Shin Splints

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readanddance
readanddance Posts: 311 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Yesterday, I began walking. I took a shorter walk of approximately 25 minutes with medium hills. My pace has been fairly slow (around 25 minutes for 1.5 miles). Today, my shins have begun hurting. Shin splints are fairly common for me. Any recommendations for recovery? Should I a) decrease my time, b) decrease my speed, c) take a few days off, d)????

Thanks!

Replies

  • readanddance
    readanddance Posts: 311 Member
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    Anyone??
  • cehinton
    cehinton Posts: 15
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    You might take a few days off and try again in hopes that they have gone away. You may also try a different route or terrain. Especially when walking up hill, you have to pull the top of your foot toward you more with each step, thereby really working (overworking) your tibialis anterior (the front muscle on your shin). If you have an especially large muscle here, you may have what is called "anterior compartment syndrome" where the muscle is too large for its surrounding structure, and it can be a recurring problem that you are just plagued with.

    You might need to take a couple of short breaks during your walk to massage that area, give them a short break and some extra recovery time.

    Hopefully, yours will go away, and if you find it recurring, obviously take a bit more time between sessions, or have shorter sessions. If you need additional exercise to do, perhaps you can find something else (that doesn't involve walking/running), like biking for example.
  • robynrae_1
    robynrae_1 Posts: 712 Member
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    Lots of streching. I have "chronic" shin splints because my muscles and tendons in my calfs are too short. Stand on a step with the ball of you foot and drop your heel down one at a time and hold for 20 seconds repeat several times before and after working out...and randomly through the day if you can.
  • Amlong1977
    Amlong1977 Posts: 125 Member
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    I'd suggest rest & stretch, stretch, stretch!
  • lwagnitz
    lwagnitz Posts: 1,321 Member
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    First of all STRETCH. But don't do static stretching until after you work out and your muscle are warmed up otherwise you can cause injury instead of prevent it.

    Also, I would suggest taking a few days off until it at least subsides a little. Then, when you get back, avoid inclines for a few days until you feel 100%...and stretch everyday to avoid further injury.
  • Danni3ll3
    Danni3ll3 Posts: 365 Member
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    I found that if I just kept on walking, they went away the further I walked. It took a month or so before they were completely gone. If I stop walking for any length of time, I get them again when I start up but they do go away after a couple of weeks. Best thing for me is to never stop walking.
  • purplestberry18
    purplestberry18 Posts: 7
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    I have shin splits too. The best things to do are look into buying a good pair of shoes with the correct in-souls, then if they are still a problem make sure you stretch your shins out and finally take a plastic water bottle and freeze it. Then after your workout use that to roll up and down your shin massaging the muscle.
  • repmlrs
    repmlrs Posts: 154
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    yea getting the right insoels for shoes helps. also when you do a calf stretch you can bend your knee a lil bit to get the deep calf muscle cuz thats what a shin spint is when your calf muscle starts to seperate from the bone. so do a regular calf stretch and a deep muscle calf stretch and get good insoles like at the "walking store" where you stand on a computer and it analyize your feet.
  • readanddance
    readanddance Posts: 311 Member
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    Thank you! I will try all those suggestions. I am taking today off as it is quite inflamed. Will do a modified route/time/speed on Monday.

    Happy Weekend to Everyone!

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