Chandigarh, February 3
Being health conscious and to remain fit is the in thing. But apart from sportspersons, who generally know the method of running, jogging or walking, others need to be cautious, otherwise one can get injured.
Sports medicine doctors are of the opinion that sometime ignorant people run on slanted edge of roads. Those who run near the curb are more prone to injuries. Doctors even recommend running against the traffic and coming back with the traffic to avoid back pain.
Many people practise on cemented tracks and on metalled roads. Doctors believe that lower back pain is caused by a difference in the length of legs.
Dr Shardendu Sharma, an orthopaedician, who has done specialisation in sports medicine, stated that shin pain was caused by the overuse of muscle that pulls the arch back up. He said those who jog on uneven surface and sometime regularly on hard surface should put an arch support in their running shoe. He said this helps in propping up the foot so that muscle do not keep contracting.
Dr Sharma said the runners may also feel pain in the tibia. He said some runners who are in the practice of running with excessive foot pronation can get inflammations of the foot.
Here the heel spur grows and a piece of bone hurts when one puts pressure on it while running.
Sports medicine doctors advise that choosing a proper shoe is essential for avoiding injury. The shoes must have shock absorbers and a flexible, thick sole, a cushion for the Achilles tendon and a sole which is wider than the top. Doctors also say that a ripple sole is designed for cemented and hard surface and a waffle bottom for grassy and clay surface. Even brisk walking on hard surface for longer periods can invite trouble.
