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Volume No.

438

Shin bone pain, also known as shin splints, are a common occurrence and affect a number of people all over the world. It is known to be more common amongst individuals that place a significant amount of consistent stress on their legs such as athletes and people who go for regular walks or runs. Check out this week's article on Yoga to heal and prevent Shin Splints.

In Fitness,

Namita Nayyar

Try to maintain a 'soft' knee while executing exercise movements and use the muscles of the inner thighs and buttocks to compensate instead. This will help to avoid knee pain which is often caused by improper foot and leg positioning, or by gripping or overextending the muscles around the knee joint.

Enjoy a healthy self image

Maintaining a strong healthy self esteem is not always easy in a society that has high expectations for performance and attractiveness.

Enjoy who you are. Look at your finger prints you are unique. No one else is exactly like you. The way you laugh and smile, the way you view the world, the way you think are uniquely yours.

Believe that your uniqueness is important. If all of us looked the same, thought the same and dressed the same the world would be a boring place indeed. Your uniqueness contributes to the vast and beautiful tapestry of our world and as such you are a valuable member of humanity. Accept your uniqueness. Accept who you are as you are right now, while preparing and planning for change and growth in the future.

Enhance your uniqueness. Cultivate an interesting personality. Experience life. Seek out adventure or take on a new challenge.
 

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Hot fruit salad

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 175 g (6oz) dried apricots

• 150 g (5oz) dried prunes

• 150 g (5oz) dried figs

• 600 ml (1pint) apple juice

• 2 tablespoon Calvados or brandy (optional)

• 25 g (1oz) walnuts, coarsely chopped

• Low - fat natural yogurt, to serve (optional)

Direction:

Place the dried fruits in a bowl with the apple juice and leave to soak overnight.

Transfer to a saucepan and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Turn into a bowl and pour over the calvados or brandy, if using. Sprinkle with the walnuts and serve immediately with low - fat natural yogurt.

Nutritional Information: (per serving)

Carbohydrates 44g / protein 4g / fat 4g.

Yoga to heal and prevent Shin Splints

Shin bone pain, also known as shin splints, are a common occurrence and affect a number of people all over the world. It is known to be more common amongst individuals that place a significant amount of consistent stress on their legs such as athletes and people who go for regular walks or runs.

Shin splints are an imbalance in the muscles that pull the foot up and point the toe down, and exercises that help prevent shin splints are those in which these muscles are pushing and pulling against resistance.

Symptoms: An aching, throbbing or tenderness along the inside of the shin (though it can radiate to the outside also) about halfway down, or all along the shin from the ankle to the knee. Pain when you press on the inflamed area. Pain is most severe at the start of a run, but can go away during a run once the muscles are loosened up (unlike a stress fracture of the shinbone, which hurts all the time). With tendinitis, pain resumes after the run.

Causes: Tired or inflexible calf muscles put too much stress on tendons, which become strained and torn. Over-pronation aggravates this problem, as does running on hard surfaces, such as concrete sidewalks. Beginning runners are the most susceptible to shin splints for a variety of reasons, but the most common is that they're using leg muscles that haven't been stressed in the same way before. Another common cause of shin splints among beginners is poor choice of running shoes, or running in something other than running shoes. Runners who have started running after a long layoff are also susceptible to shin splints because they often increase their mileage too quickly.

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