Sport Medicine

Are You Suffering from Physical or Mental Burnout

How close are you to physical or mental fitness burnout? If you exercise hard day after day without taking time for mental and physical rest, you may be risking physical injury, illness or even mental burnout.

Ask yourself the following questions. If you answer "yes" to four or more of the questions, you could be overtraining and need some time away from the gym :


   1. Have I just completed an intense endurance event or competition (such as a marathon, or ultraendurance race)?
   2. Have I lost interest in training or playing sports?
   3. Does my regular workout feel too difficult?
   4. Do I dread the thought of training or racing?
   5. Am I becoming more irritated or annoyed about small things?
   6. Have I lost my appetite or am I eating too much?
   7. Do I feel mentally stressed, fatigued or withdrawn?
   8. Do I have generalized aches, pains or body soreness?
   9. Am I having trouble sleeping?
  10. Do I have an angry, negative attitude?
  11. Am I having more colds and flus than usual?
  12. Is my morning resting heart rate higher than normal?

Strategies to Overcome Workout Burnout :

    * Take Time Off (Without Losing Fitness)
    * Crosstrain
    * Use the S.M.A.R.T. Principle to Set Realistic Goals
    * Vary Your Training Intensity With Intervals
    * Take an active (sports) vacation
    * Follow the Ten Percent Rule

Could Shin Pain Be a Stress Fracture?


Stress fractures are often dismissed by runners as simple muscle soreness. But if you've recently changed your running routine, or increased your speed or distance over a short time-frame, that muscle soreness in your lower legs or feet may be a warning sign of a stress fracture.

What Is a Stress Fracture?
A stress fracture is a tiny crack in the bone (a hairline fracture) that develops when overworked muscles become fatigued and unable to absorb the shock of repeated impacts. This stress gets transferred to the bone, and a small crack begins to form.

The initial warning sign of a stress fracture is pain in the lower legs (shins) and feet. If any general muscle soreness or stiffness suddenly becomes a more specific pain that you can find by pressing on a the bone beneath the soreness, you may have a stress fracture.

Learn More About Stress Fractures

    * Check Your Stress Fracture Risk.
    * How Have You Coped With a Stress Fracture?
    * Stress Fractures: Cause, Prevention and Treatment.

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