by Todd Daigneault

Created on: May 03, 2009   Last Updated: May 04, 2009

Medical clearance is an absolute necessity for running. Without it, you could plunge into a situation that could lead to irrevocable harm to your body, in one way or another, through your cardiopulmonary system, damage to your joints and the such. For example, if you are asthmatic, getting a medical clearance can mean the difference between life and death. Asthma can be severely affected by running, which means inhaling far more deeper, therefore bringing in far more particulates, and inflaming the breathing passages. A medical clearance can help with adjusting of medications for running, and to see if an asthmatic can run whatever distances are good for him/her.

Another example could see a person running with hypertension and suddenly having a heart attack or a stroke. Having the necessary medical clearance could see the runner monitor his or her blood pressure (as well as with a doctor), to see if the blood pressure is way too high before a run. Also, a doctor can help with weight reduction and medication (not everbody who has high blood pressure needs medication, or needs to be continuously kept on medication). But seeing a doctor, beforehand, as well as working with your 'inner-self' can keep your blood pressure in check. Running done properly and under some supervision and care, can go a long way towards reducing hypertension. It helps to make the arteries more flexible, and strengthens the heart to pump far more blood, with less exertion. A big plus for a hypertensives.

Excersise can be such a rejuvanating panacea for all. It can elevate mood, too. With higher morale, comes less disease, as the mind and body are inextricably linked. Higher morale can lead to healthier organs and other body parts, not just conducive for running, but everything else. There are so many current studies that point the effect of morale on good health. Many who were fixated on death and dying suddenly brought disease and death and dying onto themselves. Running leads to a bolstering of morale, but a good check-up beforehand is important, too.

Many of us started running when we were young and healthy, more easily able to bounce back from injuries and sickness. But even those of us who have been running for years should always have regular thorough medical check-ups. Not to panic us, and therefore bring down our athletic component, but to keep us to continue running for many years, without being sidelined, perhaps permanently, by something. Running has greatly contributed to longevity in our society amongst many. But to keep that trend for us going, and for us to continue to say that 'forty is the new thirty', and so on, medical clearances are an absolute necessity.

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