Posted by John on December 08, 2003 at 15:08:33:
In Reply to: Running as a therapy posted by Holly on October 21, 2003 at 04:24:42:
I can only speak for myself and my experiences, but coming up on 15,000 miles of running, it has become not just a physical therapy but a mental therapy stomping out those doctor's words I heard 30+ years ago, "He'll never run again".
As an adult, I find my hip gives me the most problems with sports like basketball or raquetball, but the straight on gait of running works well for me. Certainly, the type of running surface needs to be considered, so I do run largely on dirt or grass trails/road shoulders. And log miles on a more forgiving treadmill. Today's modern running shoes go a long ways toward absorbing shock and the yesteryear worries of knee problems from running are largely gone. In fact, I know of few runners with knee problems and more inactive people with knee problems.
I firmly do believe it is a catch-22, you need to be active to keep the pounds off and to keep the pounds off, you need to be active. Being an adult, the number one thing to fend off hip aches in general I find is keeping my weight down. Running is excellent for this. I do supplement my training with bicycling and rowing. Drop me an email if you'd like. I enjoy talking about the running road I'm on in regards to Perthes.