Getting Checked – Is it Necessary?

Getting Checked – Is it Necessary?

Hello everyone,

Thanks a ton for the feedback provided on my first blog – “It’s fun to run”. Appreciate the time taken by each one of you to read. It was heartening to see many leave a comment for me either on Facebook or on the blog.

So, here I am with my second article. This is about the first point mentioned in “It’s fun to run” – Visit your doctor.

So, when I tell many of my friends, who want to take up running or our new trainees in RunBurn Coaching to go and visit a doctor before we actually start training – more often than not they say – I am fit, why should I visit any doctor.

Now, there are two scenarios in which a person is going start a fitness regime – either walking/running or going to gym.

1. He/she has been advised by a doctor to take up some kind of exercise
2. Self-realization or peer/friends’ pressure

If your reason to start exercising is the first one – then you have already done with your visit and the doctor would have advised what care you need to take.

If your reason is second – you should definitely go and visit your family doctor and inform/seek advice on your intention of taking up this new change in your lifestyle.

The reasons why you should do so are as follows:

1. It is safe – while generally exercising is one of the best thing for mind and body, it is good to seek advice from a medical practitioner. It is always a safe step. Like it is always said - prevention is better than cure. Your doctor may do some general medical check up and tell you if you are good to go. That visit may not necessarily yield anything negative and if at all any, the doctor will be very happy to hear this positive change that you are about to bring in your lifestyle. In most cases the doctors have sent the patients back with huge dose of motivation and this is very helpful for beginners.
2. What are we trying to avoid – By visiting the doctor, what we are trying to avoid is a cardiovascular event – an attack or stroke. No, I am not trying to scare anyone here, but there have been enough instances of people complaining of various things like dizziness and breathlessness. To avoid any sort of complication, it is best to see the doc before you start.
3. It becomes even more important if one has had a history of any heart condition or have shown symptoms of one. Examples of heart conditions could be – heart rhythm issues, any infections, any congenital heart condition (condition from birth).
4. If you are diabetic, it is a must for you to meet your doctor and mention to him/her about taking up exercise. It is also important that you let your coach (if any) know that you are diabetic. Reason – as you progress in to long distance running, you may be advised to take isotonic energy drinks by your coach to fuel yourself during the run. It is important at that point of time to know what suits you best.
5. You should definitely visit the doctor, if there is a family history of blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease etc

Having said that if you decide to start exercise and then figure out if there is a need to visit the doctor, you should definitely consider going and seeing your family doctor if you have complaints like unexplained chest pain, dizziness, loss of balance, anything that you think is not normal. Inform this to your coach immediately and take a break from exercise till you don’t see the doctor.

It is also very important that you go for an annual health check-up. Most of the times, once we take up running and start burning the asphalt with a lot of KMs, we assume that we are fit. Which may not necessarily be the case. You should talk to your doctor or your coach and ask them to prescribe a list of check-ups that you should undergo each year. Post these tests, show the reports to your doctor, and ask if there is anything to take care of.

We have seen many cases of runners collapsing during a run or during a marathon event. Many a times the sport is blamed for such instances. The Prestitutes immediately make a sensational headline – “runner collapses before the finish line – is it safe to run?” – without fully knowing that there may have been pre health conditions that the runner has ignored.

So, all you aspiring runners out there, go and meet your doctor, before you take your first step. If you are already a runner, get into the habit of an annual check-up, it will help you to remain worry free and keep any kind of complication at bay.

And, Always remember this – It’s fun to run!!!