Running is a high impact activity, that can cause foot, ankle, knee, and back soreness and injury. There are several ways you can reduce the cumulative amount of shock caused by the impact of running (and other sports like tennis and basketball). One solution, of course, is simply to stop running, and this advice is frequently doled out to injured runners, however nobody likes to hear that you can no longer be active. Luckily, there are better solutions, such as adjusting your running surface and terrain, shoes, and mileage.
In a 1993 review in Sports Medicine, Dr. Michael Gross of Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Associates of Emerson, New Jersey explained, “Most overuse syndromes will respond to rest, training modification, and a change in the running surface or shoe.”
Out of all the surfaces people run on, concrete is the least forgiving and sadly, many runners put on a lot of their mileage on concrete, particularly the lunchtime running crowd. Blacktop or asphalt, while slightly softer than concrete, are far from an ideal running surface. Shin splints and stress fractures cause by running on concrete may be prevented by running on a softer surface, such as Flex Court outdoor tiles.


While other factors, such as footwear and technique, can also play a role in preventing stress injuries, the running surface is just as important. If your stuck indoors, or you already have a concrete outdoor running track, you can lessen the impact and get great traction by using Flex Court outdoor tiles. They provide improved traction when running and offer maximum stress relief for all weight-bearing joints. For more information contact us today!





