As you get older frequent exercise grows much more important. Muscle wastage will take place as we get older because our metabolism slows down. In other words we consume less calories. This means that even if we don't eat any more gradual weight gain is unavoidable and we start to pile on the extra pounds.

This additional weight your gaining is slow but relentless. If you'd all of a sudden piled on 20 pounds you'd notice it straight away but one or two pounds a year is easily overlooked. That weight you put on while on holiday never seems to go away like it used to and your clothes appear to be getting smaller!

You decide enough is enough and start an work out program. As part of your program you start running or jogging. At first you don't have a problem but after a couple of months the front of your shins become uncomfortable. Chances are you have Shin Splints.

I used to have a pony when I was younger so I knew about Shin Splints. If you ride a pony on very hard ground the chances are he'll develop splints. Splints can leave a pony lame for months and I'm afraid Shin Splints in humans have the same result.

I love to run and use it as my primary method of keeping fit. Imagine my horror when after a short distance I started to get a dull ache down the front of my legs. At the beginning I put it down to my age and just kept running trusting it would go away after I'd warmed up a bit.

It didn't. The pain got worse and worse, until I was close to tears. I kept stopping and rubbing my shins, but it didn't help, and I eventually had to give up and hobble home " fed up to the back teeth and as bad-tempered as a weasel. When I rested for a day or two, the pain went, but it came back as soon as I tried again.

You would think that if you had Shin Splints you had a Splint. Not so, Shin Splints refers to an overuse of the long muscles down the front of your lower legs. The muscles get overused and get inflamed - this is what causes the pain. I learned all this when I trained as a sports therapist and I've also discovered how to treat them.