Running and shin splints
caylalane
Posts: 11 Member
I have shin splints in both legs, and I'm wondering how to keep running while I have them. Most everything says to switch what you're doing for a while, but I really love to run and don't want to stop. I've also read that you can bind your shins with an ace bandage and that can help with the discomfort and stress... has anyone tried this, or does anyone have any other advice?
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What I did was give the adequate time to heal and then run, heal run heal run until my intervals were close enough to no longer get them. I also switched shoes and included barefoot sprints twice a week.1
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I'm not sure i would run through them. What helped me back in the day was changing the way I ran ( I was a heel striker) and stretching. I don't get them anymore.1
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One of my friends who is a marathoner suffers from shin splints. She wears compression sleeves on her calves most of the time, not just when running, and believes they help.1
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Stretch before or after? Both? I've been stretching after, but when I get off the treadmill I'm almost in tears lol. But I'm wimpy so that might have something to do with it.
I noticed after 4 days no running they felt better yesterday and I was able to run 4 min straight (accomplishment for me when 1 minute felt like forever) but toward the end of my intervals my pain was back
Elliptical doesn't hurt at all, but I don't feel like I'm getting as much out of the elliptical. This sucks.1 -
Best thing to do for shin splints is to not do impact exercise. If you have a full range motion AMT machine at your gym, use that and just increase the resistance and elevation to a level that's pretty strenuous and push yourself, but do intervals. I use elliptical in the same way but the AMT machine is so much better in my opinion.2
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You really need to let them heal. I tried running through mine and got to the point that I could barely walk. Look up exercises for shin splints, pointing your toe and writing the alphabet in the air and lowering yourself up and down with your heals hanging over the edge of a step are the two I do. Make sure you really warm up before you run, I walk for 5 minutes, including walking on my tip toes for some of that time. Wrapping with sports tape and compression sleeves both helped me. Also you have to have the right shoes, Asics have really made a difference for me, but everyone is different. Shin splints can be caused by trying to do too much too fast, so increase your distance slowly, don't do too much.
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My shin splints resolved with shoes that addressed my overpronation. Brooks Adrenaline GTS and Ravenna both work well for me.
Overpronation is a common cause of shin splints, but certainly not the only cause. There are also other problems that can be confused with shin splints, such as stress fractures.
Running through shin splints may not be advisable. Consider an alternate activity - I found cycling to be a pleasant alternative.1 -
Used to get shin splints something fierce as a sprinter on my high school track team, to the point where I couldn't even walk that day or the next. Ice water helps immensely with immediate pain, though the numbness wears off after a while so you need additional steps to help prevent them in the first place.
My coach prescribed me two exercises to accompany my normal running routine:
1. Walk backwards a quarter mile
2. Walk slowly forwards, but try to keep your toes pointing to the sky the entire time. Not quite walking on your heels high, as you still want the entire heel-ball connection to touch the ground, but keep the toes up. Until you get used to it, you'll need to walk very slowly.
Alternate steps 1 and 2 for a mile to a mile and a half daily. This will greatly strengthen the muscles on the front of your legs (where your shins are).
You also need to keep in mind the amount of shock travelling up your legs. Running places an insane amount of weight on your lower legs with every step, several times your body weight every time your food lands. Some ways you can reduce the impact:
1. Make sure your shows are actual running shoes -- hightops and tennis shoes have their place, but serious running deserves running shoes
2. Run on softer surfaces -- pavement is softer than concrete sidewalks, rubber tracks are better still, running on grass is ideal. Sand actually takes the concept too far and increases shin splint incidence IME. Treadmills fall somewhere between pavement (streets) and tracks.
3. Monitor your foot placement. Sprinting calls for rising up onto the balls of your foot, heels never touching the ground. Distance needs a rolling motion, heel-ball-toe. Running barefoot can help subconsciously force you into this correct rolling motion to reduce impact to the souls of your feet, since slapping bare skin onto hard ground repeatedly can hurt if not done right.
My coach also had us eating high-potassium foods like bananas regularly, but how much of that was truth and how much a placebo effect (plus trying to get high school teens to eat healthy) I cannot testify. Can't hurt, though.
The good news is shin splints aren't forever. My first year of track I suffered daily (and I mean tears in eye suffered) for the first couple months, started to get better by the third month, and my final year running I didn't have a single incident of shin splints despite running harder and faster. I got over them, you can too.3 -
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I work a desk job so my legs and used to get tight very often before I got a standing desk.
I would recommend steching your shins/ calves more often throughout the week.
For shin splints, place your heels together and bring your feet to a "V" and rise up to your toes. Do 5-10 reps of this when you have some time in the day. Do the same thing with your big toes together.
By doing this it will help stretch out the shin.
I've found it helps my ankle mobility as well to incorporate regular body weight calf raises.0 -
Stop running till they heal and then build up veeeeery slowly again1
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Have you tried getting fitted for new shoes?1
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In most cases, you can treat shin splints with simple self-care steps:
Rest. Avoid activities that cause pain, swelling or discomfort — but don't give up all physical activity. While you're healing, try low-impact exercises, such as swimming, bicycling or water running.
Ice the affected area. Apply ice packs to the affected shin for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, four to eight times a day for several days. To protect your skin, wrap the ice packs in a thin towel.
Take an over-the-counter pain reliever. Try ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), naproxen sodium (Aleve) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) to reduce pain.
Resume your usual activities gradually. If your shin isn't completely healed, returning to your usual activities may cause continued pain.
Had shin splints when I was in basic training in the army. Take care of them properly and they will heal fast, if not, it could take months.0 -
My shin splints went away when I changed from neutral to stability shoes. A deep leg massage also helped a lot.0
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I have always thought shin splints are a phase, an initiation every runner has to go through. You get them when you start running and you increase your miles. Then they go away and you never (?) get them again.
I'm pretty sure I continued running a bit through mine, though I cut back my mileage a lot, of course.
Shin splints are one of those physical adaptations you have to go through, so I don't know that you necessarily have to drop running completely. How can your body toughen up if you stop totally?
Whatever you do, I am pretty sure they always go away.0 -
Please be careful, cross train, STRETCH-- listen to your body or they can definitely get worse... Learn from my mistakes!!!! Stretch your calves, some physical therapy places (athletico) offer free screenings and advice!0
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Let them heal up first. take to walking as best you can in the mean timeYou really need to let them heal. I tried running through mine and got to the point that I could barely walk. Look up exercises for shin splints, pointing your toe and writing the alphabet in the air and lowering yourself up and down with your heals hanging over the edge of a step are the two I do. Make sure you really warm up before you run, I walk for 5 minutes, including walking on my tip toes for some of that time. Wrapping with sports tape and compression sleeves both helped me. Also you have to have the right shoes, Asics have really made a difference for me, but everyone is different. Shin splints can be caused by trying to do too much too fast, so increase your distance slowly, don't do too much.
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I had them and didn't know what the shooting pain in my legs were. Eventually I collapsed and couldn't walk.
Doctor told me to rest and gave me some antiinflammatories to help. I rested for a month or so as advised then stepped back on the basketball court and the pain came rushing back.
I'd rested for a month and it didn't make a difference so this time I decided to try it my way.
I bought some of those neoprene compression sleeves for my shins which I wore when I ran or felt the pain and did daily stretches. I changed my shoes and made sure I had adequately supported insoles to use and finally I started to do leg weights, calf raises, squats etc really seemed to help me as it built up the muscles.
Fast forward 8+ years and I'm ok. I avoid road running like the plague but can do whatever else I want. I do still need to ensure I have the right shoes and protection though.
Good luck !0 -
Very good questions! I'm a NASM Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist down here in Texas and have dealt with them personally as well as with many clients. They are a very common runner's problem but your running days don't have to be over.
Lots of good advice in the comments, the main thing to remember though is that if you are feeling pain, your muscles are being damaged! This is very different than a sore muscle and no you are not wimpy!
But once they heal up, how to keep them from coming back?! Try this, jog a minute or so completely on your heals, with your toes off the ground. What did you feel?
Now repeat the same thing but this time do it completely on the front part of the foot/toes. How did they feel different???-2 -
I used to get them on ocasion when I was in the Military. I could never find anything to fix the problem. Then it got to the point where extended walking would cause pain. What finally worked for me is calf raises, and a lot of them. Something you can do practically anywhere.0
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I got this twice from increasing my running too much too quickly...
Started doing more running again a couple of months ago and got a touch of it in my right shin. I rested, did more walking and less running (took a week off when it first hit) then increased it slowly. I still get a twinge towards the end of my long runs but I'm not going to increase my mileage for a month to let it clear up.
Sounds like yours is a lot worse so a month off running would be good for you (take up cycling or increase the pushups you can do - challenge yourself somewhere else to keep it interesting).
Take it slowly and back off if it comes back. Good luck!
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Your running days dont have to be over but you should slow down the running for now. I thought I would never run because of my shin splints. 1500 miles later I am still going. What did I do? Didnt run with shin splint pain, increased mileage slowly, ran slower, shorter stride. The treadmill made me run too fast initially so it took a little longer for them to go away there.0
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Have you tried compression Socks or sleeves for your lower legs? Those seem to help me a lot.0
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I use to get them a lot about 2 years ago but I noticed that it only happened under certain circumstances. For example I couldn't run on pavement for more than a quarter mile. But I could easily run 2 miles On a treadmill so I did the treadmill for 2 years. I'm able to run on pavement now but I keep my jog to a 1.5 mile and I sprint most of it because it aides in dropping my body fat levels. Take care of your body and it will take care of you.0
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sardiver823 wrote: »Very good questions! I'm a NASM Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist down here in Texas and have dealt with them personally as well as with many clients. They are a very common runner's problem but your running days don't have to be over.
Lots of good advice in the comments, the main thing to remember though is that if you are feeling pain, your muscles are being damaged! This is very different than a sore muscle and no you are not wimpy!
But once they heal up, how to keep them from coming back?! Try this, jog a minute or so completely on your heals, with your toes off the ground. What did you feel?
Now repeat the same thing but this time do it completely on the front part of the foot/toes. How did they feel different???
Wait, why did this post get flagged?
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sardiver823 wrote: »Very good questions! I'm a NASM Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist down here in Texas and have dealt with them personally as well as with many clients.
Wait, why did this post get flagged?
All his posts have mentioned that he's a personal trainer in Texas. Kinda has an odor of spam.
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You definitely want to spend more time warming up prior to the run and then doing stretching after. Icing afterwards will really help too
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Cherimoose wrote: »sardiver823 wrote: »Very good questions! I'm a NASM Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist down here in Texas and have dealt with them personally as well as with many clients.
Wait, why did this post get flagged?
All his posts have mentioned that he's a personal trainer in Texas. Kinda has an odor of spam.
Ummm... no. It kinda lends credibility (as far as that goes on here). Flagging him for it, however, kinda has an odor of harassment.0
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