Shin Splints

Stretch, stretch, stretch. Also, it is best to let your muscles heal instead of running through an injury (I've done a lot of research on shin splints).

Rest doesn't work for me. Last year I was running a bit till the splints hit me. I took a year in between runs, yet they returned. What kind of stretches are you talking about?

Try ice massage. Freeze water in a Dixie cup, and peel down the top of the cup so that the ice is exposed. Massage the affected area for 5 minutes at a time, 3x a day.

Also, back off on your training until the pain subsides, and make sure you're in the right shoes. If you have flat feet, you need motion control shoes. If you have high arches, you need cushioned shoes. Normal arches? Stability shoes. Hope this helps.

Jim
Augusta

Calf stretches. Make sure that you are getting a really good stretch before and after your run.

Not in any particular order...

- Shoes?
- Biomechanical Issues?
- Stride length/speed/technique?

A little more info please... I'm in no way a running expert, but I used to get really bad shin splints. I took care of the issues above and haven't had any issues since. Excruciating pain (that isn't due to reaching the limits of strength or endurance) is usually an indication that you doing something wrong, right?

-Frank

Shoes - new balance running shoes
biomechanical - I don't know, I just run.
stride, lenght, technique - I run slowly, with a short-ish stride.

I don't think I don anything out of the ordinary, but never have been evaluated by a professional.

How old are the shoes? Did you get your stride evaluated so that you knew you were getting the right shoes? Do you have flat feet? Are the shin splints on the inside or the outside of you shins? Are you increasing mileage according to the 10% rule--or slower?

What is the 10% rule?

Age of shoes.....ok, I admit about three years.
I haven't been eva;uated. I don't think such a thing exists in my neck of the woods. Splints are on front and back of legs. Come to think of it, it's just one big pain pool between my knees and ankles. I have been progressing at less than the 10% rule.

I agree with all the advice given. I was a full time dancer in college and danced some 12 hours a day. I got shin splints so bad I was laided out on my bed for 3 weeks, during that time I was told to alternate hot water and cold water. What I did was get two buckets of water, one cold and the other hot (don`t burn yourself though). Then I would put my leg into the cold and leave it there for 30 seconds then straight away put it in the hot...do that about 6 times. I would do that at least 3 times a day. Other good advice is when you are resting get your legs up above your heart, while watching tv or in bed, lie down on the floor and put your feet up against the wall for 20 min, let the blood flow downwards. I know how painfull it is, look after you legs because belive me it can get worse to the point of not even being able to walk. Rub some heat rub into them before you go to bed as well.
good luck, and congrats on the running times you have made.

Thanks to all for the ideas and encouragement!

Also a couple times during the day, "spell" the alphabet with your foot on each leg. That is, trace each letter with your big toe all the way through the alphabet. This strengthens the shin and the ankle, which helped me cut down on my shin splits. After that, rest and ice. Do not run through them; that just pisses them off. And new shoes! Go to a local running store and have them watch you walk/run to see what kind of shoes you need.

I did all these things and haven't suffered from shin splints in a couple years.


amanda

Don't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% per week. For instance

Week 1- 10 miles (but don't start at 10 miles per week if you're a complete beginner

Week 2- 11 miles

Week 3- 12.1

Week 4- 13.3

....

Week 10- 23.6 miles

But think of 10% as the absolute maximum increase rather than the norm....

Buy new shoes, at a real running store. If you have to drive a ways to get to one it's totally worth it. And don't do ANYTHING but run in those shoes.

If that and a couple weeks of rest doesn't fix ya up, try exercises, form modifications (ChiRunning or Pose Method), go to a physical therapist and/or a podiatrist.

I just got done with some PT for my shin splints.

After several months of pain, I finally broke down and visited my podiatrist. According to her, skin splints were not caused by a biomechanial problem with my feet but because my hip muscles were weaker than my leg muscles so my calf muscles were being slightly overused in order to make up for the weak hip. She advised me to rest for a while and each night do an ice massage (similar to the one discussed above with the dixie cup). She also gave me a band and advised me to work on stretching and strenghting my calf and leg muscles as well as stability with several exercises. I have the sheets with pictures and descriptions so if you are interested I can email them to you. In addition, to all this I underwent several combo (ultrasound/electro stim) sessions with a PT. They helped greatly. I think between the rest and the combo sessions helping to loosen the muscle, the shin splints finally went away!! Three months and no pain!! Hopefully, I can stay healthy and injury free as I am beginning to increase my mileage again.

deanna

Wow, 3 year old shoes? I would go to a reputable running store (take your old shoes with you) and get some new ones. I demolished a pair last year in about 300 miles and I only used them for running, but then again, I'm a big guy. Look into something like ChiRunning (worked for me) or POSE (never tried it, but it sounds similar - there are people here at BT that have used it successfully too) for help with technique. Not sure what your story is, but when I started to run last year - OK, jog/walk - I ran the same way I had been taught to run in school. The biggest stride you can manage, lots of heel strike, and as much toe-off as you can do. While that might be great for the 100M dash, it certainly didn't cut it for me. At the time I was 378 pounds and half a mile would kill me. I've 'fixed' my issues and even though I'm not that fast yet, I've worked up to a 5.2 mile run as my longest run and feel that I can do more without hurting myself.

Good luck to you!

-Frank

As everyone else has said, rest (don't run through shin pain) ice, stretching (not just your calves but your entire lower body including your hips) and NEW RUNNING SHOES should help quite a bit (never wear running shoes more than 6 months or a year tops). Since your shin splints recur you might want to see a podiatrist about getting orthotics. These will correct any alignment problems you might have in your feet which are putting too much pressure on your shins. And depending on which kind you get, they can also provide cushioning above and beyond what your shoes provide.

And I agree whole-heartedly with those who mentioned ChiRunning. Great great book. Part of it focuses on relaxing your lower legs when you run, and the miracle is, if you keep your lower legs totally relaxed, your shins don't hurt! I swear, its true!

This user's post has been ignored.

I've been plagued by shin splints many times. I've read all the responses by others, and its all great. Here is what worked for me. Ice for immediate relief, ultrasound for healing, shoes that have plenty of cushioning, and finally massage. I've read about the biomechanical causes of shin splints. The problem is not the shin, but the muscles of the soleus(below the calf muscle) that actually run into the shin area. This muscle gets very tight and pulls on the shin area causing pain. If you can manipulate the trigger point in the soleus, you can get immediate relief. You also need to massage this area. You can try a tennis ball, but in my experience the tpmassgeball works much better, and lasts longer. For more info, go to www.tpmassageball.com.

More on the shoe thing, if you are overweight and a heel striker, you will go through shoes quicker than you would normally. It is one thing for a pair of size 10's to take 250 pounds of pounding in the heel section than it is for the same pair of shoes to take the pounding of a 150 pound guy that is a mid-sole/toe striker. 300 miles is a good number, but as I'm overweight, I've found that 250 miles is better for me. You gotta find what works for you, 3 years is waaaay to long to not change-up the shoes, ESPECIALLY if your are a heel striker.

You might also be putting to much time/mileage on at once. I started up walking 4 minutes running 1 minute for the first 2 weeks. Then the next week walking 3:30 Running 1:30, for 2 weeks and so on. In 5 minute intervals like that of 30 minutes till you can run a straight 30 minutes without hurting. Strecth a lot also. I'm up to about 1 hour now of straight running with 8:30 second miles. In about 6 - 7 months now, started around 10:30 miles.

My point is I had really bad shin splints and stopped and started my training all over building up my leg and shin muscles by doing this program. Still I am gradually increasing my time or length every couple weeks.

I 've been through shin splint hell... Try adding mileage very slowly (your body may adapt), warm up loooooooooong (a couple of miles at least) before any speedwork, ibuprofin before any speedwork, ASIC Kayanos, and...

Bioskin shin splint compression sleeves...I just started wearing them a couple of months ago, and I think they are helping. They are a VERY tight sleeve (made to keep the muscle from tearing away from the bone) that you wear on your shins while you run, and/or at other times. They are similar to wrapping your shins, but easier, and they stay in place, wraps don't. Available online, just search "bioskin" and shin sl=plint compression sleeve". PM me if you have trouble finding them. They may be my Godsend.

YES--shin compression sleeves ROCK. I love them. I've been wearing them for years (since I was about 15) anytime I do any running (including playing soccer or tennis). The ones I have used are Chopat:
http://www.muellersportsmed.com/shinchopatsplintcompressionsleeve.h...
http://supports4less.com/chopat/shinsupports/cho-pat-shinsplints-su...

Honestly, they've helped me more than orthotics ever did. I guess I never mention them when making reccomendations for shin splint treatments because they look a little dorky, so I am always convinced no one would want to wear them.

Not an expert but I have heard that imbalanced leg muscles can also cause shin splints.  Leg curls and leg extionsions can help balance you leg muscles.