Whether you are an avid exerciser, an exuberant shopper, or a small child chaser, you have probably felt tightening and burning in your shin at one point in your life. Sometimes, the pain stops when the activity ceases, but other times the pain remains. If shin pain continues bothering you, it may be time to face the fact you have shin splints.

  The shin is a bone located in the front part of your lower leg. Shin splints commonly occur in athletes who have intensified or changed their training routines. They also show up in regular people who have changed or added activity to their routine.

  The shin has a lot of responsibility during exercise, as it absorbs the shock of the steps, raises the toes, and support the arch of the foot.

  A few main culprits play a part in shin splints:

•     failing to stretch properly before exercising
•     walking or running on hard surfaces, like pavement
•     wearing the wrong type of shoes during activity
•     over-exerting the body with strenuous activity
•     skipping periods of rest between exercise

  Individuals who perform any type of exercise should take appropriate measures to alleviate the above risk factors of shin splints. If you notice pain and soreness in the front part of your lower leg, know how to treat this injury properly.

  If rest and ice aren’t doing the job and you're still suffering pain, it's time to see a doctor. A thorough exam and possibly an x-ray will diagnose the problem.

  Chiropractic care is a powerful choice for treating shin splints and reducing their recurrence. Five significant ways chiropractic treatment benefits those suffering from shin splints are:

Reduction in pain

  Chiropractic is proven to relieve the pain associated with bodily injuries and medical conditions, including shin splints. Sometimes one visit is enough to relieve the pain, other times the pain decreases over a series of appointments. Being able to diminish a high degree of pain down to a manageable level is possible for shin splint patients through chiropractic.

Full body alignment

  The premise behind chiropractic is that it treats the body as a whole, and, in doing so, promotes healing and health to the injured or diseased areas. A chiropractor may work on your neck to help your calf. With shin splints, he or she may align your spine and joints to lessen the impact of activity on your shins. Again, the entire body is treated in order to create the best environment for health restoration.

Healing through adjustments

  Treating shin splints is a common procedure for chiropractors. Common practice is to adjust the calf, ankle, and foot to stretch and increase blood flow to the area.

Drug free treatment option

  A primary benefit of chiropractic care is it requires no over-the-counter or prescription drugs. Individuals who suffer from stomach issues, or simply prefer to avoid drugs, find chiropractic visits a productive alternative to manage pain and promote healing.

Strengthening exercises

  Chiropractors don't just treat the spine. Your Doctor of Chiropractic will set an overall plan of attack for optimal recovery when dealing with shin splints.

  It's routine for chiropractic treatment of shin splints to include a series of stretching and strengthening exercises the individual performs at home between visits. These exercises further expand on the positive effects of the chiropractic therapy.

  If you are one of the many people dealing with shin splints, don't despair! Consider chiropractic care as your main treatment option or in conjunction with other modes of treatment. Within a few visits, you will experience pain reduction, and enjoy a decreased risk of ever dealing with painful shin splints again.

  It's hard to turn on the television or cruise the internet without being bombarded with headlines about "Americans don't sleep enough" or "one third of adults are obese."

  While stress, heredity, and smoking are all factors that play into a person's well being, one of the biggest is a healthy diet. Choosing to eat healthy benefits the body in a number of key areas. Still gobbling up the pizza and slurping down the diet soda, unconvinced? See if these eight points about a healthy diet change your mind.

1. Strengthens and improves muscle function

  Healthy muscles carry us where we want to go. The right foods, along with proper exercise, build and maintain muscle mass, maintaining strength and mobility.

2. Promotes a longer life

  Feeding your body what it needs can add years to your life. Reducing stress is one way to promote health, and a healthy diet is another. Foods rich in minerals and vitamins build up every cell in your body, preparing it to fight illness and stay alive longer.

3. Enables richer years

  An individual who is healthy maintains a higher level of physical activity and brain function than their less healthy peers. A stronger body provides a richer life with more unique experiences.

4. Makes you prettier

  If you won't eat healthy for your insides, maybe a better outside will motivate some dietary changes. We all want to be physically attractive. Healthy foods contribute to clear skin and shiny hair that no amount of high priced beauty products provides. Fueling the body with rich omega fatty and other healthy foods nourishes skin, hair, and nails.

5. Makes you smarter

  Research shows certain dietary choices power up your brain to function at a higher level, and help everyday brain function. Introducing "brain foods" into your diet aid with memory retention and problem solving skills.

  This is one of the best reasons to commit to a healthy diet of vitamin-rich foods, as a healthy brain allows a much more active and independent lifestyle, from working longer to being able to drive.

6. Decreases your injury risk

  A high-functioning body with strong bones and muscles maintains balance, handles heavy loads, and holds up under stress better than its weaker counterparts. Muscles and bones lacking calcium and protein over time grow weaker.

  This, unfortunately, causes the body to be less stable and more prone to injury. Falls, slips, and twists end up with more serious injuries if a person's body isn't strong and healthy.

7. Fights bad genes

  If you are already worried about the cancer that runs on mom's side or the heart attack risk that runs on dad's side, take heart. While you can't change your DNA, you can use a healthy diet to combat some of your genetic disposition to disease.

  Ingraining a healthy diet into your life, as well as exercise and regular doctor checkups, helps minimize the risk of falling victim to your family's predisposed illnesses.

  If you end up with an illness, whether or not from heredity, a healthy diet....

8. Prepares you to fight illness

  A nutrient-rich diet boosts a person's immune system to be able to fight off infection and illness. When a person falls victim to a disease or other medical condition, their diet helps them fight it off so it hopefully doesn't get worse and is cured quickly.

  A healthy diet is integral to a long, happy life. Deciding to eat healthy and maintain that commitment consistently may seem like a big change in lifestyle at first, but it will benefit you and your loved ones in ways that are practically immeasurable.

  Few instances shatter our normal world into pieces more quickly than an automobile accident. Never expected, a wreck causes bodily injury, stress, and, in some cases, ongoing financial litigation issues.

  Unfortunately, the vast number of vehicles on the road today, as well as drivers' penchant for distracted driving, dramatically increases an individual's chances of being involved in a crash. If you already suffer from an injury or medical condition, you must do your part to ensure it is not aggravated or exacerbated.

If a car crash happens to you, it's essential to recognize and follow these six tips to keep you safe and your injuries to a minimum.

Immediately take stock of the situation

  The way you react seconds after a crash impacts the situation tremendously. Determine what area you are injured, and if you are in imminent danger in the vehicle.

  For example, if the automobile is on fire, or you are sinking into a lake, rescue yourself as quickly as possible. Otherwise, stay inside your vehicle.

Analyze your injured areas

  How injured do you appear to be? Keep in mind you are not a doctor. So, even if you feel fine, your neck or back could still have been impacted. Identify which areas of your body hurts, and the intensity of the pain.

Wait for the authorities

  Stay calm inside your vehicle and wait for the police and ambulance to arrive. This is imperative if your vehicle has flipped and you are hanging from your seat belt.

  Many head and neck injuries result from automobile occupants releasing their seat belts after a crash that has left them upside down.

Inform the emergency technicians

  Once help arrives, it's vital to explain to them, if you can, the areas of injury. If you have previously suffered from injury or medical condition to your neck, back, or spine, let them know that, too.

  This information helps them formulate the form of extraction and emergency treatment that minimizes the chance of creating further harm. Be calm and specific when you relay the information, using simple language and the 1-10 pain scale to describe your level of discomfort.

Visit your chiropractor

  If your injuries are deemed minimal and you are released, be happy and grateful that you were not hurt worse! Then, make an appointment with your chiropractor, and explain the nature of the wreck.

  Certain injuries take a few days to show up, and the crash could have impacted bones, joints, and ligaments that went undiscovered during the initial after-crash exam. Ask for a complete examination, and talk with your chiropractor about any treatment deemed necessary.

Minimize the chances of another automobile accident

  While you cannot control being in a wreck, you can take measures to guard against the occurrence, and give yourself a greater chance to avoid injury. Always wear your seat belt, avoid distracted driving (this means your cell phone), maintain your vehicle's brakes and tires, and understand the current traffic laws. Commit to driving at a safe speed depending on the weather conditions, and never, ever drive after imbibing alcohol.

  Being in an automobile accident is scary business, and we hope it never happens to you. There is increased risk to individuals who already deal with medical conditions or bodily injuries from sports, work, or falls.

  However, by maintaining a clear head and following these six tips, you can minimize the chance of being seriously injured in many car wreck situations and return to your normal life quickly, putting this awful incident behind you.