Running can be very hard on your ankles, knees, back and just about every other joint. Luckily for many injury prone fitness enthusiasts, lots of treadmill manufactures are making extremely low impact models. When compared to “road running”, many of these low impact treadmills offer a more comfortable running experience.
As someone who has suffered from knee tendonitis in the past, I understand the importance of a low impact treadmill.
The best low impact treadmills offer state of the art cushioning systems that will limit the impact to your joints. When your foot steps down on the treadmill surface, it creates a big impact that is absorbed by your feet, ankles, knees and other joints in your lower body as well as your back. If you are suffering from an injury or prone to an injury you want to make sure you train on the best lower impact treadmill available to you.
The cheaper treadmills will have springs in the deck and offer very little help with the impact upon foot strike. The better treadmills will absorb close to half of the impact and feature state of the art cushioning systems that are also firm enough to give you support.
One of my favorite low impact treadmill brands is the ProForm models. They utilize a ProTech adjustable cushioning system on their more advanced models which helps to absorb the majority of the shock to your joints. My favorite feature is that you can adjust the cushioning to suit your desired preference. Everyone will require different degrees of cushioning support and most ProForm models give you the ability to adjust this. The majority of ProForm models will help to reduce impact up to 33 percent.
The Landice model elite treadmills also offer some incredible cushioning. They use something called Variable Flex Cushioning which is used in their rehab and commercial machines as well as the residential treadmills. It also has the VFX system which allows the deck to move only in a vertical plane and not in a side to side fashion. This helps to create optimum response in the strike, thrust and kick zones. This allows the user to run anywhere on the belt of the treadmill for maximum shock absorption and comfort to your joints. The running deck on the Landice treadmill is about 1 inch thick, which rates much stronger than most other treadmill decks in the same category.
Having a low impact treadmill is the most important thing for anyone suffering from joint problems. Many of the people I train have joint problems from running outside and the natural aging process. It is vital to find a treadmill that has a reliable comfort cushioning system. Many treadmills offer high quality cushioning and low impact. The two treadmill models featured in this article are my 2 favorite, but many other brands offer a reliable and low impact experience. It is important to research a treadmill heavily before purchasing and making sure it is right for your unique needs.
