Injury Prevention

Shin splints slowing you down? Freeze away the pain with an ice cup! An athletic DIY of sorts, ice cups are an easy and affordable way to treat common athlete woes like sprains and sore muscles. All you have to do is fill Dixie cups with water and freeze; once ready, peel back the paper to expose the ice. These beat bulky ice packs or a bag of peas because you can use them to pinpoint your trouble spots and massage the muscle. Keep a few stocked in your freezer so at a moment's notice you'll have your post-workout treatment ready. Be sure you don't follow up with heat for at least 48 hours, and once the pain diminishes, try these easy exercises to strengthen the tibialis anterior, the muscle that runs on the outside of the shin.

If you do have pain or shin splints often, consider visiting a physical therapist and checking in with your form and running shoes.

When it comes to training, it can take time to find the right balance. If you regularly do intense workouts, then it's possible to burn out, but if you aren't consistent, you won't see results. The solution to the problem? Make sure your workout routine contains an easy rest day that incorporates stretching, massages, and, yes, rest. Here are three reasons why a rest day is such a good idea.

1. It helps your body repair itself: Exercise can cause tiny tears in your muscles, and rest is what will help the muscles recover, rebuild, and become stronger. Make sure that you give your body ample time to repair and replenish energy every week to avoid injury and overuse.
2. You'll help prevent injury: That nagging pain in your ankle can become a full-blown chronic injury if you refuse to take time off from your intense workout routine. Make sure you ice, foam-roll, and rest your body regularly, but especially when you feel a possible injury creeping on.
3. It helps you mentally: It can be hard to stick with a routine, especially if you're burnt out. And while exercise is one of the best ways to lift your mood, feeling guilty when you've missed a workout and stressing over whether or not you've worked out enough can be major demotivators. Make a standing date for a rest day during the week so you aren't second-guessing your decision to sleep in instead of get up for a run.

There's a fine line when it comes to heating and icing an injury. While some injuries are acute (a sudden sprain or strain) and others chronic (often long-term as the result of overuse), there are specific ways to go about heating and icing for maximum recovery. If you aren't so sure when to grab the frozen peas or plug in the heating pad, use this guide during your rehab to keep you strong and performing at your best.

Heat is best when . . .

If you are stiff, sore, or have a chronic injury — bring on the heat! A heating pad or hot compress is ideal to relieve the aches and pains of overused muscles because it increases the elasticity of joint tissues and stimulates blood flow. About 20 minutes of heat also helps to loosen tissues and relax injured areas, meaning it's very beneficial before workouts that often irritate reoccurring injuries. One rule of thumb: do not heat a new injury! When an injury first occurs, swelling and inflammation are at their peak. Heat will only make this worse, causing the blood vessels to dilate. Only add heat once the injury has started to relax, which is usually after 48 hours.

Ice is best when . . .

Ice is best for immediate injuries and as a treatment in later rehabilitation. If you were just hurt in a workout, turn to ice to reduce the swelling and decrease the pain. Icing is also good for athletes with chronic injuries after a workout because it keeps inflammation at bay, preventing any overused muscles from acting up. If you're both icing and heating an injury, always end with ice. Since ice works to reduce the swelling, following it up with heat will counteract it, increasing blood flow and possible swelling. Don't ice for longer than 20 minutes (doing so can lead to frostbite), and never ice before a workout; this will only make your muscles stiff and vulnerable to injury.

That daily workout does a world of good for your body, but the intense portion of your workout isn't the only important part — your stretching session is just as crucial.

The key to seeing results from exercise is to keep it up, but if you routinely skip out on stretching, then you may notice that you're extremely sore or stiff the next day — an almost surefire way to talk yourself out of continuing your workout routine. Not only that, but since stretching after a workout helps your muscles repair faster, that can mean that skipping out on those few minutes of cooldown are hindering your toning efforts. So the next time you're at the gym, make sure you don't leave class early, and try these cooldown stretches for any workout.

If you're one of those runners who shies away from the incline button on the treadmill or picks an outdoor route that specifically avoids any type of hill, then you could be missing out. Taking on the challenge of running both uphill and downhill is a surefire way to make you a better runner, and here are eight reasons why.

Uphill:

1. Increased speed: Working against gravity taxes your muscles, making them work harder than you would on flat ground. With stronger quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, you'll find that you'll be able to run faster.
2. Injury prevention: Runner's knee is a common ailment that can make you hang up your sneaks. Aside from doing not-too-exciting wall squats to strengthen the thighs, running up inclines will also do the trick (and burn way more calories at the same time).
3. Stronger upper body: Since your legs fatigue much easier on uphill climbs, you will naturally pump the arms more to take some of the workload off the lower body. This not only strengthens your upper body — making running a more total-body workout — but it also reminds you to utilize your arms and core when running on flat surfaces, which can prevent overuse injuries in your legs.
4. Endurance: Since running up steep hills is naturally more challenging than running on flat surfaces, both building lower-body muscles and increasing your lung function will enable you to run longer with ease.

Downhill:

1. Increased speed: The pull of gravity makes your quads and hamstrings work much harder to slow down your pace to prevent your feet from pounding the ground with each step. And as mentioned above, having stronger thigh muscles is one way to build speed and power.
2. Injury prevention: Working with the pull of gravity also targets your shins, and strengthening the front of your lower legs can prevent shin splints.
3. Much-needed rest: The momentum of gravity makes running down hills feel easier, which can give your muscles a break during a run that not only allows you to conserve energy, but can also prevent injuries from pushing the same muscles too hard.
4. A stronger core: On the downhill, it's even more important to engage your core to brace knees against the added impact a downhill run can have on the body.

Running is all about putting one foot in front of the other. Sounds easy enough, right? But if your running form is off, then you'll likely end up with aches, strains, and injuries that could keep you from lacing up your sneakers at all. Make sure to avoid these running-form mistakes the next time you hit the treadmill, trail, or road.

1. Head: It sometimes feels good to close your eyes and relax your chin toward your chest, but don't keep your head down (or tilt your head up) for long periods of time. Prevent neck strain and encourage an open throat for easy breathing by keeping your head stacked over your spine. Correct head position also encourages a straight, upright stance, which makes you a more efficient runner.
2. Shoulders: Without even realizing it, you may be running with your upper back and shoulders tensed up toward your ears. (And you wonder why you have a pounding headache or aching neck.) Every so often, take a nice deep breath in and as you exhale, relax your upper torso and actively roll your shoulders back and down toward your pelvis. Do a self-check to make sure your shoulders are stacked over the hips. Hunching the upper body forward not only makes it difficult to breathe, it also puts pressure on your lower back.

Keep reading to learn more about your running form.

If a 9-to-5 desk job leaves your back aching and sore, you don't have to take the pain sitting down. Here are some ways to prevent discomfort and tension in your spine.

• Switch your chair for a ball: Weak abs and back muscles can be one cause of your pain, as well as poor posture from slouching over your keyboard. Since sitting on a stability ball forces you to sit up straight and use your core, making the switch will not only help alleviate back pain, it'll also help you look better in your swimsuit. Start off with a few 20-minute sessions until you gradually work up to a full day.
• Take five: Sitting at a desk for hours on end can lead to tight shoulders, hips, and hamstrings, all of which can pull and put pressure on your spine, causing pain. Regularly stretching these areas will increase your flexibility, offering instant relief and preventing discomfort down the road. Set your phone or computer alarm every 60 minutes to take a stretching break; include these yoga poses for hip and back pain as well as these neck, chest, and shoulder stretches.
• Noon workout: Break up your day by exercising on your lunch break to increase circulation and warm up your tight muscles. Focus on workouts that strengthen your abs and back and finish up with stretches for the hip flexors, lower back, and shoulders.
• Find opportunities to stand: Walk over to your co-workers to chat with them instead of relying on instant message, take your phone calls or meetings for a walk, and if your company allows for it, get an adjustable desk that allows you to stand while working.
• Ergonomics: Many companies call in a professional to check their workers' desks to make sure they're set up properly, so take advantage of this service. A simple adjustment to your chair height could be the fix you need to end your back pain.