Shin Splints

[jlorino]

Hey guys I've been running lately and I get pains in my shins commonly known as shin splints. I was wonder what I could do about this?

Thanx

[c8rsa]

All you can do is rest

[bazerk]

Stretch! It actually starts in the socket of you ankle. Stretch the calve and do the opposite stretch to get the shin. My P.T. also has me stretch out my hips. Hope this helps, it has helped me slightly. But then again I favor the Liptacal (sp) machines because they are a lower impact machine.

[daveshenchman]

Is it the bone or your anteriors? If its yr ants, strengthen them.

[Doc.Sust]

some people have succes with taping the shins, but others do not, try lower impact cardio like walking, biking,swimming or the eliptical

[jlorino]

ya i think i will just bike or swim i cant stand the splints....thanks

[industywetrusty]

I use to be bad shin splints from running, and playin basketball at the courts outside... Its because I lacked my disopline to stretch before I did these activities. One thing a trainer did was tell me to do this..
1.) take a dixie cup or a paper cup. fill it up with water.
2.) Put it in the Freezer
3.) when it is frozen peel the cup about an 2 inches from the top.
4.) press the ice hard up against the shin and up and down it for about 8 minutes. This helped me.
It takes time for shin splints to hear, the way the trainer explained it to me is that its the muscle pulling away from the bone slightly... The ice thing really helped though.
try running on a treadmill the impact doesnt put as much strain on your muslces, but if you have shin splints not your gonna have to use an eliptical or something, I used a stair master and a bike as well...

[industywetrusty]

ya i think i will just bike or swim i cant stand the splints....thanks

I used to tape them all up and down my legs tight, it looked like a cast haha, but that was because I was still competeing on a basketball team and i needed to, I would only tape if you are competeing in something an you need to. I had shin splints so bad my legs would give out sometimes when I went for a lay up... it sucked

[biggen]

people say resting and stretching, but sometimes you cant rest, so stretch, and take 800mg ibuprofin it keeps the inflamation down and helps stop the muscle from tearing off the bone it is essential. i had them so bad i actualy began to develop stress fractures on my tibia. i had softball sizre lups comming out of the sides of my shins. it was so painful. also i bagan to tape my shins very tightly just around the front, and wrap them with ace bandages around the bottoms about halfway up. this regiment actualy let my legs heal even though they were not given the proper rest. it took several months though good luck

[industywetrusty]

[QUOTE=biggen] i had them so bad i actualy began to develop stress fractures on my tibia[/B].
Samet thing here i had a stress fracture in the same place it sucked I almost missed out on playin my last year of highschool of highschool lacrosse...

[smeyers]

I definatly agree with what everyone has said, stretching the tibialis anterior, (the muscle on top of your shin), and calves, (make sure to do stretches with the leg bent -soleus emphasis, and straight - gastroc emphasis), and strengthen those ant. tibs, (dorsi flexion excercises). If you have time definatly stretch the whole lower body as well, different muscles pull the pelvis in different directions, which is good prevention if your running a lot, so you don't possibly exaserbate your skin splints or run into other problems as the result of muscle imbalance or overuse.....I.T. band, Hip flexors, etc. Remember rule of thumb is stretchng b/f your activity is too prevent injury, while stretching after your activity is too improve flexibility gains,....also if your up too it, (being that it's getting hotter out), if you have a heat pad to put on the muscles your stretchng after your workout, that will also aide in improving flexibility gains.

Many times shin splints come on from the result of over doing it, ..too much too soon, or just excessive over training. Refer to Wolfe's Law - Bone remodels to the stress impossed on it. Meaning build up too it. Like everyone was saying low or no impact, but slowly build up and go for softer surfaces if possible. You'll see this in the armed forces a lot in boot camp, guys are coming in not used to the amount of running they do and thus you have a lot of guys end up getting shin splints.

Also if you go to a decent store that specializes in running shoes, sometimes they do gait analysis,....I perfer stores that have you doing it closer to real time......on a treadmill........something to consider in the future when your buying new shoes.

[Duck of Death]

...change your shoes - definitely. I had the same problem years ago....changed from Puma to New Balance....... Voila!! Problem solved.

[bda2424]

running in the grass or any softer surfaces that keep impact low helped me

[diponyou]

i used to get real bad shin splints then i bouhgt some better shoes and just stretched really good before workouts.worked for me

[mcpeepants]

i've been getting light shin splints for the past couple days. i think it might be my boots causing it to be inflamed.

[DamnYouMSN]

i used to get really bad shin splints when i first started playing basketball... pretty much the only thing you can do is just use one of those heat/cold pads after or just work through the pain. you'll get used to running and the pain won't be as bad. i just realized that when i play basketball it doesn't hurt. only if i were to get tapped it'll sting like a bitch.

[godkilla]

i think water retention plays a role in shin splints, mine seems to get worse on cycle...there is no way i could run for an hr on test deca and dbol thats for sure

[sheltonn]

I went to a foot doctor for mine. He suggested frequently changing my running shoes (already knew that) and also custom insoles. He gave me some generic insoles to see if they helped. I used to swell up so bad in my lower legs that I could not move my ankle. It used to happen in 2 minutes on a treadmill. The generic insoles got me to 5 minutes. I go in for casting of my custom insoles today. Wish me luck.

[animator]

When I was in the military my shins hurt so bad that touching them while washing was excruciating pain. There were no fractures. I talked to a running geek (one of those 6 foot tall 160 pound skinny types). He took me to the running store, switched to New Balance and I haven't had a shin splint for years. They have special shoes just for that. I tried the stretching, making the alphabet with my feet, all that nonsense. I was miserable until I switched to the right shoe.

[Act of God]

...change your shoes - definitely. I had the same problem years ago....changed from Puma to New Balance....... Voila!! Problem solved.

+1 People who run need REAL running shoes. **** Nike/Adidas/Puma, go with NB, Saucony or Asics


Also, I had shin splints BAD (triple jumper, long jumper, 100m). The foot doctor found that my feet were flat and I got orthotics. The pain, along with my lower back pain, literally went away so fast my head spun

[animator]

Isn't it a beautiful thing when that pain stops !