Compression: Does it Really Work?

You have probably seen people at races or running around the streets that have those compression socks or sleeves on. Maybe you have thought to yourself, “Do those really work?” or “I wonder if those would help my shin splints or calf cramps?”

During this time of year, with the start of marathons and half marathons creeping up on us. Most commonly, people want to know how it works and if it’s appropriate for their condition. Today, I will explain the concept behind compression, how it can benefit you, and which conditions it’s appropriate for.

To really understand how compression socks and sleeves work, it’s important to have a basic understanding of how blood flows through the body. The heart pumps oxygen containing blood to our extremities and working muscles though arteries. Once the cells use the oxygen and other nutrients from the blood, the then deoxygenated blood, along with lactic acid and other waste products enter the veins to get taken back to the heart. Once the blood gets back to the heart, it’s oxygenated from the lungs and the process is repeated.

Keeping oxygenated blood flowing to muscles is important for performance. 

The more oxygen the cells have, the better they will function. During exercise, the body produces lactic acid as a waste product. If this lactic acid is not removed from the muscles, it can contribute to soreness and decreased ability to perform. Another factor in decreased performance is muscle fatigue. Muscular vibration during physical activity contributes to fatigue. Think about how much shock and vibration is going through your leg muscles as you pound pavement with 3-5 times your body weight while running. Over time, those little vibrations of the muscles add up and they become fatigued.

Now that we know what the blood and muscles are doing while we are running, let’s talk about what compression socks and sleeves do to help the body. Compression socks and sleeves provide graduated compression, meaning the compression is higher (tighter) at the foot and ankle and lower (looser) as it moves up the calf and lower leg. This type of compression helps to fight the effects of gravity and assist the body in venous return (deoxygenated blood flowing back up to the heart).

Recent studies show that with an optimal level of consistent compression, the walls of the arteries will dilate, increasing the blood flow through them. Arterial blood flow has been shown to increase up to 40% during activity and 30% during recovery. This means more oxygen and nutrients flowing through the body! On the other hand, the walls of the veins will constrict under compression, which helps to increase the velocity of blood flow through them. Increased velocity of blood flow through veins means that deoxygenated blood and lactic acid will get back to the heart quicker, which will help to increase the rate of recovery and decrease muscle soreness! Compression will also help to stabilize the muscle and decrease the amount of muscular vibration, resulting in decreased fatigue. To sum up the benefits of compression; enhanced performance through increased blood flow, quicker recovery and decreased muscle soreness, and less fatigue. All good things!

So are compression socks or sleeves good for shin splints, calf cramps / strains, and Achilles tendonitis? 

The answer is yes.

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Breathing Tips for New Runners How to breathe while running to avoid exhaustion and side stitches.

The diaphragm is a muscle that assists in breathing and it has two supporting ligaments. The action of the diaphragm muscle is much like an accordion. When we inhale, we move air into the lungs, and the diaphragm moves down. Conversely, when we exhale, we move air out of the lungs, and the diaphragm moves up. Like other muscle cramps or spasms, diaphragm spasms or side stitches are thought to occur from the strain and fatigue associated with the increased workload of accelerated breathing from exercise. The good news is that all muscle spasms are thought to be associated with muscle fatigue, so as your fitness level and overall conditioning improves, the risk of muscle fatigue decreases, which means that the incidence of side stitches decrease as well. 

Some research indicates that side stitches may also be related to running posture. Side stitches were found to occur more frequently in runners that slouch over or hunch their backs while running. The poorer the running posture, the more severe the side stitches reported. Poor running posture is thought to affect the nerves that run from the upper back to the abdomen. Hunching over appears to increase the friction on the peritoneum, a membrane that surrounds the abdominal cavity, resulting in pain. Improving your posture by strengthening your postural muscles with core exercises may help reduce the occurrence of side stitches.

Proper breathing techniques are thought to be another factor in side stitches. Deep breathing fills the lungs and naturally improves posture as the lungs expand. Breathing deeply while running reduces the stress on the supporting ligaments of the diaphragm and can help relieve side stitches. This type of deep breathing is referred to as belly breathing.

Try out this technique by lying down on the floor, placing a hand on your belly and breathing deeply. If you feel your hand rise and fall slightly with your breathing, you are belly breathing. If your chest moves up and down rather than your belly, you are not breathing deep enough. Focus on your hand and try making it rise and fall. To make sure you continue breathing deeply during your run, periodically take a very deep breath and forcefully exhale, pushing all the air out of your lungs. With the exhalation, drop your shoulders, shake out your arms, and relax them. Then, take a deep breath and continue your run.

Another theory on side stitches has to do with our dominant leg. Just as we have a dominant hand, we also have a dominant leg. This leads runners to begin and end a respiratory cycle, or breath, on the same foot while running. The typical pattern of a stride to breathing ratio while running is two strides to one breath. As our breathing becomes synchronized with our stride, exhalation consistently occurs on the same leg. When an exhalation occurs, the diaphragm moves up, but when the right foot hits the ground, it forces the organs on the right side of your body to move down. Some believe this action may lead to a side stitch. To see if this is your issue, try exhaling as your left foot hits the ground, rather than the right foot. Also, running downhill can exacerbate side stitches because of the increased force that is exerted on the body with each step. 

Learn how to run with rhythmic breathing to avoid breathing on your dominant leg.

Other factors that may lead to side stitches are running on a full stomach or becoming dehydrated on run. Avoid eating within one hour of running and only eat lightly within three hours of running. Stay away from high fat foods before running too.  Dehydration contributes to muscle fatigue and spasms, so go into your runs well hydrated. Drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after your runs.

Warm up thoroughly and then gradually increase your run pace 

Drink water, stay well hydrated

Increase your fitness level

Practice deep belly breathing

Strengthen core muscles        

Eat at least three hours before a run

Run on soft surfaces to reduce the force of impact

Slow down your run pace until you are further conditioned.

Stretches Every Runner Should Do.

Running is cardiovascular exercise per excellence. Great for you. But there is a catch. Running can also put stress on your body—mainly in the lower limbs and joints. The build-up of this stress can lead to tightness, loss of flexibility and mobility in the lower body, which can limit performance and may even lead to injury.

Every stride you take, your lower limbs are forced to flex and extent over and over to propel you down the road. With time, these overworked muscles and tendon can develop scar tissue, tension, and imbalances, compromising your running performance and increasing the risks of common overuse injuries such as Achilles tendonitis and IT Band syndrome..

Yes, running can give you lean, toned and enviable legs. But hitting the pavement isn’t enough.  You’d need a regular stretching routine to counterpart these stress effects. 

Sticking to a regular stretching program in which a set of specific set of muscles are stretched can help runners build flexibility, relieve tension and prevent injury. Nevertheless, most runners overlook the importance of a good stretching routine for flexibility and injury-prevention. And that’s a big mistake that you ought to avoid, regardless of your fitness level.

What Runners Need to Stretch?

As a runner, you would need to focus on three main areas: Hamstrings, quads, and the calves— including your gastronomes and soleus (deep) muscles. You would also need to stretch your hip flexors and lower back.

Best Runners’ Stretches

These are favorite stretches to target these often-tight areas. These runners’ stretches target the muscles that runners use most, and not only will they help boost your running performance, but they’ll put  also an end a stop to the aches and pains  that you may experience after running.

Stretching a stiff and cold muscle may lead to a tear, or worse, injury. That’s why you shouldn’t stretch before a run. Not only that, study shows that stretching before a workout can compromise performance. If you are inclined to stretch before a run, then do ballistic stretches to just get your body loose and muscles warmed for the exercise.

Hold each position for 30-second to one full minute on each side and breathe deeply to release any tension. Just don’t overstretch it since doing too much will force your muscles to fight back, leading to injury. So take it slowly.

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Foods for Weight Loss

To lose those remaining stubborn pounds, many of us just need to tweak our diets and cut our portion sizes. One secret is to incorporate low fat, low calories foods, like these, into your diet. The following eight filling foods deliver the goods as far as dietary fiber, powerful protein, and essential nutrients so you get more bang for your bite…

How do you like dem apples—especially since they rank number one on our list of satiating foods. Apples contain a secret-weapon when it comes to slowing digestion and creating that full feeling for longer—it’s called pectin.

According to nutritionists, pectin in a whole apple is more filling than the equivalent amount of fruit in juice. After all it takes effort (just ask your jaw) to devour an apple so your brain and body have adequate time to register a feeling of hunger satisfaction.

You don’t have to be shy when cracking eggs (including the yolks) to eat. According to dietary research from Saint Louis University, people who consume eggs for breakfast, eat roughly 330 fewer calories daily compared to those who eat cereal, toast, or bagels for their morning meal.

Food scientists dub eggs the “complete protein,” which refers to the nine essential amino acids contained within a single egg. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, claims this collection of amino acids is what suppresses the appetite and tells your brain and body that you’ve reached food capacity.

A belly full of oats is a happy belly. Just ask anyone who gobbles down this high fiber breakfast bowl. Oats stall mid-morning snack attacks because they absorb liquid (i.e., water, milk, almond milk) like a sponge—meaning you’ll eat less calories, but feel full until lunchtime.

The secret of slow digesting oats is that they take much longer to work their way through the digestive system, which compared to the quick fix you’ll get with most breakfast cereals, quells hunger pangs and regulates blood sugar so you’re satisfied for much longer.

Not only are they naturally sweet if you’ve decided to cut out refined sugars in favor of natural sweetness, figs are thick and fleshy for a satiating bite. That means you’ll get sticky-sweet without the added calories.

On top of a caloric cut, figs are great source of dense, filling fiber. For instance, one fig clocks about 37-calories and 1 gram of fiber to stall the release of sugar into the blood steam and prevent hunger cravings from spiking shortly following meals.

Potatoes have a bad rap. However, it’s all in how you prepare the vegetable. Sure, potatoes are a starchy bunch, but a healthy boiled, baked, or grilled potato (not fried) will satisfy hunger for quite some time.

In fact, potatoes squelch hunger for about the same duration as brown rice or whole wheat bread—at far less carbohydrates than both. But don’t shun a grilled, baked, or boiled potato from your plate. If you do, you’ll be missing out on a ton of nutritious fiber and vitamin B6, potassium, copper, vitamin C, manganese, niacin, and phosphorus.

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Drills, power exercises!!!

To improve the biomechanics of runnnig and your perfomance on asphalt, the athlete must invest in educational and strengthening exercises. These two workouts are  important allies of a runner and therefore should be part of the training program.

On one hand, educational exercises help the runner to improve the movement, balance, and posture, thereby promoting a minor muscular and cardiovascular wear. On the other hand, muscular strength training helps the athlete obtain a better physical condition, which serves to better protect the joints and prevent injuries.

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RUN YOUR FIRST 5K

5 easy steps to prepare for your first 5K

No matter what level of runner you are, 5K is a great distance to choose for an event, as it offers a variety of challenges. If you’re still at a relatively early stage of your running life, entering a 5K event is a fantastic way to benchmark your progress. It’s a distance over which you can mix up some running and walking, without it taking forever to get to the finish line. Likewise, it’s a manageable challenge if you’re looking to test your ability to run without resting, or only taking limited walking breaks along the route. If you’re a more experienced runner, you can really push yourself, but don’t expect to throw caution to the wind completely as it’s vital to pace yourself appropriately from start to finish – it may not be a marathon, but it’s also definitely not an all out sprint! Whatever approach you take, one crucial message is consistent – be prepared. Here’s five easy steps to help you to prepare.

1. Pick an event;

The good thing about 5K races is that there are plenty to choose from, so take your time and select one that really appeals to you. You can choose flat, undulating or hilly profiles depending on the level of challenge that you’re up for, or simply based on how you like your scenery to look as you make your way around. Opt for a date that allows you to prepare yourself physically, remembering also that the race date will be all-important for motivation levels. 

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2. Plan your training carefully

The ideal training schedule is one that is steadily progressive and feels like a challenge, without becoming overwhelming. There should be a balance between quality training and plenty of rest and recovery, and your training sessions should have variety so that you look forward to them rather than dreading yet another session of the same old thing.

3. Set your race objectives

The sooner you become clear on what you’d like to achieve with your first 5K, the earlier you can begin preparing for and visualising your chosen result. If you’re looking to race without walking, your training should be geared towards minimising walk breaks as quickly as you can. If you’re going for a particular time then you need to organise your schedule to include a little more interval or hill training to help you quickly develop faster basic speed.

4. Prepare your support team

Decide if you’d like to run your first 5K on your own or if you’d prefer to have company. The same goes for your training. Sometimes it’s good to run alone: to focus on the activity, how you’re moving, and what you’re feeling. At other times it’s nice to have company to distract you or to push you out of your comfort zone. You need to decide on the balance that suits you best so that your training partners or team can be there for you when you need them, or know when to leave you to your own devices when you don’t.

5. Enjoy yourself

While it’s great to have specific objectives for events, it’s also really important to enjoy your training and yourraces, so don’t worry too much if you need to adjust your carefully drawn up plans along the way. It’s much better to have a flexible approach than to obsess about the perfect outcome at the cost of living a happy, balanced routine.


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Tips for runners

When you think recovery, think of 'The Four R's':

• Rehydrate - Replace fluid losses by drinking at regular intervals throughout the day.

• Repair - Eat 20g of protein soon after exercise to kick start muscle repair.

• Refuel - Eat carbohydrates to help restore energy - a minimum of 1g per kilogram bodyweight is a good general guide.

• Rest - Get a good night's sleep - this is when most of your muscle repair will occur.

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