As much as I hate to admit it getting older does have some downsides. If we eat the same amount of food we did when we were younger we are doomed to pile on extra weight (fat). This is because as we mature our metabolism slows down due to less physical activity which in turn means we get fatter.
This addition in weight is slow but sure. At first it’s just couple of lbs here and there, barely noticeable. The weight you put on after Christmas just doesn’t seem to come off like it used to. Suddenly you discover to your horror your dresses are getting tighter and your out of breath climbing the stairs.
Jogging or running is an first-rate way to burn calories and get back in control of your body. Added to that, it makes you feel great! But what can you do if, like me, you love to run, but suffer from Shin Splints?
I used to have a pony when I was younger so I knew about Shin Splints. If you ride a pony on very hard ground the chances are he’ll develop splints. Splints can leave a pony lame for months and I’m afraid Shin Splints in humans have the same result.
I like to use jogging as my main way of keeping in reasonable shape. But I was discovering that, after only a short time, my shins would start to ache, down at the bottom of my leg. At first I thought I was just a bit stiff, and it would go off as I warmed up more.
I had hoped the pain would just go away but, you guessed it, it got much worse. The pain would get so bad that in the end I couldn’t finish my training and would end up limping home at a snails pace. After a couple of days the pain in my lower legs would go away but it would always come back again if I started running again.
Shin Splints has nothing to do with splints. It is simply the name used when the long, thin muscle on the front of your lower leg is overused and gets inflamed ” sort of Repetitive Strain Injury in the leg ” and, as I learned when I went to train as a Sports Therapist can be treated.
