Trail running injury...

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armorflamemusicman
armorflamemusicman Posts: 12 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
About a week ago, I attempted to add interval jogging into my exercise routine. Other than being out of breath at the end of it, I felt fine. It was after I came home and slept that I woke up the next day with shin splints. The pain stayed with me for almost a week, gradually disappearing each day.

Even though it was only my first day into it and I really didn't have any intentions of jogging any more than I had to (only to aid myself with losing weight), my first thoughts were "I feel like I could really get into this". With that in mind, my question is...where did I go wrong? I switched between walking/jogging for about 20 minutes (walk 30 seconds/jog 1 minute, after a warm-up/cool-down walk of 5 minutes). Did I overdo it? The trail that I interval jogged was gravel and I wore trail shoes that day...could the shoes be the problem? Any helpful advice would be appreciated.

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  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,493 Member
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    How did you select the trail shoes you wore? Did you pick them out after having a gait analysis?
  • armorflamemusicman
    armorflamemusicman Posts: 12 Member
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    7lenny7 wrote: »
    How did you select the trail shoes you wore? Did you pick them out after having a gait analysis?

    I didn't have a gait analysis. I went to a shoe store later that day (after I left work) and picked the trail shoe that I felt fit the best. I'm not sure what the closest place would be that actually does a gait analysis.
  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Gait analysis isn't the end-all be-all. I've always done better in shoes I picked out because they felt good to run in than because a store employee "analyzed" how I run.

    For just a normal gravel path, most people would still be in road shoes. Trail shoes are often much much stiffer (more protective against rocks and stuff), which can force your stride to change and put more stress on different areas. You don't really need them on crushed limestone. Also, what shoes did you choose? If you've been running in something with a higher heel-toe drop and you picked out very flat trail shoes, that absolutely would put more pressure on your Achilles and calf=>potential shin splints.

    And also, keep in mind that you pushed yourself into a new activity on (I think?) a new type of surface. You're using muscles in new ways, stressing out both them and bones in new ways.

    Finally, YES, running is awesome in general and trail running is THE BEST. Welcome to the party!
  • armorflamemusicman
    armorflamemusicman Posts: 12 Member
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    I'll invest in a pair of running shoes and give it another shot. I'm still not sure if I overdid it or not, but I found a "beginners" running program that I'm going to try.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    In my experience shin splints are nearly universal for anyone that starts running or restarts running after a long time off. My solution is to ease into it over a period of a few weeks starting out with mostly walking and only a little running and gradually adding some more each time.

    Good running form also helps pevent the issue. Google Good Form Running

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