Will shin pain eventually go away?
murphy612
Posts: 734 Member
Hi! I’m new to C25k and running in general. I’ve always hated running and have never been any good at it but I still have this strange desire to do it. I’m an avid hiker/backpacker and love the way I feel after a long tough hike. I think running can do the same and it’s something I can do more often than hiking. I also see a future in trail running :-) Go me!
I think the reason I’ve hated running and why I always give up is because of the pain. Right now I’m on week 3 and the running portions are fine cardiovascular wise, no problem getting through them and my heart rate and breathing are good (so far). The pains are in my hips, lower back, calves, and shins.
I started by going to a running store and had my gait checked and shoes fitted. So far the new shoes have stopped the lower back and hip pain! Woohooo My calves are still tight but not too much pain and I’m working on stretching/foam rolling them better. So what’s left are my shins, uggg. They hurt, it’s like someone is hitting my shin bone with a hammer. I don’t think its shin splints, but I’m not sure.
The good news is I have a neutral gait, but I have a forefoot strike so I am a “toe runner”. I contribute this to years of hiking uphill. This is great news if I wanted to be a sprinter, but I run as slow as molasses, so I’m working on trying to get my heel down. Which is hard as hell by the way. I’m guessing this is contributing to my shin pain.
Anyway, my question is (bet you never thought I’d get to the point of this post, hehe) will the shin pain go away as I get stronger at running? And how can you tell the difference between shin splints and just general shin pain? If I’m given hope that the pain will go away I can mentally keep going. So any advice any experienced runners can give me would greatly be appreciated.
I think the reason I’ve hated running and why I always give up is because of the pain. Right now I’m on week 3 and the running portions are fine cardiovascular wise, no problem getting through them and my heart rate and breathing are good (so far). The pains are in my hips, lower back, calves, and shins.
I started by going to a running store and had my gait checked and shoes fitted. So far the new shoes have stopped the lower back and hip pain! Woohooo My calves are still tight but not too much pain and I’m working on stretching/foam rolling them better. So what’s left are my shins, uggg. They hurt, it’s like someone is hitting my shin bone with a hammer. I don’t think its shin splints, but I’m not sure.
The good news is I have a neutral gait, but I have a forefoot strike so I am a “toe runner”. I contribute this to years of hiking uphill. This is great news if I wanted to be a sprinter, but I run as slow as molasses, so I’m working on trying to get my heel down. Which is hard as hell by the way. I’m guessing this is contributing to my shin pain.
Anyway, my question is (bet you never thought I’d get to the point of this post, hehe) will the shin pain go away as I get stronger at running? And how can you tell the difference between shin splints and just general shin pain? If I’m given hope that the pain will go away I can mentally keep going. So any advice any experienced runners can give me would greatly be appreciated.
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For starters I'd liken shin splints to someone driving a knife into the shin and moving it around... don't know if that hepls at all, but when I suffered them badly I ended up using walking poles to move around.
Anyway, sounds like a combination of issues there. The hip and lower back pain could be from core strength issues or could be a result of mild underpronation, which propagates the shock loading up the skeletal system. The shoes helping that would support the shock loading hypothesis and I'd be surprised by weaknesses in core strength if you're used to walking with a bergen on.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a forefoot strike, it's generally seen as an approach to avoiding shin splints. I'd suggest just concentrate on the programme rather than trying to modify your gait, as that'll be putting your system under undue stress at the moment.
The other cause of shin pain can be a muscular imbalance between the calf and the shin muscle, normally a weaker shin muscle but if you're forefoot running then it may be as a reslt of mild shortening of that muscle. Dynamic stretches during your warm up walk, and spending plenty of time on stretching and rolling out afterwards.
Don't worry about pace at the moment, when you can run for an horu continuously then speedwork will have an effect, until then improving your pace comes from increasing the mileage.0 -
For starters I'd liken shin splints to someone driving a knife into the shin and moving it around... don't know if that hepls at all, but when I suffered them badly I ended up using walking poles to move around.
My pain doesn't sound as bad as that, but my goal is to not get that bad :-) I have to see a sports physician about my obnoxious tennis elbow so I'll ask her about shin splints as well.
Anyway, sounds like a combination of issues there. The hip and lower back pain could be from core strength issues or could be a result of mild underpronation, which propagates the shock loading up the skeletal system. The shoes helping that would support the shock loading hypothesis and I'd be surprised by weaknesses in core strength if you're used to walking with a bergen on.
By Bergen did you mean backpack? I hope so because I don't think I can fit a city on my back :-) Anyway, core strength is a concern that I do work on a lot. My core is not weak just not as strong as I'd like. I'm working on it though!There is nothing inherently wrong with a forefoot strike, it's generally seen as an approach to avoiding shin splints. I'd suggest just concentrate on the programme rather than trying to modify your gait, as that'll be putting your system under undue stress at the moment.
The other cause of shin pain can be a muscular imbalance between the calf and the shin muscle, normally a weaker shin muscle but if you're forefoot running then it may be as a reslt of mild shortening of that muscle. Dynamic stretches during your warm up walk, and spending plenty of time on stretching and rolling out afterwards.
Don't worry about pace at the moment, when you can run for an horu continuously then speedwork will have an effect, until then improving your pace comes from increasing the mileage.
Great advice and thank you so much for responding. I'm determined to keep going and this post has been encouraging. Thanks again!
P.S. I'm really slow but I'm not that concerned about it, but when you run on your toes it's actually difficult to run slow, it's like my body wants to go faster lol Well until the pain hits then my body wants to stop :laugh:0 -
I've been having lots of various leg pain too, but it's been very manageable so far.
I bought a pair of Zensah compression sleeves (can get on Amazon)- they've made a HUGE difference in the recovery of my legs and most of my leg issues- as well as my shin splints. You can also get compression sleeves with more compression, the Zensah are a lighter compression level. Compression is particularly good for shin splints, and you can also wear them when you run.
I also started looking up some exercises to do- google them- I do a few every day for my shins (walk on my heels, stretch out my calf and achilles heel) and for my IT band (clamshell). The clamshell has almost cured my IT/hip pain and the shin pain is going away. I also got arch support bands (they are just circles you put on your feet) for my plantar fasciitis. I've been treating everything as it comes up and so far everything has been manageable and very much under control. I tried icing for a week, but my body really hates ice and that was not a good decision- so I heat instead, including some very very very hot baths with epsom salts (really helped my legs).
You are going from 0 to 100 (from your body's perspective)- things are going to be out of balance, things are going to be weak, your body is going to be unhappy. Manage each thing as it comes up- with rest days if necessary- and start some of the stretching and strengthening exercises above, as well as what you can find for your specific issues on the internet/from the PT person.
Some general things that you should always have on hand for leg pain: tennis ball, "the stick", foam roller. Also, specifically for calves: http://www.runnersrescue.com/images/pro_stretch3.jpg.0 -
I had pretty bad shin pain and listened to and tried all the above advice. Then one day an old man on the bike path told me to undo the top most layer of my shoe lacing.
I don't know who they guy was but it worked....0 -
I had pretty bad shin pain and listened to and tried all the above advice. Then one day an old man on the bike path told me to undo the top most layer of my shoe lacing.
I don't know who they guy was but it worked....
Interesting!! I know I thought something was wrong with me when my feet would always go numb on the Eliptical machine, it turned out to be my laces too tight :-) So I guess you just never know!0 -
So I went to a Sports Physician about my Tennis Elbow (which turned out to be both Tennis and Golf elbow, geez) and we talked about Shin Splints. Luckily I don't have them :-) But the advice was pretty much the same as you guys have given me here :-) With one exception, she said to ice my shins everyday.
Tennisgirl, I have the ball and foam roller, the stick is next on my list. I will definitely google the exercises you mention. The Doctor said the same thing about stretching, stretching and more stretching. She also recommended a compression sleeve and I will try that out today.
Thanks!0
