One of my yoga students asked me an interesting question after class Thursday evening. She’s taken up breakdancing (it’s a natural fit with yoga!) and is finding her forearms aren’t recovering well. “Is it possible,” she asked, “to have shin splints in your arms?”
Indeed it is, and as another of my breakdancing yoginis added (yes, two in one class), you can push yourself into a stress fracture. The shin splints feeling is a sign that you’re applying too much stress without enough time for absorption.
It’s good to notice this pain and to heed it, so you can ward off a serious injury. Slot in an extra day or two of rest between sessions that stress the forearms (or the shins), and if they are in pain, you can ice them. Beware pain that becomes localized to one particular spot; that can be the sign of a stress fracture.
Much, much more on recovery appears in The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery, which is shipping to bookstores near you right this minute! You can still get the preorder price guarantee at Amazon.