shin splints, knee pain - how serious is this?

You should see a doctor and probably get better sneakers. I changed sneakers and it helped a lot. But you definitely need medical advice. Good luck!

I suffer from knee pain as well but they only hurt if my quads are weak or doing to much too fast.. if your thigh muscles aren't strong they can not help keep your knees stable and if you don't rest you do not allow them to repair themselves.. if they continue to hurt after rest and slowing down some see your dr.

I've had and still sometimes get shin splints. OUCH! Last Sat I sprained my ankle pretty bad. SLOW recovery. went to Dr. and he said to ice it, ice it , ice it and keep it elevated as much as possible. My friend has knee problems off and on. She hasn't seen a dr. yet, but she's going to. Probably a good idea for you too. Maybe cut back a bit on the exercise. The Dr. told me today when I start running again, to do just a half mile first. Ok? then next time, 1 mile. Ok? then work my way back up to the 5k I've been working toward. It's very frustrating to have this happen when, like you, I've been exercising for months, and to have these things come up is a bummer. See a dr. Make sure you have good shoes and good luck!

I would say you should probably ease up on the exercise for a couple of days. I also occasionally have shin pain, knee pain and or ankle pain. Some of that pain in the knee and ankle for me are caused by tight muscles in quads or calves. Make sure that you warming up properly before working out and stretching properly following exercise. I use a foam roller on my quads and calves and it really helps loosen the muscles which helps with joint pains! A few days break and some good stretching could do you wonders.

Have you considered going to a free or low cost clinic? They're hard to find, but urban areas do have them. When I had no health insurance and no money for three years I went to a local clinic and they were amazingly kind to me. They charge based on your income and will accept payment plans. I got an EKG for free when I was having chest pains and there was no way I could pay for it. (Turned out to be stress and medication induced angina, not an actual heart attack.) Look up clinics online or in the yellow pages. Good luck!

What are your workouts? You need to start doing exercises that are hard on the knees in separate workouts. For example don't do heavy cardio like running (hard on the knees) the same day you are doing intense lunges. Also start a journal so you can mark what days it hurts and see what you can move around or eliminate. I messed up my knees for a good 4 months due to a drunkin wrestling match on a hard wood floor (Patron is a great pain killer lol jk). I had to stop all lunges and only do squats. No running or very little; it was very irritating. Ironically the stairs didn't hurt my knees so I did those and made sure I didn't mix the stairs and treadmill since they are both hard on the knees. The increased intensity might have been too sudden and you could have micro tears that need to heal. You look young and fit so you can deal with NO DOC at the moment. Give it some time.

What have you have you been doing more than usual? Increased cardio, weights, strength training, etc???

Yep, almost all shin splits can be avoided by good running shoes. I'm NOT talking about shoes that some dude at foot locker or finish line says they are good.

In San Diego we have a road runner sports. I love the crap out of this store. But they will fit you into a perfect shoe by watching you run on a treadmill, your pressure points, ect...

If you kind of know your running/walking habits. You can get online roadrunnersports.com and check out the shoe dog. Some people don't know how their run mechanics are(I.E. Over Pronating,) just look at the soles of your shoes and look at where the wear is the most.

It seems you either get a FULLY supported or FULLY unsupported shoe. I run with the Vibram 5-Fingers which have no support at all and I LOOOOVVEEE them. I never get shin splits or any injuries. I run about 15-20 miles a week. However, I only recommend these shoes to experienced runners as not used properly can really do some damage.

If you do get shin splints though. What used to help me before is roll your cold water bottle on your shins. 80% of shin splits are swelling of the muscle.

I got asics gel landreth 6, for women.

http://www.amazon.com/ASICS-Womens-GEL-Landreth-Running-Shoe/dp/B003P2VXHE

Another thing I never would have realized without some help from the guy working at the store was that I needed these in a whole size bigger (9.5) than my typical shoe size (8.5)!!

But everyone's needs are different!

lately my workouts for my legs have been mostly calisthenics like leg lifts, squats, plies, elevated lunges, calf raises, fire hydrants, etc. i do some suicides a few times a week too. and then almost every day i'll do cardio for at least 40 mins... maybe thats too much? i used to run but haven't in the last few months, because i'm scared my knees will get worse. so i've been doing the elliptical or a stationary bike. usually elliptical though, and i have a feeling my form sucks because i like to bounce on it (i haaaave to bounce! my ipod pumps me up).

mrphil86: i've heard such good things about the vibrams! well actually the shoe guy said theyre bad for runners but i disagree. if you run/land properly you don't need all that "support" from shoes which basically acts as a cast on the foot and causes muscle atrophy. i really want to get a pair but i can't get past the look of them :P

Yep that is exactly why you are getting the pain. Too much leg exercises. You do not need a doctor. Try my workouts. I have a feeling you would like them bc Its calisthenics.