Shin Splints

I got them for my first few weeks of joining the gym, i noticed i dont now, presuming because ive got stronger, I have not ideas to stop them,or how long you have been training, but may be as you do more they will just stop.

I was having a problem with them but started stretching more before walking or running. I do some warm up and then stretches. While stretching, raise your foot and "write" the alphabet in the air with your toes. Do that for each leg. It works those muscles. Seems silly but it has helped for me.

Rest, rest, and rest! My best advice to avoid stress fracture. Elevate and ice. When muscles are warm (when your not icing them) stretch. Good luck! The better you rest now, the quicker it heals - be patient.

Also- Potassium seems to help (Bananas)

As far as running goes- make sure when you do return to run slowly and strike on the mid sole, not the heel. The jarring on heel striking is what always gave me problems running in my shins, knees and hips

Good luck! (Cant stress enough- rest, elevate and ice!

You just have to let them recover. You can ice them and use shin splint compression sleeves when you're walking/running. If they continue to come back, then you may want to have your feet examined for pronation and get new shoes.

I posted this in another thread, but it might be hard to find 'cause the subject line doesn't really relate

****************************************************************************************************************************


Just wanted to pop in with suggestions for shin splint exercises (I get 'em too)... before you walk (and ESPECIALLY before power-walking or jogging), you should stretch more. It won't make them go away completely if you're prone and/or already injured, but it really helps.

I do A LOT of leg stretches and muscle warm-ups, both before and after... here's a couple things I do to focus on my calves and shins:

1) Bend from the hips until you're touching your toes (or a reasonable facsimile), legs straight but not locked. Repeatedly lift your feet up from the heels, keeping your heels grounded though - like you're trying to get your toes to touch your shins. After about 15 seconds, you should feel your shins getting warm as the muscles are contracting. Now switch stretches.

2) Stand up straight, near a wall for balance if need be. Bend one knee slightly and touch the tips of your toes to the ground. Now curl your toes under your foot and lean that leg forward from the knee, keeping the rest of your body straight and upright. I can't tell you the exact angle, but you've got it right when you feel a stretch in your shin, the opposite direction of the toe-touch-contraction. Do this for about 10 seconds, then do the other leg, and switch stretches again.

3) Lunges. I don't need to describe these. They'll stretch out your calf muscles and Achilles tendon, which is needed as well since it's all connected down there.

In addition to my other stretches, I do these a minimum of 2 times before I go out walking, and at least 4 times before jogging. The harder I plan to push myself , the more sets of stretches I do before. And again afterwards, of course... #2 feels absolutely lovely after a long jog

Hello....I get really bad shin splints when i walk or run... i mean bad to the point that i cant even walk...does anybody have suggestions on what I can do?

I too suffered from this all.the.time. No matter how much or little i walked. I finally went out and bought some arch support insoles. Best thing I ever did. I have the kind that i can take in and out. So I use them in all my shoes. I have not suffered from shin splints since! Good luck

Walk on your heels when wearing tennis shoes to build up that muscle! My husband and I were both runners in high school and that's what our coach made us do! I have them too-so I understand how painful they are!

I had them when I started walking for the first couple of weeks. I kept at it and they have stopped on their own, presumably because I have strengthened that muscle now. This is not for everyone, though, but it worked for me.

I tend to tense up the muscles on the front of my leg. I've noticed that, when I focus on keeping those muscles relaxed during my run, the shin splint pain doesn't seem to be as bad the next day. Also, stretching before and after works wonders.

I have them pretty much year round. I bought some compression sleeves for my calves/shins that you can slide an ice pack right into (look into 110playharder.com) and that has helped tremendously. The combo of stretching, compression, icing and ibuprofen is the only thing that helps.

I play sports (soccer, rugby and Australian Rules Football) and I make a point of getting to the field half an hour early to start my warm up and stretching. Many people here have told you to stretch, I will reiterate it. Get the blood flowing, then stretch your calves, hamstrings, quads, calves again. Move around some more, stretch again. You get the picture.