First of all – a big thank you to everyone who helped our Stafford and Newport chiropractor Chris and massage therapist Liesa raise money for Spinal Research!

A few months ago, it seemed to like a good idea to sign up with a few of my friends and colleagues in running the Stafford 10k. “It’s not that far”, I thought to myself. As I ran the final stages through the town centre with a ferocious “stitch” to the point of having to walk, I realised that maybe I should’ve done a bit more training, and also not eaten so many jelly babies half way round!

Once I’d recovered, it turned out I hadn’t done too badly. A 55-minute 10k with not really much training was pretty good for me. With the guys from the gym also doing well and (more importantly) enjoying it, we’d managed to raise a decent amount for charity and had fun too. Well done to everyone who took part!

I’d avoided doing much running in the 12 months leading up this event. This was partly due to injuring my knee in April; partly because I’m not a keen runner; but mainly because I’d developed a lot of calf and heel pain when trying to run any sort of distance since doing the half marathon in 2016. I’m not a natural runner and if you’re anything like me at running, then you will tend to “plod” rather than “glide” along. For me, this created a lot of tension in my feet, legs, pelvis and lower back and often led to shin splints, with accompanying back and heel pain.

There was a good reason for this, and it’s the same reason a lot of amateur athletes get pain and restriction: I was terrible at post-exercise stretching! Much like everyone else, as I became fitter, I also became complacent about warming down and stretching after training.

As we age, unfortunately our bodies don’t recover or regenerate as quickly as they used to. It’s absolutely vital that we warm down and stretch adequately to ensure that we don’t develop myofascial restrictions which can easily lead to changed movement, restricted mobility, and painful conditions. I now do this after every workout (finally listening to my own advice!), and have noticed a huge improvement in my ability to run pain free.

If you want help too, then why not see what chiropractic and massage can do for you. We look forward to seeing you.

Chris Mallett
Pure Health Chiropractic & Wellness – Stafford and Newport