manipulation, lymphatic drainage, myofascial dry needling and kinesiology taping to help reduce muscle soreness, boost circulation, and promote healing after training. This means less downtime between runs and a quicker return to your peak performance.
Better Breathing and Oxygen Efficiency
Osteopaths don’t just focus on the muscles and joints; they also consider how the body’s systems interact! For runners, breathing efficiency plays a significant role in performance. An Osteopath can assess your diaphragm and rib cage mobility, both of which are important for effective breathing. With improved chest and diaphragm (our biggest breathing muscle) function, you’ll be able to take in more oxygen, which is crucial for endurance and overall performance during long runs or running our PBs.
Finishing up, Osteopathy offers a personalised holistic approach to improve your running performance and prevent injury. By focusing on alignment, mobility and recovery, Osteopathic treatments can help you run at your best!
“As a runner myself, I look forward to helping you reach your own personal goals and doing it pain and injury-free” - Dr Anna Potts, Osteopath
If you want to unlock your running potential, click the ‘Book Online’ button below to make an appointment and hit the ground running!
Move Better ~ Feel Better ~ Perform Better

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