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Caption
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All
rest and no work ...
Many ADF members do not realise the long-awaited Christmas leave
period may be a high risk period for setting up an injury in the
New Year.
The
long-awaited rest from regular exercise can be a double-edged sword.
Fitness levels decrease within the first week of not exercising
and the physiological adaptive processes that allow your shins to
cope with the loads applied to them also begin to diminish.
What
this means is that next year when PT comes around again, your body,
and in particular your legs, may not be prepared for the loads applied
to them. This situation can then lead to the development of shin
pain.
By
doing some regular exercise over the leave period, injury risk in
the New Year can be reduced.
What
is shin pain?
The
blanket term of "shin splints" encompasses the main subgroups
of conditions that affect the section of leg between the knees and
ankles. Common causes of shin pain include stress fractures, compartment
syndrome, chronic muscle strain, or any irritation of the nerve
or blood vessels of the lower leg. Most of these conditions are
generally avoidable through sensible training.
Training
and overuse
The
bones and muscles of the legs are subjected to immense loads during
running, especially when running on hard surfaces, long distances
and down hills. In the normal situation the body is able to adapt
to a gradual increase in the stresses produced by exercise. This
increases muscle strength and bone resilience.
Although
the human body has the capability to achieve the adaptations described
above, inadequate transition time may contribute to the development
of an overuse injury.
The
shins are a prime example of an area where this situation frequently
occurs. Faulty biomechanics, poorly fitting or old footwear, increased
body weight, changes in running surfaces and rapid increases in
running distances can all contribute to an imbalance between what
the shins are prepared to accept and the stresses applied to them.
Avoiding
Injury
By
maintaining your level of fitness and exposing the body to regular
stresses you are more likely to maintain those positive training
effects and thereby minimise the risk of injury when you return
to work next year.
In
summary
The
take-home message is that you shouldn't waste all the hard work
you've put in the past year to improve your fitness and adapt your
body to physical stresses. Consider utilising cross training to
modify the normal loads of your training and keep body weight down.
The
follow-up of maintaining your fitness over Christmas leave should
then be a graded and progressive return to exercise in 2004. A build-up
period will still be needed to return to the fitness levels of the
year, to ensure your body is ready to accept the loads of training
and reduce the risk of developing an overuse injury.
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