With this glorious weather splashing Melbourne in sunshine, people are becoming more and more active. This is the time for overuse injuries to develop, particularly in the leg and feet. The colder months tend to make people less active, leading to a gradual (yet inevitable) deconditioning in your muscles, ligaments and joints. When you restart regular exercise, these tissues can bite back and become inflamed, degenerative and painful.
You may think this only effects those who exercise heavily. Yes, it is more common in the athletic types. However, the same injuries can occur in someone who does regular walks for exercise – the same muscles, ligaments and joints are being used and overused!
Symptoms to look out for include:
• Pain in the sole of the foot, especially when putting your foot down from bed as you wake up.
• Aches in the arches of the feet.
• Heel pain during or after exercise.
• Pain around the ankle joint.
• Pain through the shins.
• Pain at the knee joint.
Common injuries include plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, tibialis posterior tendinopathy, stress fractures, heel spurs, patellofemoral pain and ‘shin splints’.
Treatment generally involves loosening up muscles and joints that have become tight during the cooler months, strengthening muscles that have become weaker, fitting of orthotics to correct any foot abnormalities, and a smarter approach to increasing exercise intensity.
If this sounds like you or someone you know, book an appointment today.