Spring Forward
Blink and you miss it but allegedly spring is now upon us.
This is the time I usually start to get a bit busier in the clinic. The days are longer. The weather is (usually) a bit brighter, warmer and drier. And people feel more inclined to get up, go out and exercise!
After the winter lull its around this time that people have either given up on their new year fitness resolutions, or they have been waiting for better weather conditions. As such I tend to start seeing people coming in with more foot and lower legs pains and injuries.
It turns out you can't take several months off and do nothing and expect to pick up your fitness journey right where you left off (who knew?). I commonly see what we call overuse injuries. Where basically people have put too much load through their tissues (bones, ligaments and tendons) without getting those tissues up to a tolerance that can take it.
There is a reason that things like couch to 5k work for people. It allows them to build up the running fitness and tissue tolerance gradually without causing injury.
Depending on what it is you want to start doing there are some simple things you can start to do to help prep your body for the increase in activity.
I see a lot of walkers that are increasing their activity this time of year due to nicer weather, longer days and often having signed up to do some sort of charity walk. There are some simple strengthening exercises that I recommend for people using the stretchy exercise bands or loops, or simpler household items that can help. Specifically I look at calf muscle flexibility, ankle strength and stability, big toe function and strength. Runners also have to think about the bounce! Every running step is basically a bounce through a single leg. Can you stand there and jump around on one leg comfortably for a prolonged period of time?
The body is great at adapting and compensating but there is a tolerance before injury will occur.
Have you started back up walking or running after a winter break? Thinking about doing your first Park Run? Signed up for that charity walk? Are you building up to these things to give your body enough time to recover and adapt?
If you have any questions on this please feel free to make an appointment in the clinic or contact me.
Here’s (hopefully) to Spring time arriving!
As a reminder the holiday season is starting, which means I am also going on a couple of trips. These happen to take up most of May so if you need an appointment in or around May then I suggest you book now! There are very limited appointments and they are already going quickly.
