shin splints, any help with?

[lennoxchi]

i have a mile and a half run coming up, most likely two of them. i went running this morning and had to stop about 1/2 a mile into it because of the pain in my legs. i have never had "shin splints" before, so i'm not really sure that what it is, but i do not know what else it could be. i have changed nothing to my diet or supplement intake lately, but i have added more calf training to my routine, 3 times a week total. is that what it could be? i am really hoping it is. i am going to knock off training legs entirely until this/these runs are over with (2 to 3 weeks). my question is, if this is not what is causing the pain (over training calves) then is there something (supplement) that can help me out. this might just be a small part of getting older, but DAM! HELP i need to do these runs.......

 

[raginfcktard]

do you run for cardio or run for races and what not?

i had the same problem so.. well..i quit running. fast pace walk on incline, cycle, and that god damn stair stepper. mixing up your cardio is good practice anyway!

 

[Omen]

i have a mile and a half run coming up, most likely two of them. i went running this morning and had to stop about 1/2 a mile into it because of the pain in my legs. i have never had "shin splints" before, so i'm not really sure that what it is, but i do not know what else it could be. i have changed nothing to my diet or supplement intake lately, but i have added more calf training to my routine, 3 times a week total. is that what it could be? i am really hoping it is. i am going to knock off training legs entirely until this/these runs are over with (2 to 3 weeks). my question is, if this is not what is causing the pain (over training calves) then is there something (supplement) that can help me out. this might just be a small part of getting older, but DAM! HELP i need to do these runs.......

Careful before they turn into stress fractures.

Just give em rest, proper nutrition, sleep, calcium, calories, etc....

 

[lennoxchi]

do you run for cardio or run for races and what not?

i had the same problem so.. well..i quit running. fast pace walk on incline, cycle, and that god damn stair stepper. mixing up your cardio is good practice anyway!

i have two police dept. tests coming up........so i have to, other wise i'd be doing incline walks......

 

[raginfcktard]

i'd rest up then as they are not going to go away if you don't. i know now you are training for a pt test of sorts so i'd obviously keep the cardio up with you're other options and limit the runs to three times a week. personally i'd get them from just 2 mile jogs at 4 times a week, i no longer run as my training goals have changed...

 

[Omen]

i have two police dept. tests coming up........so i have to, other wise i'd be doing incline walks......

I have an idea.

Keep doing low/no impact cardio, swimming, jogging in the pool, stepper in the gym without taking your feet off the pedal.

And do body weight squats and calf raises as much as you can non stop for the duration of the run.

That way, you condition your cardiovascular system but without any direct impact and at the same time you condition your muscles for endurance without any impact.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[CopyCat]

RICE

Rest
Ice (10 min on/10 min off)
Compression (ace wrap/sports tape)
Elevation

#1 treatment for most all muscle/skeletal injuries.
Also make sure you stretch well before, after workouts and multiple times during the day while recovering. You can google stretches for the calves and find lots of good ones.

Add NSAIDS/anti-inflammatory i.e Motrin (in the military I dose out 800mg 3 times daily with food for 10 days or Naproxen 500 mg twice a day). You can pick those up over the counter if you want.

Also, you may want to take a look at your foot gear as they may not be the right shoes for you. I had to replace a brand new pair of shoes before because they were not right and started causing problems. it sucks, but proper foot wear is an essential for runners. You may also want to take a look at your running form. Sometimes even minor tweaks in form make a huge impact as I'm sure you know.

Here is a link to a crossfit page that has tons of videos giving instructions on running, technique, and more.

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-info/excercise.html#Run

Hope this helps

 

[dahbuldee]

Is the pain in the front or back of your calf?
Shin splints only happen in the front (forget the official muscle name). Anything in the rear is probably a strained or pulled muscle.

Getting rid of them can be complicated, at least they were for me. Your calves are are being overused as shock absorbers either b/c
1) your calves are weak (duh!)
2) your glutes or ankles are weak and your calves are picking up the excess work

3) your shoes are bad
4) your stride mechanics are incorrect. Landing on the balls of your feet (like sprinters do) without proper conditioning is the fast track to a stress fracture.

Ice, NSAIDs (advil), and rest are about the only things you can do in the short term.

Personally, I'd stay away from speed walking esp. on a treadmill. It's just another form of overuse. Your foot turnover (steps per minute) will be higher with speed walking than with a good running stride.

Same goes for the calf training if it involves weightlifting. Just more overuse.
Good ankle training is using a balance board for a few minutes every day.

 

[foxracer96]

i second ice and something like ibprofin, that always helped for me.. also try rotating your foot around, almost like writing the alphabit with your toe.. they had us do that in track, it did wonders for my splints.

 

[Kraker]

Everyone has some **** good advice, but I figured I would add due to the fact that I get some nasty shin splints.

I am completely "flat footed"(i.e. no arches), and get severe shin splints after ruck running or 6 mile runs. I am big on ruck running so the night before i will dose 800mg Ibuprofen, then about 15 minutes prior to whatever it is im doing, and then almost right after. Yea its kinda a big number of Ibuprofen, but it works. Make sure to replace your running shoes or boots regularly, and buy some extra insoles. Then add the RICE method as stated above. This usually takes care of the problem. Also, there is an online shoe store that will take a mold of your foot and build you a shoe. I cannot remember the name and will have to ask around, but some guys from my old unit had it done and recommended it.

 

[lennoxchi]

thx guys, all of you. i am going to stop by Walgreen's tonight and get some motrin and give that a try. i should have probably mentioned that i hate cardio. the only reason i hate it though is, because I've never had great lung strength or the ability to run long distance. also from age 15 to 30 i was a smoker, drinker, and a few other things, as a matter of fact...in the spring of 2005 (for about 2 months) i could barely walk.....not proud of that, but that is the way it was back then. since then stopped almost everything unhealthy (except ice cream, bless you Ben and jerry and coldstone) i put on about 10 lbs., started running a bit, lifting in the gym about 5 days a week so on and so forth. the reason i know i can get over this shin splint thing is, in comparison to the shape i was in, this is nothing. determination means a lot to me, and so does the advise and help of you guys....thx again

 

[Kraker]

Good for you! Give em hell!

 

[CopyCat]

Like kraker mentioned I also went to a place that customs shoes for you. Here in San Diego there is a place called Road Runner's Sports. They take molds, run on tread mills video taping your stride and bunch of other stuff then get you the right shoe for you. It was like Christmas =)

 

[SynergyCSCS]

There's a lot of sound advice in the responses you got here. The only one I wouldn't take to is loading up on anti-inflammatory's before a big workout. All that will do is numb the pain and cause you to continue the damage you have already done.

If you want to get to the root of the problem, your calves are not just weak, but they are extremely tight causing you to overwork the tibialis anterior (on your shin). Every time you take a stride or step and go heel to toe you are having to dorsiflex your foot and fight the tightness in your calves. This is commonly referred to as shin splints although it's not actually as bad. You need to go get a deep tissue massage on your calves and stop doing so many calf raises. Once you have released the fascia around the soleus and gastrocnemius (calves) you will be able to dorsiflex much easier without such stress on your tibialis. I assure you, once you have activated the GTO in your calves through myofascial release, your calves will develop and strengthen much faster.. but without causing you pain.

Good luck!

 

[Laxislife1265]

Keep fightin it. Shin splints suck. I got shin splints for the first time this summer... awful experience. However I got mine from distance running. I was training for a mile and a half race. Running 6 miles every saturday and two miles every other weekday. So now my shins are screwed for football season. As for treating them. Use tons and tons of ice. and again. Keep fightin! But not to the point where you get stress fractures >.< cause thats bad...

 

[lennoxchi]

to all of those who contributed to this thread. i completed my mile and a half run, without pain. i started using supercissus by USP labs, 4 caps a day, 1 pre w/o 1 post, then 2 split throughout the day. stretching really helped. i also stopped training legs entirely, no squats, no DL no nothing, especially calf raises. i really think the supercissus helped, due to the anti-inflammatory in there. again thx for all your help, i have to do this again in a month, until then i'm gonna train legs like mad for 3 weeks then take it easy before the run.

 

[Hbs6]

sadly, little can be done for this except ice and rest. And try and correct whatever is causing this...walk/running form, ect.

 

[SteaLaZ]

I train on this hard ass tartan track and heaps of new runners always get shin splints within the first couple of weeks because of it. We have this old school method of dealing with em where you fill up one of those plastic cups with water then freeze it. Once its turned to ice, rub that up and down your shins and you should be good to go in a few days!

 

[Hbs6]

cryotherapy....yeah the russians did that. and its awesome for recovery of almost all kinds of trauma. A lot of time people get shin splints from too much too fast. Ease into training, especially when you havent done anything for a while.

 

[liamrowe]

The immediate treatment for shin splints is rest. Running and other strenuous lower limb activities, like football and other sports which include flexing the muscle, should be avoided until the pain subsides and is no longer elicited by activity. In conjunction with rest, anti-inflammatory treatments such as icing and drugs such as NSAIDs (in particular, NSAID gel) may be suggested by a doctor or athletic trainer. Over-the-counter pain relievers can also be taken, though there is some controversy over their effectiveness. Furthermore, the lower legs may be taped to stabilize and take some load off the periosteum. also make sure your footwear is right for you, any good running shops will do a biomechanical assessment of your running style/petern and guide you on which type of shoe is best for you.

Good luck man!!!

 

[Hbs6]

you should probably quote wikipedia when you use it.

 

[liamrowe]

i know sorry, not passing it off as mine just a bit lazy like that lol!!! but gives you the info you need!

 

[RoadBlocK]

Ive actually gotten some really good info from this thread, Im going to rep everybody right now!!!!!!

:woohoo:

 

[liamrowe]

thanks for the rep man!!!!