Shin Splint

DragonHasTheSapphire

So I have a shin splint that I initially thought may have been a stress fracture because of the pain, but got an X-ray done and there are no fractures. Can someone help me prevent these from happening again, if they've experienced them before?

angel7472

Shoes!!! I get these if I wear Nike. It has to do with how your foot it hitting the pavement and everything else. I would suggest going to an actual store that specializes in athletic wear and get properly fitted.
I've learned to stay away from Nike and have moved on to Brooks. Since then no more shin splints and my knee feels better.

kardsharp

Oh that poor little muscle. I was training to do a 56 km walk and had them really bad. I went to the running room and they suggested:
wearing shoes that fit well and offer good support
using shock-absorbing insoles
avoiding exercising on hard or slanted surfaces or uneven terrain
increasing exercise intensity gradually
warming up before exercising
making sure to stretch properly
engaging in strength training, specifically toe exercises that build calf muscles
not attempting to exercise through the pain

It worked for me.

DragonHasTheSapphire

kardsharp wrote: »

Oh that poor little muscle. I was training to do a 56 km walk and had them really bad. I went to the running room and they suggested:
wearing shoes that fit well and offer good support
using shock-absorbing insoles
avoiding exercising on hard or slanted surfaces or uneven terrain
increasing exercise intensity gradually
warming up before exercising
making sure to stretch properly
engaging in strength training, specifically toe exercises that build calf muscles
not attempting to exercise through the pain

It worked for me.

Ah, I've heard about the shoe thing so far. I've been using Nike, but next weekend I'm going to run out and buy real running shoes designed for it, and probably some soles as well.

Thanks for the tips

DragonHasTheSapphire

angel7472 wrote: »

Shoes!!! I get these if I wear Nike. It has to do with how your foot it hitting the pavement and everything else. I would suggest going to an actual store that specializes in athletic wear and get properly fitted.
I've learned to stay away from Nike and have moved on to Brooks. Since then no more shin splints and my knee feels better.

My local DICK'S has those Brooks running shoes, I'm going to get these as well after seeing all the positive ratings. Right now I'm using Nike. But I'm not going to be doing my cardio workouts for about 3 weeks or until the pain is entirely gone.

I do admit for the past 2 years or so, I never ever gave myself resting days, so I'd be running a few miles every day without a break. That was probably the main contributer, so instead of doing cardio 7 days a week I will reduce it to 5 30 minute periods and do only light exercise the other 2 days, like pilates or yoga.

EDIT: Forgot to add if anyone else sees this, I haven't been stretching before workouts either, so I'll be making sure to do those before attempting to run. I also plan on increasing my running mileage when I start running again by 10% each week, to help my muscles adjust. I felt another shin splint developing on my right shin, so right now I'm resting and doing non/little inpact exercises to get some activity going.

kardsharp

Go to a store that specializes in running shoes. Just because a shoe has a good rating, doesn't mean it is the shoe for you. When I went to the running store, I was asked to bring in a pair of shoes that I had been using, they examined the bottom of my shoes. Then they made me roll up my pants, walk away from and towards them. They made recommendations. I bought a pair and then headed to the gym to walk on the treadmill. If they shoes were horrible, I was able to return them. when I found a pair I loved and that worked for me, I bought 6 pairs and cycled them in and out.

aokoye

DragonHasTheSapphire wrote: »

My local DICK'S has those Brooks running shoes, I'm going to get these as well after seeing all the positive ratings. Right now I'm using Nike. But I'm not going to be doing my cardio workouts for about 3 weeks or until the pain is entirely gone.
...
EDIT: Forgot to add if anyone else sees this, I haven't been stretching before workouts either, so I'll be making sure to do those before attempting to run. I also plan on increasing my running mileage when I start running again by 10% each week, to help my muscles adjust. I felt another shin splint developing on my right shin, so right now I'm resting and doing non/little inpact exercises to get some activity going.

I second the person above me who mentioned going to an actual running store (So not Dick's), talking to someone, and getting fitted for shoes that work well for you. It doesn't matter how many good ratings a shoe has, you don't have that person's feet, gate, etc.

In terms of stretching, I suspect doing a dynamic warm up would make a lot more sense than stretching cold muscles before you run. Stretching after the fact, sure - that's fine. Also when I was dealing with shin splints I primarily focused on stretching my calves. I would stretch when getting home and most days when I didn't run as well. How much were you increasing your running leading up to your shin splints? If it was already 10% then you might want to think about lessing that increase or just staying with the same time/distance for longer. Also icing your shins can help.