Shin Splints

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rachgolds
rachgolds Posts: 75
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been struggling with shin splints for a few months now, and nothing seems to be helping. I've tried icing, strengthening exercise, and compression sleeves; I've been fitted for shoes at a running store; and now I'm even seeing a physical therapist. I'm training for a marathon and I'm slowly increasing my mileage according to a plan, plus I'm taking all of the suggested rest days, so I don't think I'm overdoing it. Does anyone have any suggestions that I haven't thought of yet?

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  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    Have you tried running on a softer surface, like grass or dirt trails?
  • rachgolds
    rachgolds Posts: 75
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    I have not. I suppose I could give that a shot. Then I'd have to get trail shoes, right?
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    I have not. I suppose I could give that a shot. Then I'd have to get trail shoes, right?

    Nah. Road shoes will be fine unless you get on really rocky, muddy trails.
  • jenluvsushi
    jenluvsushi Posts: 933 Member
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    Have you tried running barefoot or with minimalist shoes? I had horrible shin splints until I switched. I'm still not a great runner (horrible form and I hate it) but I did see the difference right away.
  • rachgolds
    rachgolds Posts: 75
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    Cool, thanks! Now al I gotta do is find some trails!
  • Roadie2000
    Roadie2000 Posts: 1,801 Member
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    Have you tried running barefoot or with minimalist shoes? I had horrible shin splints until I switched. I'm still not a great runner (horrible form and I hate it) but I did see the difference right away.
    Try this. Are you primarily a heel striker? My minimalist shoes taught me how to be more of a midfoot striker and I haven't had shin pain since.
  • rachgolds
    rachgolds Posts: 75
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    Have you tried running barefoot or with minimalist shoes? I had horrible shin splints until I switched. I'm still not a great runner (horrible form and I hate it) but I did see the difference right away.
    I actually switched to the Brooks pure cadence and my shin splints got worse, so I switched back to the glycerin 9s and they just aren't getting better now.
  • nickhuffman74
    nickhuffman74 Posts: 198 Member
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    Are you a new runner? How good is your form, do you train/cross train, is this caused by uphill/downhill/flat, do they start at certain distances? A lot can cause shin splints.
  • NoxDineen
    NoxDineen Posts: 497 Member
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    I got TERRIBLE shin splints the first few times I ran, and like the super-nerd I am I spent hours researching them to see what I could change.

    Next time I ran I noticed that I was *really* tensing my foot & leg as it was in the air moving forward. When I was mindful to keep the airborne ankle relaxed, which released the contraction on my front shin muscle, I found an improvement within days. Now it's automatically part of my stride and I haven't thought about shin splints in a year or so.

    See if you can get somebody knowledgeable to assess your stride, or just read up on proper running stride and go for a short run where you super focus on how your body is moving and where room for improvement lies.
  • gymmonkey67
    gymmonkey67 Posts: 2
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    I'm thinking about going with inserts my sister runs a lot more than me and about a year ago she went to A store called Ideal Feet and she swears by the inserts, I'm not sure yet even though you can get re fitted for life, a few hundred buck sounds like a lot. Has anyone else heard of these and do they work? I trust my sister that she loves them but still money is money:)

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