Thursday, 24 September 2009
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A Problem with Shin Splints
As a runner, I've experienced my own share of shin splints. But every time I have a bout of shin splints, I just ignore them and continue to head out for my run. I've never gotten injuried and I don't think of them as anything major.
However, a friend of mine has just recently joined a cross-country team and he is experiencing shin splints. He wants to know if he should be running through them, and orgininally I told him that shin splints were normal and nothing to worry about. Now I am starting to regret telling him my opinion!
Upon Googling "shin splints," I realized many people see them as gateways to stress fractures. Many also suggest that one should rest and ice the shin area.
Are shin splints really that serious? Have you ever had them before? Should one rest, or is it okay to continue with normal training?
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- From: JoeytheGenie@xanga
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Comments (19)
I use to get shin splints all the time when I first started training... At a point where I couldn't even walk.. I've done all the pre warm up excercises.. And it still hurt... The only way to stop it is to rest.. But if you're like me sitting still is not an option...
So I recommend this remedy, a calf compression sleeve from Senzah, it has reinforceed cehvron ridges on the front to support your shins, and unique stitching on the back for improved blood flow for you calfs.
You can wear it during work outs...
http://www.zensah.com/calf-sleeve.html
Hope this helps :)
i've had them before and they hurt really bad like your bones are breaking. best to do is ice and stay off them as much as possible... mostly because of the pain.
I would get a calf sleeve for support.
I would also make sure you have good running shoes. Make sure the shoes are still shock absorbent on the kind of track you run on most of the time.
I would learn to be aware of my running technique.
If your friend has the option (which I doubt as they are on a team) I would vary the type of surface they are running on and try to avoid running on concrete or asphalt so much. I find that I get them when I run on concrete if I don't pay attention to my footing when I am running.
TOT: This has nothing to do with the post but I can't stop laughing at how the women is holding her calf and not her shin.
Oh I've had them alright. It was because I sprinted a lot like everyday. I guess you shouldn't push your body like that? but I felt so good after a good sweat that I just ignored them. Nothing serious ever happened from it and they went away but I had stopped sprinting as much and now the only harm done is I am slower and less athletic. Damn I miss running. If you want to stay athletic I suggest doing more of a warmup when you feel shin splints coming on. I hate that I stopped.
When I first started running regularly, I got pretty bad shin splints, but after a few months they've progressively gotten better. The best way is to get some rest, and reduce the miles you run. Do the proper stretches such as dorsal flexion and plantar flexion stretches. Ice it and elevate after running. Make sure proper shoes are used as they play a big role. Basically its because the muscles are tightening up and so you need to aleviate that problem. If it was a stress fracture, the pain should be throughout the entire run, but if its just shin splints, after the first mile or so, the pain should subside as the muscles start to loosen up.
Just a cautionary tale..
As something of a sport addict, at college I was told I had shin splints after experiencing agonising pain up my shin on foot/landing impact.
I was told to REST in no uncertain terms, to elevate my legs and to use ice to relieve pain and any inflammation. The REST bit being the most crucial part of these instructions. I kind of rested...a bit.... But my need to get back to road running, my netball team and back in training for trampolining competitions meant that I really didn't rest enough.
The pain continued...and got worse until I could barely walk. I had an x-ray and it was at that point that I really got my wake-up call. I had stress-fractures in both tibias and was told if I continued doing as much sport as I was (particularly high-impact..like..everything I was doing-DOH!), then it would take very little for my legs to literally snap
....I was out of action for months..although I admit I didn't totally stop.
It was eventually ascertained that I had flat feet that were effecting my gait, pretty much warping my bones as I put more weight through one side of my foot than the other. You can see this in the soles of my footwear, where the pressure has worn down one side and not the other.
Shin splints are often the result of over-exercising, high-impact sports and an innate weakness (like my flat feet). I'd suggest anyone to get a thorough exam/x-rays etc to rule out underlying causes. I eventually got some insoles for my shoes to even out the impact across the whole foot...But as a teenager, it felt unnatural and so the insoles were easily forgotten about....oh dear, the things we do in our youth that return to haunt us!
So, I still have flat feet and still experience pain in my shins, particularly during cold weather. I've also developed knee pain and an odd jarring sensation in my hips, which I imagine is all linked to allowing the shin splints to develop as they did and not following the medical advice I was given at the time...Don't let your friend make this mistake!!
i just ran with them.
It shouldn't be that bad if you ice afterward.
Tell him to get new shoes? That's all my coach ever told me about it... =.=
Just take a short break, if possible. Keep stretching and go for very light runs for a month and they should clear up.
I'm in Taekwondo, where we don't have shock absorbant shoes (feet) or springy tracks (wood floor). Shin splints are common with the rapid bouncing used in sparring/workouts to keep you on your toes, and it's all compounded by the fact that we commonly block kicks (with the power to easily break boards/unfortunate bones) with our shins. Shin splints are a very common malady for me.
Yeah Shin Splints are killer! I hate them... I ran through with them a few times. Pain in the butt, but gotta continue with my workout schedule. Depending on the person, shin splints could also be attributed to your workout/running shoes as well, so it's important to find shoes that fit well for your feet.
Our track coach always told us not to run if we had shin splints...
do NOT run if you have shin splints, they will only get worse. get on the bike or elliptical and add 10 minutes to whatever amount you were going to run. it may be a good idea to get new shoes too.
icing will be your best friend if you have shin splints, even though it seems like a pain in the ass. and if you absolutely have to run, tape is a must.
u prolly just need softer shoes, or the muscles on ur shins are underdeveloped, so there;s too much stress on the bone. try either getting new running shoes or asking ur coach for exercises to strengthen that part of the legs (i sometimes strap on 1kg weights in the top of my feet and flex and stretch till the front of my legs was sore). i used to run cross country before i broke my knee and some of my team mates had that problem.
Shin splints suck A LOT, and your friend should probably ice/massage, then stretch and work his shins/calves until his muscles are strong enough that they don't hurt anymore. If your friend keeps pushing himself, his shins are going to get worse and worse, and it's really going to hurt a lot. Last year, a lot of kids on my team got shin splints, and some people kept running anyway, but eventually it hurt so much that they could barely walk (I had shin splints for a few months and it hurt a lot, i.e. when I put pressure on my shins by sitting in certain positions, or walking, etc). He should probably talk to his coach.
Shin splints can also occur from an imbalance of the muscles in the lower leg (aka calves too strong/big). I remember my friend took a running class and the teacher told them to "tap their toes" whenever they can. This flexes the anterior muscles (aka shin muscles) giving them a workout. Training those might help, but it could be due to other problems as well (and as stated, flat feet).
If google + wikipedia and mayoclinic sez it, then it's gotta be true
Don't keep running with shin splints, a friend training (virtually - in another city)with me for a marathon developed shin splints and stress fractures... needless to say too harmful for him to continue. I had to slow down my training as well or else risk losing out on most of my training.
I didn't find shin splints as painful as tendonitis... the only thing you can do is rest =\
i was a track and field/ x-country runner as well. i did it for 5 straight years and had my fair share of shin-splints, usually when the shoes were dead from the training, or i lost my form and started to pound the pavement so to speak. however, the worst was my senior year, when training for championships both shins would act up and tighten and then they would go numb, like your leg going to sleep. i ignored it and ran through them, icing every night, and stretching after warmup and after running. i went to borough champs and ran my best 3.1 mile time ever by at least 3 minutes. i went home and woke up the next morning in the worst pain possible. i could barely walk, but i had to go to school. i forced my way through practice and the day. however bad bad idea, the shin splints had caused stress fractures the whole way up. i took two weeks off from running, the most crucial time for the city champs training, and just wrapped and iced them. i came back for the champs and ran an ok time, off by 1.5 minutes to the time i had recently run 3 weeks prior. but for a week i could barely walk, my shins would tingle or go numb. when i went to my ortho for a knee problem i asked what i had done to my shins, so he tapped them, they made this echoing hollow sound, i had stress fractured them, let them slightly heal and the re-stressed them, so now the bone sounds hollow and yet not a concern for my doctor or me.
take care of the shin-splints they are really dangerous. but they can be avoided- rest, ice, proper stretching. change shoes every 200 miles, or less depending on your speed and consistency of using them. a calf brace only works so much, and running x-c you really do not want that on you while training, you wont be able to tell if your calf is tight or if its the brace, and if you guess wrong, you tear your calf tendon and that hurts worse then the shin splints
i hate them. but i get them all the time and usually run through it. i stop if the pain gets to be too much and i rest but because i feel their pain every time i run, i really just try to ignore it.