Help with shin splints

[HDeuce7]

I took about a month and a half off from doing cardio to focus on bulking. I have started my cutting cycle about 2 weeks ago and since I have started back running on the treadmill I have really bad shin splints. I am looking for some advice on how to treat the shin splints. It is really hampering my running, as a result, I am not loosing as much fat as I want to.

 

[dlew308]

I had shin splits from my HS volleyball days. I'd go to my chiro and he'd treat it with some stimulating device. I can't recall what it's called It felt like electric pulses. Try picking a different cardio choice like a bike or elliptical?

 

[ICantRunFast]

switch it up to elyptical do a lower intensity than ice after everytime...they'll eventually go away....if not the chiro idea would be your best if its chronic

 

[bludevil]

I had shin splints from playing basketball. Ibuprofen does wonders for the pain while foam heel implants seemed to ward off the pain while running.

 

[Rodja]

First look at your shoes. If you have any ankle instability, then you need to buy a new pair of shoes. Also, doing sprints will help because you are nut running nearly as long, but still burning lots of kcals.

 

[gators52]

I get shin splints all the time. I've heard of two methods to get rid of them. 1. rest them for a while because shin splits are stress fractures 2. run on them and eventually they will go away. Neither of these seems to work for me. When I rest them, they seem to go away for the first few times of hard running then they come back. Also running on grass tends to be much better on my shins as well. Any advice for me? I normally just suck it up and run on them, doesn't really effect my play in sports, but it does seem to make my legs feel heavier, maybe making me a little bit slower...

 

[motiv8er]

First look at your shoes. If you have any ankle instability, then you need to buy a new pair of shoes. Also, doing sprints will help because you are nut running nearly as long, but still burning lots of kcals.

Solid advice. I killed my shins running on bad shoes for too long. I can barely run now... I will require sincere medical attention to be able to do long distances again. All my shoes must have special inserts in them now.

Also, truely inspect your hamstring level of flexibilty, as this is always a synergistic culprit IMO.

 

[ICantRunFast]

nike shox are madd comfy

 

[CROWLER]

Shin splint is a catch all term for MANY MANY different injuries.

Ok you were able to run before without injurie. Go back to the distances you were doing before OR just stop running, turn to biking and ESPECIALLY the eliptical machine if you have access to one.

Then when the pain is gone go back to running BUT make sure you stretch nice and gentle before and after running. BUT make sure you are warmed up before you stretch.


CROWLER

 

[Niko]

I get shin splints also. What seems to be helping me is walking on my heels. You can do it on a treadmill as the padded deck helps in the beginning. On the days I don't do heel walking, I lean my back against the wall and raise and lower my toes. Alternate sets of fast and slow reps and don't let your toes touch the floor as you are repping. Stretching my calves, ankle rotation, and ice round it out.

 

[dsade]

2. run on them and eventually they will go away. .

Absolutely false. I had shin splints from the Army that I tried to ignore...eventually the shin and the ankle snapped from instability.

How do your shoes wear out? There could be issues with over-pronation or some other kind of gait imbalance which puts undue stress on one small point on your shin bones. Everyone else's advice is also good.

 

[gators52]

Absolutely false.

Please dont take quotes out of context, i clearly said that it didn't work for me and I never said this method worked.

 

[dsade]

Please dont take quotes out of context, i clearly said that it didn't work for me and I never said this method worked.

I wasn't attibuting the advice TO you, just reiterating that whomever gave that advice has obviously never dealt with them...ouch.

 

[Quinc]

Try walking backward on your heels for a while. it will work the hell out of your shins.

 

[celc5]

What's a shin splint?
Someone wrote that shin splints are a generic term that can actually be a number of things. Very true. Most commonly, it's a micro tear of the tibialis posterior or tibialis anterior as the tendon fans out along the tibia.

My experience with shin splints about 1 month ago:

1) Bought asics running shoes. They look totally gay but have great arch support and gel cushions for the ball of your foot and heel.

2) I took 2 weeks off from basketball and skipped any cardio that even gave me a twinge in my shins.

3) Stretched calves, soleus, hams twice a day. Followed up with deep massage for about 2 or 3 minutes (that's all I could stand cause it hurts so freakin bad).

4) I iced my legs after every workout.

Good luck cause shin splints are a major pain in the rear.

 

[CROWLER]

What's a shin splint?
Someone wrote that shin splints are a generic term that can actually be a number of things. Very true. Most commonly, it's a micro tear of the tibialis posterior or tibialis anterior as the tendon fans out along the tibia.

My experience with shin splints about 1 month ago:

1) Bought asics running shoes. They look totally gay but have great arch support and gel cushions for the ball of your foot and heel.

2) I took 2 weeks off from basketball and skipped any cardio that even gave me a twinge in my shins.

3) Stretched calves, soleus, hams twice a day. Followed up with deep massage for about 2 or 3 minutes (that's all I could stand cause it hurts so freakin bad).

4) I iced my legs after every workout.

Good luck cause shin splints are a major pain in the rear.

Copy this and put it on the refridge. I just got done running and am icing my legs now.:dance:

Along with Dsade saying NOT to continue running with them.

My coach in high school told us to run through it, HORRIBLE. My my injuries went from being shin splints tearing tissue all the way from the ankle up the knee along the tibia.


CROWLER

 

[HDeuce7]

I am going to stretch and try ice massages and see if that helps any. Any other adivice?

 

[ShapeUP]

I do a specific workout just for my anterior tibialis every week

 

[getjacked63]

here's a good one, try this for about a month and i promise it will help.

1) lay face down on a bed with your toes hanging off the edge.

2) pull your toes towards you, pushing against the end of the bed and hold for 15-30 seconds. push as hard as you can, and make sure your muscles around your shin burn like hell when you are finished. do about 5 sets at 30 seconds.

this will strengthen the muscles around your shin bones and really help with the shin splints. walking on your heels is the same concept, but this works much better.

 

[ShapeUP]

here's a good one, try this for about a month and i promise it will help.

1) lay face down on a bed with your toes hanging off the edge.

2) pull your toes towards you, pushing against the end of the bed and hold for 15-30 seconds. push as hard as you can, and make sure your muscles around your shin burn like hell when you are finished. do about 5 sets at 30 seconds.

this will strengthen the muscles around your shin bones and really help with the shin splints. walking on your heels is the same concept, but this works much better.

I usually just do that at the gym with the lying leg curl.

I sit on it facing the wrong way and use the foot raises with the leg curl pad...if that makes sense. lol.

 

[getjacked63]

I usually just do that at the gym with the lying leg curl.

I sit on it facing the wrong way and use the foot raises with the leg curl pad...if that makes sense. lol.

definitely makes sense, and would definitely work. try both of these things and see if they dont get better.....i guarantee they will

 

[motiv8er]

here's a good one, try this for about a month and i promise it will help.

1) lay face down on a bed with your toes hanging off the edge.

2) pull your toes towards you, pushing against the end of the bed and hold for 15-30 seconds. push as hard as you can, and make sure your muscles around your shin burn like hell when you are finished. do about 5 sets at 30 seconds.

this will strengthen the muscles around your shin bones and really help with the shin splints. walking on your heels is the same concept, but this works much better.

I will have to try that.... major reps if it helps!!!

 

[somewhatgifted]

here's a good one, try this for about a month and i promise it will help.

1) lay face down on a bed with your toes hanging off the edge.

2) pull your toes towards you, pushing against the end of the bed and hold for 15-30 seconds. push as hard as you can, and make sure your muscles around your shin burn like hell when you are finished. do about 5 sets at 30 seconds.

this will strengthen the muscles around your shin bones and really help with the shin splints. walking on your heels is the same concept, but this works much better.

This is exactly what i was going to suggest but where and how you do it are irrelevant, but the example paints a picture. Hang your toes off any ledge lift up your toes, lower repeat..... Helped huge to alleviate constant daily pain from last rugby season. Frozen ground, un manicured fields, cleats, high impact........ these exercises really do help.

 

[celc5]

Tibialis anterior strengthening is a great way to prevent shin splints.

Just my opinion, but I think that adding a strengthening exercise to a muscle that is injured may be counter productive. That philosophy is the same as Crowler's coach telling him to just run through the pain. You're adding more stress to a muscle that has an overuse injury.

If you tore your biceps, would you do more curls to make it better? Not trying to knock the suggestions, just trying to provide a different point of view.

 

[getjacked63]

shin splints also occur because your calf muscles are becoming much stronger, while your tibialis anterior muscles are not being worked nearly as hard and thus not becoming stronger. this imbalance in muscle can cause serious pain when running especially on hard surfaces. again, there are many reasons for shin splints. this could help greatly, or potentially cause more harm than benefit....the majority of the time from my experiences though it proves to be very helpful!

 

[quigley]

Your calf is too tight number one. Stretch it and get deep thorough massages on it. When you work your calves, work the muscle in front to balance it out! Your tib anterior. So when you do a calf raise, in stead of just going up and down, when you come down bring your toes toward your knee and contract that tib anterior

 

[celc5]

So when you do a calf raise, in stead of just going up and down, when you come down bring your toes toward your knee and contract that tib anterior

I suggest using caution with this method. Contracting the antagonist (tibialis anterior) may cause the prime mover (gastroc) to relax. That could be dangerous if you have a pile of plates on the leg press or smith machine while doing calves.

This is the same as suggesting to contract your triceps to strengthen them at the bottom of a biceps curl.

 

[rms80]

Here's what helped mine the most- losing 10-15 lbs.- might not be the most desirable thing for a bodybuilder though

 

[Rodja]

Here's what helped mine the most- losing 10-15 lbs.- might not be the most desirable thing for a bodybuilder though

This is the reason that I don't get shin splints anymore. The stabilizer muscles in the tibialis are not trained with the same intensity as other muscles so any mass added to your frame is amplified.

 

[rms80]

This is the reason that I don't get shin splints anymore. The stabilizer muscles in the tibialis are not trained with the same intensity as other muscles so any mass added to your frame is amplified.

Yup

Mine seem to be completely weight-dependant....At 205, I can run, jump, and sprint on any type of surface and put as much force into the ground as I want to and I will barely even get an ache- BUT, at 220, I have to watch EVERYTHING that I do (foot position, ground contact, surfaces that I train on, etc.) and sometimes have to cut my training accordingly.....much better sticking around at 205, even at the same given bf %'s

 

[smokey the bear]

The anterior tib. is hardly ever isolated in any bodybuilding exercise that I know of. It is also inherent that adding weight to your frame is going to cause additional stress on all of your intrinsic muscles, including the anterior tib.

Last year I tore the soft tissue connecting my anterior tibialis to the tibia... In turn, this caused me to miss out on my whole football season... Anyways, I learned a whole lot about this injury and some things associated with it.

First of all, there is a difference between anterior and medial (front and inside) shin splints.

Yes, anterior shin splints are better prevented by the strengthening of the anterior tibialis.

There are many factors which contribute to the onset of shin splints. Here they are: *indicates area most affected*

-Running on hard surfaces. *A and M*
-Heal striking, or running flat footed. *M*
-Lack of arch in the feet. (Being flat footed) *A and M*
-Muscle imbalance (gastrocnemius over anterior tib.) *A*
-Improper warm-up and stretching.
-Lack of conditioning (being out of shape)

If you are to experience what you think is shin splints, here are a few things that I would advise.

Rest your legs. Apply ice liberally to affected area. Use a compression wrap, like an ace bandage, around the area. And also elevate the lower legs while at rest. And use anti-inflammatory as needed.

To prevent this injury:

Strengthen the anterior tibialis with dorsiflexsion exercises, pulling the toes upwards. Make sure your running surface has some give. Do not go for a long jog on the concrete. Focus on putting your weight on the balls of your feet, preventing your heels from striking the ground. You may also opt to utilize an alternative cardio-respiratory option like an elliptical, bike, rower est... Buy quality shoes for your application, and make sure they have sufficient arch support. Warm up gradually, and be sure to thoroughly stretch the soleus, gastrocnemius, and anterior tibialis.

If symptoms of shin splints persist with the above precautions and treatment mentioned, be sure to see a doctor. Also, a podiatric doctor may be able to assist with custom orthotics which helped greatly in my case. Do not continue activity when shin splints are occurring. This may lead to many complications, like stress fractures along the anterior edge of the tibia…




There is also a condition known as compartment syndrome. This is basically when the epi/perimysium is fairly inelastic in the anterior part of the lower leg. This inability to stretch properly poses serious problems when the muscles are used and blood flow increases. Basically the muscle gets pumped to a certain point. When it reaches its limit the internal blood pressure of the muscle bundle exceeds that of the body’s blood pressure. This results in a loss of blood flow and circulation through the muscle while impairing the flow around it. The pain symptoms are similar to severe shin splints, but persist far after the exercise has subsided, and are usually accompanied by discoloration and even bruising/ hemmoraging around the lower leg area........This is very uncommon and is definitely not what’s going on in this case, but I thought I would put it in here.
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