You may wonder, what’s a hot spot? Read the paragraph below and analyse if this sounds like the voice in your head OR if this reminds you of someone you know!
It’s a beautiful sunny day, 15˚, you lace up your shoes, you join your running partners and the run begins.
It’s SO nice outside. I love running. I love spring. This feels GREAT.
fhhoufff this is hard; I think my shoes aren’t tight enough. Why am I so out of breath, haven’t I been running for a few months?
Oh, there we go, now I feel good. This is easy… I could run forever. Should we go faster? This is really easy.
4km
Why is my calf so tight?
Why is the bottom of my right foot burning? It hurts just landing. I’ll just put more weight on the left leg for now. It’ll pass.
I’m sure it’s going to pass.
6km
Ok, what is wrong with my legs? Why are they so heavy? Does anyone notice I’m in pain? Everyone looks ok. It’ll pass.
Okayy, I think my calves are going to cramp. We’re almost done; they’re not going to break, right? Calves can’t break. Can they?
8km
Wow. It’s gone... Let’s not jinx it.
Omg it’s actually gone, I don’t feel it anymore. I’m so fit.
10 km. Runs over
Feels great, I’m great, that was great.
It doesn’t have to be the calves; any kind of pain, muscles discomfort, joints, and extreme tightness while training is not normal.
NOW, let me ask you this: Would you rather?
Treat the “hot spot” now with the help of health professionals and start simple exercises to improve your weaknesses and build your strengths?
OR
Continue training with the pain, which will most likely lead to INJURY and eventually force you to stop what you love doing. Finally, leading you to rehab before starting back what you love.
If you choose option #2, you may think neglecting pain is ok and I think you should revisit your training objectives. Prevention goes a long way when we talk about risk of injury. There are some injuries, especially any type of tendinitis that can take an extremely long time to recover, often causing you to avoid using the specific joint for an extended period. Remember, previous injuries are one of the best-known risk factors for new injuries of the same type and location. Scar tissue may form in the muscle or tendon and such tissue changes may cause decreased strength, elasticity, range of motion or neuromuscular coordination.
You need to gauge your discomfort level, be a good listener and judge of the severity of your hot spot. Part of training is body awareness and you need to learn how to distinguish “good pain” (discomfort from leaving your comfort zone) from “bad pain” (something on the edge of injury). Frequently reassess your body next time you’re training and feel free to reach out for help.
Remember, no exercise is worth doing, if it repeatedly causes pain or injury!
Exercise services tailored to your health & objectives! - Certified Kinesiologist // Certified Clinical Exercise Physiologist
Contact us: (506) 378-1174 // info@lemovemint.ca