| By: Julie Eibensteiner PT, DPT, CSCS Tis the season! The minute it turns 30-40 degrees you can count on Minnesotans hitting sidewalks and trails outside to run like a flash mob to Times Square. ——————————- After being pent up inside all winter and especially after streak of sub zero days – we’ve earned it. There is a real excitement to being outside, to be out in the sun, and to be in temperatures that no longer makes your face hurt. Road construction and taxes are sure bets in Minnesota – so is people complaining about foot, heel, and shin pain in about **checking my watch** 4-6 weeks from now. Why? Injuries can come from a lot of things, but the spring heel, shin, and foot pain usually falls under the category of “Doing too much, too soon after not doing enough for too long.” Who? Runners I am looking at you (because you can’t help yourselves – MUST. RUN. NOW.), but it also can affect spring sport athletes ramping up spring season schedules (often overloaded), athletes getting used to new training surfaces, and even people just walking around outside more after being sedentary much of the winter. Where? Bottom of foot/heel – plantar fascia – a thick band of tissue that connects your heel to your toes. Back of calf/heel – achilles tendon – a thick band of tissue that connects your calf muscles to your heel. Lower shin – which can either be the a result of repetitive stress to the shin bone or repetitive stress to the muscles attaching to the shin bone. Why? (again) If your leg was a factory-line worker, it’d be underprepared, overworked and now likely angry (or at least frustrated.) Obvious culprit —> starting to run after not running all winter. More steps = more repetitive and new stress on bones and tissues it wasn’t prepared for. Less obvious culprit —> starting to run a lot more after keeping running shorter due to treadmill boredom – that’s real. Same as above (more steps) AND new and more stress the body wasn’t prepared for. Treadmills are 5-10% less stress on the body and changes your stride a little bit. Moving to hard ground outside means more impact (bones) and more stress on tendons as result of these changes! That can be a big change even if your mileage doesn’t immediately change going from inside to outside. Sneaky culprit –> starting to run on different surfaces after only running on the same surface all winter. The treadmill issue (new/more stress) above comes into play again, but so do the increased demand on all your ankle stabilizers and small muscles in your feet if you are all of sudden on angled/graded surfaces (shoulder of roads or sidewalks, hills) or uneven surface (grass, poorly maintained turf, and trails). All of sudden these muscles need to work when they had the winter mostly off. Ninja sneaky reason –> Wearing flip flops and/or going barefoot more often (we don’t blame you!) And generally being up on your feet more. Change of environment or type of activity = more new types of stress on bones and connective tissue, it wasn’t prepared for. ——————————- What can I do? I want to enjoy my summer! Prepare! And do so early and over time. Add “new” anything – shoes, surfaces, environments, activities, or mileage in SMALL amounts over 4-6 weeks. Leave feeling like you could have done more “new” on the majority of your days. Also be careful about the number of new things you add even if small. It multiplies! Pro Tip – Keeping a base level of consistency and variety in training throughout the year keeps new things less “new” and keeps your body from scrambling to accommodate new things so quickly when all you want to do is have some fun outside and enjoy the weather! In a pickle because of poor planning and now in pain? (Save this for April) – contact us, we can help! |
 Image: Minnesota when it gets above 30 in February. Generated with AI, it’s pretty dang accurate though! You know who you are! DID YOU KNOW? The best shoe for you is the one that is comfortable. Studies show over and over and over that runners who have a comfortable shoe have less injuries and better performance than those who worry about having a specific shoe “type”. Pssst. Don’t let the billion dollar running shoe business know they’ve been found out. Quick Recap 1. Warm weather is like a New Universe for Minnesotans in the late winter and early spring. 2. We end up with painful feet, shins, and heels as a result of our weather bliss. We can’t contain ourselves when it comes to getting outside. 3. Don’t let poor planning on your part, be a painful spring – also on your part (and an emergency on our collective part.) |