Listening to our bodies

A few blog posts ago I wrote on avoiding injury when exercising and offered some of my own tips. I happened to read an interesting article on a NY Times blog ("That Little Voice Inside that Twinge", by Gina Kolata) that speaks to the difficulty of "listening to your body." I thought it was pretty good and so posted it here.

My only real concern with the article involves its exclusive focus on long-distance running and marathon running. At the risk of annoying my many marathon-running friends, I wonder if long-distance running is more prone than other exercise routines to causing short-term and long-term injury. Not that people shouldn't run long-distance or do marathons - I do think people have different motivations and goals. Personally I've avoided running altogether due to worry that it causes knee problems and because there are healthy alternatives.

Hypochondria kicks in

Funny that I should start a health blog and immediately have a health problem! Yesterday, or the day before, I noticed a cut on my finger that seemed a little more severe than what I am used to. This morning when I woke up, it looked a little red and puffier than before and hurt a little. Of course the hypochondriac in me kicked in, and immediately I thought about searching the Internet for answers and calling my medical parents - my mom's a nurse and my dad's a retired physician. I can't have an infection now! In just a day I'm heading to Chicago by train for the Chicago Blues Festival!