A Busy Weekend.

I'll be out of the office this weekend providing care at the last 5 Peaks race @ Buntzen and the inaugural Suburu Vancouver Half Iron & Sprint Triathlon. See you at the races.

Congratulations!

Congrats to two of our patients representing Canada at upcoming events in September. Katie Tongue will be representing our nation at the World Mountain Running Trophy in Switzerland. Kim Ross is travelling to Italy for the World Masters track & field championships. Early this month, Kim won 2 medals at the U.S. Masters track & field championships in Maine. Way to go!

We're at Whistler this Saturday.

I'll be out of the clinic Friday (Aug.24) and Saturday (Aug.25). Sorry for the inconvenience. We'll be providing soft tissue treatments at the 5 Peaks -Whistler event. For all the patients running in the event, we'll see you up there.

A.R.T. @ Runway Half & 8k

We'll be at the Runway Half Marathon & 8K providing soft tissue therapy for the runners. It's August 12th in Pitt Meadows. Go to runwayhalf.com for more information and registration. One of the charities being supported is Athletes in Kind. It'll be a great race for a great cause.

5 Peaks @ Mt. Seymour

It was misty and the flies were swarming. Another great day for trail running! Over 500 turned out to run the courses at Mt. Seymour last Saturday(July 28th). In the A.R.T. tent, we treated many strained calves, tight ITB's and pulled hammies. It was great to see so many of our patients out there, some for the first time. Lana A. finished 1st female overall in the Enduro and Christine R. was in the top 10. Congrats to Ian T., Britt A. Todd U., Ardeth W., Patty A. & Jenn C. for a great job on the Enduro. In the Sport course, Yun C. finished 3rd in her age group. Eleanor P. won her age group, AGAIN! See you @ Whistler in August.

Oh yeah, congrats to Jinah & Mimi Kim on their races.

There are two events left in the series (Whistler & Buntzen). Avoid disappointment and register today. Visit 5Peaks.com

Pro-Series Run Clinic with Leah Pells.

Athletes in Kind is presenting their newest Pro-Series Run Clinic featuring Leah Pells (www.pellsrunningclinic.com). Leah is an elite athlete, great motivator and the most down to earth person you'll meet.

10K Faster with Leah Pells

3x Canadian Olympian

Writer

Mom

Saturday, September 22, 2007

10-1pm

Coquitlam Town Centre Track

registration starts July 16th

@ the Runner's Den, Port Moody

for more info & athlete profiles, go to

www.athletesinkind.com

Congratulations!

Some recent results by patients:

Katie Tongue was invited to compete for a place on the Canadian National Trail Running Team (6K under 19y). Her time at the last 5 Peaks event was enough for the invitation by the Canadian Trail & Mountain Running Association. Best of Luck to Katie at the nationals in Canmore, July 28. The worlds are in Switzerland in September.

Eric Muller was the overall sport course winner (32:11) at the last 5 Peaks event @ Buntzen.

James Fry was 2nd overall in the sprint course (1:08:09) of the Cultus Lake Triathlon, May 13.

At the BC Athletics Masters Track & Field Championships, June 15- 17, Warren McCulloch won the 400m & 800m. Kim Ross won the 100m, 200m and anchored a relay team (4x100m) that set a Canadian record of 54.9sec

Nancy Tinari was 8th overall & 2rd female (37:24) at the HBC Run for Canada 10k, July 1st.

Athletes In Kind

Our clinic is proud to be a sponsor of Athletes in Kind (http://www.athletesinkind.com/).

"Our goal is to lessen the financial burdens that come with the battle against cancer. We support the emergency Aid Program through the Canadian Cancer Society and the B.C. Childhood Cancer Parents Association through the Children's Hospital to provide practical support to families in need."

Please help Lorie and AIK achieve their goals. Our clinic hopes to support their many events throughout the year. Go to (http://www.athletesinkind.com/) for more information about AIK and future events. Our good friend Leah Pells (http://www.pellsrunningclinic.com/) will be leading their next Pro-Series Run Clinic "10km Faster" on September 22nd.

Vancouver Open Water Swim Association (VOWSA)

We are proud to now be a sponsor of VOWSA. Since 1991, VOWSA has been holding their open water swim events. Every Canada Day, it's held @ Sasamat Lake. Like last year, we'll be there providing Soft Tissue Therapy on site. Please go to their website(www.vowsa.bc.ca) for details.

5 Peaks @ Buntzen

June 2, 2007

Due to snow, the Cypress event was relocated to Buntzen. The sun came out as over 500 participants ran the course. Again, many of our patients did great, some placing in their age group. We're especially proud of our patients trying trail running for the first time. By the end of it, my thumbs were sore and my table was muddy. The next one is Seymour in July. If you haven't tried a trail event yet, I encourage you to try the 5 Peaks. 5peaks.com

Shin Splints

Our good friend, Leah Pells, writes a bi-monthly column for a local paper. She recently asked me some questions about shin splints. By the way, if you want a great workout, join Leah's clinic Thursday nights. Go to pellsrunningclinic.com for more info about her and her clinic.


Shin Splints: what are they and why do I have them?

As a new runner you may hear more experienced runners refer to shin splints. What are they and why do some runners get them?
For this article I have interviewed Grant Kim. Grant is a local chiropractor who practices A.R.T, active release techniques. Which as a runner seems to be a crucial part of staying injury free. I have been treated by Grant several times and the A.R.T does make a huge difference to the health of a runner, as none of us like to be injured.

What are shin splints?

Grant describes shin splints as overuse of the tibialis anterior (shin muscle) that leads to the deposit of adhesions or scar tissue in the fibers of the muscle. A runner will feel pain in the front of the shin bone. When there is scar tissue the muscle is less able to contract and lengthen properly. If a runner continues to run on shin splints the pain will increase, and the muscle will start to pull away from the bony attachment along the tibia. Left untreated a stress fracture could develop. Once you have shin pain its best to stop running and seek treatment.

Why do runners get shin splints?

Many new runners are susceptible to shin splints as well as veteran runners who have increased their mileage. The reason being is, a person may go from little stress of when they are not running, to much more stress of running. Or an advanced runner may increase their mileage too quickly and thus increase the stress on the shins. Any change to fitness needs to be added in slowly as to not over stress the body and let the body deal with the gradual adaptation of stress. Once you have shin splints time off will reduce the pain, but you will need to be treated. Active release will help to remove the scar tissue that has developed.

How do we treat and prevent shin splints?

Treatment involves icing, physiotherapy, massage and stretching. A runner will need to reduce mileage or stop running. Sometimes a biomechanical imbalance such as pronation will need to be addressed. Grant states that in his clinic “we have found that shin splints may also respond well to Active Release Techniques (A.R.T). A.R.T is a manual therapy that finds and breaks down the scar tissue associated with overuse and repetitive stress injuries.” A certified provider (usually a chiropractor, physiotherapist or massage therapist) manually releases the adhesions in the affected soft tissues. “For shin splint pain, the quadriceps, hip flexors, gluteals, hamstrings and calf would also be evaluated and treated. This is a good way to prevent future problems.

Tips for new runners:

Always start with new runners, as many injuries can be prevented with good shoes. Get your shoes fitted properly at a running shoe stored and build up your mileage slowly. Often running clinics can be very helpful as they have good programs to help you increase your mileage safely.
Most of all, prevention. See a health care professional, preferably one who deals with runners.
Take good care of your body and it will carry you over many enjoyable miles.

To contact Grant Kim you can reach him at his website at: www.spineandsport.ca, or you can call him at: (604) 944-8466. To find a local A.R.T chiropractor in your area you can go to: www.activerelease.com

Have a great run.
Cheers,
Leah

www.pellsrunningclinic.com

May 6th - Vancouver International Marathon

What an awesome day. We're very proud of our patients who took part in the half and full events. For many of whom, it was their first one - including our own Jinah.

5 Peaks @ Golden Ears

Due to snow, the next 5 Peaks event (June 2nd) at Cypress Mountain will be held at Buntzen Lake. Please go to 5 Peaks website for further info.

We were at the first of the 5 Peaks races in Golden Ears Park on April 28th. The races seem to be more popular than ever. Congrats to our patients who competed.

In the Enduro event, Katie T. finished 1st in her age group, James F. finished 2nd and Helen Y. finished 4th. Todd U., Britt A. and Patty A. also ran a great race. In the Sport event, Jim & Elenor P. won their age groups. Jenny T., Marc A., Jenn C. and Kate A. ran competitively.

5 Peaks

It's that time of year again! The 5 Peaks Trail Running Series kicks off its exciting season on April 28th. We'll be there throughout the series providing Soft Tissue Therapy to the participants (up to 600 per race this year!). It was a blast last year. This year should prove to be even better. Visit 5peaks.com for more information about this very well organized series.

Some pics from last year:

For more information about Soft Tissue treatment (A.R.T.), visit:

Run the Ridge

The rain stopped for the inaugural Run the Ridge 5K/10K in Maple Ridge, March 25, 2007. We were there to provide Soft Tissue Therapy for the runners pre and post race. Our good friend Leah Pells was beside us in the IronAde tent. For event info and complete results, see runtheridge.com

Some of our patients ran great races. Nancy Tinari finished the 10K in 37:40, 4th female and 1st masters female overall. Warren McCulloch finished 12th overall with a fast 35:10. Helen Yuen also ran a great race with a 43:30. Our own Jinah finished at 49:09. Thanks to Greg Clark and West Coast Racing for inviting us. It was a very well organized event and I encourage all our runners to "run the ridge" next year.