Foot Pain
To relieve pain on the heel or sole of your foot, roll the foot back and forth over a cold soft drink can. Better yet, freeze a paper cup filled with water and use that. Make sure to stretch your Achilles tendon regularly.
Avoid Lightning
If you hear thunder, it?s time to get off the golf course, get out of the water, or bring the boat to shore. When there?s 20 sec between flash and bang, the lightning is 4 miles away (5 sec/mi) and you should seek shelter.
If caught in the open in a lightning storm, stay away from solitary trees and poles, metal, including any you are wearing, water, and other people. Get to a ditch or low lying area and squat down until you?re sure the lightning is gone. Lightning likes to strike the highest thing around; don?t let it be you.
Headphone Warning
Only wear headphones jogging outdoors when you can be sure you won?t be surprised by a car or a suspicious character. Even in situations that seem safe, look around before turning or veering from a straight line to be sure someone you can?t hear won?t run into you. It may be best to save your music or tape listening for the treadmill or stationary bike.
Precautions for Sore Rotator Cuff
If you have shoulder/rotator cuff soreness, keep your hands where you can see them when working out. This means no behind the neck presses or pulldowns, no military presses, and no deep bench presses.
Shin Splints
To prevent shin splints, strengthen the front of your lower leg by lifting the side of a weight plate with your toes (heel on the ground) or walking around on your heels, then stretch your calves. If you have mild shin splints, cut back on your running, ice afterwards, and check that your shoes aren?t worn out. A severe case calls for time off running and a trip to the doc.
Leg Cramps
If leg cramps are a problem for you, try drinking 8 oz of tonic water daily. The quinine in it can help reduce the frequency of leg cramps.
Feeling Dizzy
If you feel dizzy during or after a workout or race, lie down. Do not sit or stand still. The cause may be minor, but if you stand or sit your blood pressure can fall dangerously low and cause you to faint.
Lying down will usually normalize your blood pressure, and also keep you from getting hurt if you fall. Check with a doctor after to identify the cause.
Ankle Sprain
Ankle sprains are the most common athletic injury and can recur because the ligaments, once stretched out, do not easily return to their original state. Make sure you do stretching and rehab after the injury to keep from spraining that ankle again. A few weeks off with proper rehab can keep the injury from hanging around for months, sometimes years.
Bending and Twisting
Twisting while you?re in a forward flexed position puts your back at risk for injury. Try to square up your feet with the load, even when lifting light weights or other implements, and lift heavy objects by bending your knees, not leaning over from your waist.
First Aid
Remember R.I.C.E.--rest, ice, compression, elevation--as first aid for joint and muscle injuries. Note that it's ice, not heat for the first 48 hours or as long as swelling is present. Even if you have an injury like a bad ankle sprain that requires medical attention, ice it right away, then go to the doctor, unless you can get to the doc in a few minutes.
Sunglasses
Take sunglasses and sunscreen when you go to the mountains as well as the beach, and any time you will be outdoors exercising in the snow. Also use as necessary when working out even in your front yard.
Hold the Massage
Avoid massage the first few days after an acute injury. Massage can further damage injured tissue. When swelling and discoloration subside, massage may help recuperation.
Ice Massage
Use ice massage for shin splints or other hard-to-icebag areas. Freeze some water in a heavy paper or styrofoam cup. Peel back the top of the cup to expose the ice and hold the cup. Rub ice lightly over the sore area.
Blister Prevention
Blisters may seem minor, but a bad one can cause you to miss days of training. When you find, say, a new shoe starting to rub, cover the area with a band-aid or moleskin before a blister develops. Then attend to the problem with the shoe.
Exercise for Back Pain
Much chronic back pain is caused by poor posture and weak muscles. Both aerobic exercise, especially walking, and strength training, especially for your back and abs, will help prevent back injury. (Check with your doctor to make sure there isn?t some other cause for your back pain.)