Cure for Shin Splints Pain

I enjoy my daily morning run for the perfect start it offers my day, but the recurring problem of shin splints had almost forced me to give up. 

If you google search "Shin splints pain" you will find a lot of information from relatively credible sources like webMD. However, most of the information that I came across on the internet did not really help, for instance one of the posts suggested that I run on soft running surfaces like grass, another suggested that I keep my posture absolutely straight during the run and land my foot on the front half of the foot. I persisted with these theories/recommendations for a while but none of them worked for me and the pain inevitably came back.

WHAT WORKED?

One of the reasons cited for shin splints is weak calf and hip muscles due to which the strain caused by the foot hitting the ground falls directly on the shin (Tibia) muscles. I believe this to be true since I have even observed the difference between my calf muscles (size & shape) and of runners who don't suffer from this problem (can't observe hip muscles without being labeled as a pervert, so left that out😀) .The following routines have helped me so far in avoiding the pain from shin splints while still enjoying my morning run.

Calf stretch (30 sec, 2 reps each foot)

WARM UP & WARM DOWN

Ensure that you warm up before the run by doing the necessary stretches for your calf and hip muscles. The one that I do before and right after the run is to push the front half of my foot inwards and hold that for upto 30 seconds for each foot, I repeat this twice. I also stretch my hip and thigh muscles with some easy stretch exercises. 


Remember to repeat the same stretches once you are done with your run.

Another stretch exercise (5 reps,
breathe in when you stretch up
and breathe out when touching toes)

BUILDING CALF STRENGTH

In order to build calf strength I use the technique displayed in the video. All you need is a stair and some support to balance yourself during the exercise. I generally do 25 reps x 3 times for each foot.
You can also do other variations to build calf strength like standing straight and raising your heels by supporting the weight on your toes and then resting back, try this while holding weights for better results.

BUILDING HIP STRENGTH

Leg raises, hold for a brief second on top for better results

In order to build hip strength I use a simple floor exercise described in the image below, it requires you to lay down on one side with one of your hands resting your head. Then raise the top leg as far towards the ceiling as you can and hold for a brief second before bringing it down. I generally do 25 reps * 2 times for each leg. Again there are multiple variations of this exercise and your can find some suggestions here.

PRECAUTIONS

As one goes through the above routines it is important to bear in mind the following:

• Don't do these strengthening exercises just before a run.
• Do these strengthening exercises regularly (if not daily).
• It takes time to build these muscles so don't rush into your run after a couple of days, I suggest atleast a weak of strengthening before venturing for a run.
• Once you resume running, build distance gradually.
• Posture is really important, so keep you back straight (eyes focussed on the horizon) and always land on the front half of your foot.
• Your muscles react better if they are trained regularly, so try to be regular, even a 20 min morning run can do wonders.

In a separate post I will share how I used a simple technique to shed 8 kilos over the last 6 months.

Note: I am not an expert, I am just sharing my experiences based on my specific conditions, you should ideally consult a physiotherapist or a sports medicine specialist before trying any of this.

Why so seriousssss-ly overweight???

I write this piece as a very gnawing feeling consumes my mental peace. The realization is that I need to shed atleast 10 kgs of pure and unadulterated flab.
This flab is a result of a combination of reasons like a crappy metabolism which is further deccelerated by age, the sedentary lifestyle of the working class and my inability to resist a tall drink and an inviting buffet.

I believe quite a few us ride in a similar bloat and are sufficiently bothered about it. However, the troubling bit is that there is a big group of people thats not even bothered about the extra pouches of flab hanging from various angles. 

I guess we need to tackle these 2 categories separately and that is what I will try to do in the following sections. But before I begin I guess I need to clear the air on why I am writing this. The reason is that (believe it or not) I am really concerned about the collective health of the working class of the nation and also because I believe that a healthy body is absolutely essential for a healthy mind. 

For the motivated souls

The people who are really bothered the problem is that not enough of us take the necessary steps needed to rectify this and get back in shape (round is a shape but not the one we are aiming for) and the reason cited is the lack of time due to work pressures or in some cases the lack of motivation. The first problem of lack of time due to elongated work hours is a complicated one because in my view it includes an element of lack of motivation which is under our control but also because some people are busy due to the roles that they have been entrusted.

Some solutions

No. 1: Pick 45 mins in a day

The key to following this rule/guideline is ensuring discipline, you may waver for a day or two but you need to ensure that you take out 45 mins in a day whether its early in the morning or late in the evening. Trust me its not much to ask for and you can easily achieve it by sacrificing that extra hour of mindless TV at night.

No. 2: Pick a sport  

Enrolling in a gym is good but doing drab and repetitive exercises in a gym can easily demotivate an individual. A good way to keep ones self motivated is to pick a sport (tennis, soccer, squash, basketball are some options) and to play that on a regular basis. Its not easy in a country like ours where cricket has ruined our minds ad our fitness but if you are able to get a group of motivated souls together then this can be your key to fitness. 

No. 3: Have a small home gym 

All you need to get this set up is a skipping rope, a couple of dumbbells, a floor mat, instructional videos (for aerobics, yoga etc) freely available on the net and if possible a exercise cycle. I suggest this coz a lot of times we hesitate to take membership of a gym because we are not sure if we will be able to use it regularly. Having a small home gym will atleast ensure that whenever you do have the time and motivation you can use this small investment and attack those flabs. 

No. 4: Motivate others around you 

This may sound ridiculous but in my view this is probably the most important since if you don't get the other buggers out of office you probably are never going to be able to get out yourself. The only thing that I can say with 100% surety is that the benefits of those 45-60 mins of exercise are definitely going to increase your productivity and offset any loss of time from people leaving for home on-time. (What do you think I am trying to do)

No. 5: Remove the guilt

Most of us tend to think that spending time on improving their individual fitness is a selfish act. On the contrary, the benefits of a fit body and mind don't only benefit the individual but everyone around them and especially the organizations they work for. Unfortunately most organizations dont outwardly support individuals efforts to get fit, probably because they are run by individuals who fall in the category mentioned below.

For the demotivated souls

The 7 benefits of regular exercise

This is the tricky bunch of people to handle and to be honest I don't really have a lot to offer to them in the form of advice. Although, what I can offer is a snapshot of benefits copied from here. If you still aren't convinced then probably you should take another look at benefit number 6. -->

Happy exercising..

Too cool for hockey ....

You know that feeling when there is so much you have to say that you just don't know where to start..... I guess it may be better if I just started from the beginning.

My first encounter (per my hard drive) with hockey was when I was around 8 years old and when Pargat Singh and Jagbir Singh (the hockey player from yesteryears....not me) used to don the Indian colors. We kids used to gather at the park of our army flats and go all out for each others shins, we were in the age group of 7 to 15 what else do you expect. This lasted for 3 years and once dad got posted out I have had the opportunity to play hockey only in our front yard with my brother and cousins. I guess its worth mentioning that even those couple of yrs we played hockey it was only used to fill in the gap from soccer, swimming, cricket, and a failed attempt at horse riding. 


Given all of that (i.e. my limited exposure to the game) I find it difficult to explain this love and passion that resides deep inside. The passion that I struggle to control when I see a forward dribbling the ball past defenders, or when I hold a hockey stick in my hands, or when I feel the crack of a meaty strike, or from the sense of achievement from trapping a ball hit at you with lightening speed (well it feels like lightening speed anyway).

It may not be the beautiful game or one for the gentlemen but once you've experienced it you wouldn't want to turn back. I was lucky enough to have experienced it but unfortunate not to have played for longer. It was always so hard to convince people to play the game, cricket or soccer always seemed more attractive given that Indians in general hate to run and are too afraid to walk away from the field with a couple of bruises (or atleast their parents are).

In my view hockey's latest avatar is even better than soccer given that they've done away with the offside rule and made it super fast and exciting.  However, I am a little more than disturbed to see people around me totally ignorant to hockey and the action packed 70 minutes it provides. Ofcourse I know that in India cricket rules the lazy masses but I also know that there are a sizeable bunch of Indians who passionately follow the English Premier League teams like they belong to their own respective neighbourhoods. Its time you people poured half of that passion into your hockey teams... Why?? Well coz its fast, its exciting, filled with goals and your own city/state has a team vying for the silverware.

This brings us to the World Series Hockey and the lukewarm response its getting as compared to the IPL or EPL. My suggestion to all the Indians out there is to give the game a fighting chance, I assure you it won't disappoint you. The venues are cleaner and better than any cricket stadium in the country, the tickets are dirt cheap, the dhol beats are invigorating and the excitement is unlimited. 

I have a lot more to say on this but would leave it for another day. In the meantime why don't you Just Catch the match.