Shin splints

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hayleylouise9699
hayleylouise9699 Posts: 146 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hiya

I woke up this morning with painful shin splints! I think it's because I've been skipping at the gym.

Would you drive through the pain or rest?

Any advise is much appreciated.

thanks in advance

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Take a rest. Find a different kind of activity. Be good to your body.
  • pleasurelittletreasure
    pleasurelittletreasure Posts: 236 Member
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    Shin splints are just.....ughh! Frozen peas and massage, ibuprofen, a sense of humor as you duck walk through your home...these are your weapons today. And maybe tomorrow, too. :flowerforyou:
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    I used to suffer with these and actually stopped trying to run until I lost a bit of weight.

    Giving your shins a rest from the activity that is causing them is important and some sites recommend resting them for up to 2 weeks.

    Find an exercise that doesn't aggravate them so that you can still work out at this time.

    This might be worth a read for more information

    http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/shin-splints/Pages/Introduction.aspx
  • Aussiebloke1978
    Aussiebloke1978 Posts: 3 Member
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    H Hayley,

    The medical advice is to rest, but to be honest, I just push through with some help of Difflam prior to training.

    It does affect the workout still but I find it helps.

    Also when they are really sore, I like to use a golf ball rolling underneath my feet which seems to help a lot.

    Good luck!
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    H Hayley,

    The medical advice is to rest, but to be honest, I just push through with some help of Difflam prior to training.

    It does affect the workout still but I find it helps.

    Also when they are really sore, I like to use a golf ball rolling underneath my feet which seems to help a lot.

    Good luck!

    Just wanted to post this excerpt from the UK NHS site

    "It is really important not to "run through the pain" because the shin pain could be a sign of an injury to the bone and surrounding tissues in your leg. Continued force on your legs will make the injury and your pain worse."

    The pain of shin splints can be the result of several issues including stress fractures I believe, while that may be unlikely I certainly wouldn't want to face the potential consequences of pushing through the pain
  • milk_bottle
    milk_bottle Posts: 22 Member
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    Hey :)
    I used to get really bad shin splints and I found out it was the wrong type of shoe and not stretching my calves enough! If your shoes are too supportive or not supportive enough it'll change the angle of your leg and aggravate the shin, also weak calves can put more pressure on the shin.

    I found once I had shin splints the best thing to do was RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation, some ibuprofen, and massaging/stretching the area twice a day

    In the meantime for workouts swimming is helpful

    Hope this helped
  • hayleylouise9699
    hayleylouise9699 Posts: 146 Member
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    Thanks for all your help and advise peeps. They are pretty sore (couldn't wear heels today!!)
    The joys of training hey. I don't think it's anything to do with my trainers, maybe it's because I'm skipping on a hard floor at the gym.

    Someone else did mention using a golf ball I may give this a go.

    I shall give skipping a rest for the week and focus on something else.
  • mzbek24
    mzbek24 Posts: 436 Member
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    Would definitely recommend resting. I had them when I started out with running, which I hadn't quite had much experience with for a long time despite doing cycling for months on a regular basis. Also had some weight to still lose, so I know now that I likely went too full on, too soon.
    I stopped and rested them for about a week. I Iced them, put them up a bit as well an the pain subsided. When I resumed exercise I did not go as hard, and I took a step back and started incorporating regular walking (about an hour every day or a few times a week) instead so I could strengthen the same muscles without hurting myself. I would suggest you take it more slowly, too. Maybe don't do it for as long or a little more lightly until you have accustomed and strengthened your calf muscles and such.
    Now, I can go longer and not have any issues, because I have built up my legs a bit using lower impact exercises. Also losing some more weight made it a little less hard on my body. I have read that using a foam roller can also help, and warming up beforehand and stretching afterwards, too.

    I'm pretty cautious and I think any time you feel a pain where it hurts to even walk, I would definitely take a rest day and assess from there whether you feel up to performing the same range of motions again, or whether something else or more rest is better.

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