Shin Splints & Tight Calves :(

kellegg22

Either right after the warm up walk or after my second time running (I just finished week 1) my calves tighten up really bad making it difficult to walk even. And then come the shin splints..

Any advice on what to do before my walk/run?

rduhlir

Are you stretching properly? The calf tightness will pass. Ask everyone on here, I was having some major issues with my calf muscles....turns out it was lack of oxygen because of just not used to working out. So my body had to readjust oxygen flow to my lower legs. But it does pass!. I would suggest very good stretching before and after your runs and massaging your calf muscles will help too.

As far as the shin splints, icing them down after you get done is a big one. 10 min on, 10 off for about 30 minutes after your work outs and making sure you get enough calcium to promote bone growth (your bones will become stronger over time from running as well).

timeasterday

Early in C25K I had the same issue. I don't do a lot of stretching beforehand and still don't. But I do a lot of stretching immediately after my run. For the calves I get into a down-dog yoga pose and alternate pushing each heel to the floor. I also like to stand on the edge of a stair with only the balls of my feet on the edge and do slow dips to really stretch the calf, also while leaning forward. Massage helps too - get one of those foam rollers and really dig into the calves and work out any knots. There's a release point near the top of the calf, behind the knee and it helps to work that point with massage. One more thing that really helped - compression sleeves/socks. You can buy just the sleeve that goes over the calf or buy an entire sock that goes up the calf. That worked immediately for me. I highly recommend 2XU socks if you go that route.

Shin splints are tough to deal with and usually due to doing too much too soon and/or running & walking on hills. Where I run it is hilly but I avoided the hills when just starting out. I still got shin splints from doing too much too soon the first time I did C25K. It progressed into tendonitis. Now on the 2nd round of C25K I am taking it easy and just started working in a hill or two on week 6. For most people (so I've heard) the shin splints will eventually go away as your legs get stronger. For now try some shin exercises - search online and you'll find many. I do these 3x a week.

Good luck and I hope you can get past this issue!

2hobbit1

Stretching after you are warmed up and at the end of you session will help but the MOST important thing to look at at this point is you Running shoes. A bad fit will cause both of these conditions! If you can go to a running store and have them fit you - they need to look at your motion mechanics to know how best to fit you.

If there are no running shops in your area look at roadrunner sport on line. they have very good online fitting resources - the live chat is very good.

You might want to invest in a foam roller for use after your workouts if you do not already have one. They help a lot!

BeachGurl815

I get the really tight calves also. No shin splints. I am stretching before but I think I'll try adding the downward dog pose and getting a foam roller. I should also stretch more after too.

Actually I think the reason I keep failing on my runs is because of calf tightness and some foot pain as opposed to getting winded. I did get fitted for running shoes and they greatly improved my foot & leg pain issues but not completely.