Help runners! shin splints I think?

emtrem

Hello everyone,

My last post was about ill-fitting running shoes causing pain, which is now resolved, thanks for your helpful repiles.

I am just about to start week 6 of C25K, and have to admit, I have not been having rest days, and will admit to over doing it, adding on another 10 mins to runs etc, and self-prescribing some interval training to try and get fitness up. I have not been finding C25K difficult thus far, and thought I could speed things up but running on rest days. Bad, I know, but I am incredibly impatient.

The upshot is, I got lower leg pain when running on the treadmill the other night, and had to stop. Googling my symptoms leads me to believe it could be shin splints? The advice on how to treat it is conflicting though: from two different running sites:-

1st site: stop all exercise, ice, rest etc, wait for it to heal, will do more damage if you continue to run.
2nd site: On no account stop running, worst thing you can do. Reduce amount and speed, and invest in good compresion socks. Do calf strengthing exercises.

My natural impatience leads me to favour the advice to keep running / jogging with caution, but I would love some advice from those who have experienced the same, and what to do. I haven't run for two days now, can feel very slight pain on walking.

Any help/ suggestions would be much appreciated.

emtrem

Thanks for your help everyone.

njdoll

You will need to take some time off to recover.

But I suspect that you are heel striking when your foot lands which is the cause of the shin splints. You should be landing mid-foot. Definitely google some you tube videos on how to have proper running form to avoid future injuries. Also it's really important to give your body time to rest and repair between runs.

skudera27

I had this very same issue a couple years ago. I went to physical therapy and it was very painful what I had to go through. The PT had to 'work out' the shin splints out of my inner legs, pushing as hard as he could - excruciating.

It's hard to just stop all together, so reducing the distance, speed and frequency can definitely help. Make sure you ice it before and after you run. Stretching is very important, too. The PT taught me to do hip flexor stretches which really helped out the splints. Calf raises are very helpful, too.

I'm actually getting a mild case of shin splints, so I need to start taking my own advice and doing what I was taught.

Smuterella

Thanks for your help everyone.

No need to be snarky dear, sometimes posts get lost amid the huge mass of questions on this site.

For me rest (gentle walking only for a couple of days), ice and massage. It hurts like hell rubbing those shins but it works.

nmullins81

When I got them back in high school, we didn't really know about compression socks, so I would opt for the cheap tan ace knee brace in a size too small for my knee- which fit my shin perfectly- and would continue running.

kc4173

I get shin splints whenever I run. I bough Zensa compression sleeves from Amazon....they work wonders. You can tape your shins ( youtube taping for shin splints) until they come in. It looks funny - but it works. No more pain!

reasnableblonde

Is your pain interior or posterior? In the past, I have had pain that was posterior (up the outer part of my shin), which is more muscle related. This was remedied with a better (i.e., longer) warm-up and striving for a mid-foot strike instead of a heel strike. Icing after a run is always a good idea.

Lately, I have been experiencing interior pain on the medial tibia. This is a weight-bearing bone, so continuous damage is a serious concern. I am now using a topical anti-inflammatory, icing directly after every run, and working on making my runs a series of small jumps rather than my traditional "clodding along".

It's a good idea to get your gate tested at a good running shoe store. You may over- or under-pronate, and a good shoe can help with that pain. However, I think a lot of stability shoes actually hinder the mid-foot strike, so it's a good idea to talk extensively with a knowledgeable employee. If you can, see a podiatrist. They can prescribe orthotics and help diagnose the source of the problem.

Good luck and happy running!

kellygirl324

didnt see your post until today, otherwise I would have responded sooner.
Use ice! There is a special tape you buy...tape the ice bags to your shins...on 20 minutes, then off. If the pain continues, you need to incorporate rest in between the runs. Your legs need to adjust to the activity. Patience will be key!

Vansy

Depends on the degree of pain you're getting with the shin splints -- but you may need to give yourself a little break. I've found with things like that that if I take 2 days off and ice/rest the legs and then take it easy for a couple more days (jogging lightly) then they feel fine. But you may need to take more then that.

Also, do you stretch after running? Tight muscles (hamstrings, lower back, quads) can also cause lower leg pain

timboom1

R.I.C.E to help things recover, you may or may not need to stop running for a day or two, or just slow it down depending on the pain. If you are doing C25K, I would probably take a day or two off and then start back on the week you were at. R.I.C.E is not a fix to the cause, and if you have to do ice after every run you really should figure out what is causing the issue.

In terms of cause, I suspect it is a combination of too much too soon and poor running form. All the extra effort you are putting in is putting stress on muscles, bones, tendons etc... that are not yet adapted to take it on a constant basis, take the time to build up slowly and your body will be much happier and your running much more enjoyable. The form issue is something that is not uncommon in a beginner, and especially on a treadmill. First, do not worry about heel strike, mid foot strike or any strike, it is a current fad that you need to mid foot strike (helps sketchers sell shoes), but the reality is 80% of runners heel strike, most do not have injury problems, and if you are a heel striker, switching can in and of itself cause issues unless you do it correctly over a period of time.

What you should worry about is where your foot is in relation to your body when it does hit the ground. If it is out in front of you, this is not good and can cause all kinds of injuries, shin splints being the most common. You want to have your feet landing underneath your center of gravity. This may or may not cause you to strike differently too, but again, don't worry about that. What it will most likely mean is that you need slow down and shorten your stride a bit. Speed will come from more time running and foot turnover, not streching your stride out. If you are watching the olympics, even the sprinters feet land underneath them, not in front.

If the problem occured on the treadmill, overstriding is almost certainly the culprit, as the treadmill cannot slow down and it is very easy to just lengthen your stride to keep up. On the treadmill, slow down .5 mph and pay particular attention to where your feet are when you speed it up, focus and do not go faster than you can maintain form.

reggie2run

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