Attn: Runners/People that exercise- quick Q?

Yep, sounds like shin splints. I developed them when I was playing basketball every day. I had never experienced them before and can't really say what caused them. Best advice I can give is to take some time off and they will go away.

 

Shin splints I reckon brother. I do not think there is an actual cure for it though. You usually get them from training/running too much on hard ground. To treat it, you will have to massage the area after every run. Should come good in a few days. The best way to prevent it is to have good shoes and warm up/stretch ect......I used to get them when I used to jog on the road/hard surfaces. I was told to start running laps around my old school oval and when I did, I never had an issue. I jog once a week (if possible) now on the road for 3-5km and do not get them at all.

 

When I ran cross country in high school I had shin splints and heel spurs. Similar symptoms that you describe. I would soak my lower legs in an ice whirlpool for about 45 minutes after each run to help alleviate the pain. It never really got better until I stopped running for a few months.
BT

 

Best advice is to get a better pair of shoes and stretch

 

I would definitely try and do some research on different running shoes. Find someone who specializes in sports medicine. or works for a pro team.

 

Those are definetley shin splints. I'm in track, and I deal with this kind of stuff all the time.

The best thing for any injury is ice. All you need to do is let your legs (well, knees down I guess) sit in ice for 15-25 minutes.

Also, you can just take ice cubes and rub them up and down your shins until they melt and that will help also.

One other thing you can do to help get rid of shin splints is to do the "duck walk". All it is: you walk on your heels, feet pointing as high up in the air as you can for 30-45 seconds for 3 reps or so.

Hope that helps.

 

I had incredibly painful shin splints, and apart from the stretching, strengthening and icing, custom-made orthotics saved the day. Maybe look into getting some.

 

I run about 2 miles 4-5 times a week for many years now. Running on a very hard surface, in your case concrete, is not recommended and not very healthy on the long run. It will effect various parts of your legs. It's a lot of stress from the impact of your feet on the hard surface. I run on grass football fields or tracks covered with this brick colored rubberized material. I don't really know what it is called, but it is used on all professional tracks. This reduces the stress on the legs. Second, is your choice of running shoes. You must buy a very good pair. Seek advice with any professional sports shop. There is a wide variety of good jogging shoes.

 

When I used to get shin splints, it was often from bad shoes. So first off, go to a competent running shoe retailer and have your feet properly sized and buy a great set of running shoes.

Next, in order to alleviate the shin splint, I found that rubbing a glass Coke bottle up and down my shin while applying as much pressure as I could would rub out the pain. Give it a whirl..it hurts like a bastard, but make 'em feel better.

 

New Shoes and also it sounds like you're running in small circles, which would also lead to injury sooner. Try to find some place where you don't have to turn as much.

 

Lay off the running and go to a bicycle or stationary bike. If I get injured I hate to stop so I just work around it and as long as you're not irritating things more it will get better.

 

As a Physical Therapist my first bit of advice without evaluating you in person would be to get orthotics. The best over the counter orthotics are called Superfeet and are available at REI. The best thing is to have someone cast your feet for custom orthotics. Shin splints in runners is due to 1 of 2 things. 1) too much running to fast. You need to procede with running in baby steps, not all at once. 2) pronation of the feet, solved with orthotics. I have done alot of research and the best shoes for runners are Asics. To check if you pronate ( foot collapsing ) look at the wear on the heal of your shoe. These need to be shoes that you have had for some time. If there is excessively more wear on the outside of the heal of your shoe compared to the inside portion of the heal then you are definitely an excessive pronator, solved with good orthotics. Shins splints are overuse of the anterior tibilais muscle. Hope this helps.

Dan

 

You could check out the addidas 1 Ive never used them but they sound cool.

 

New shoes and running surface. So don't run on a sidewalk or road, the grass next to it. A good workout to reduce the pain or it from happening again would be to work out the muscle above your tibia. Get a 2x4 piece of wood and stand on it with your heels. Move your toes up and down and you can put some light weights on your feet to help strengthen the muscle.

 

When I got back into running, I didn't think too much of it and just took off. After about 3 weeks, I started getting the same pain. I would usually ice my legs when I was done. When I would go run again, I would just wrap them and take an Aleve....Pain started to go away, but only because of the Aleve. Someone recommended the shoes to me, although I never thought of them going "bad." Went to a place called roadrunnersports.com, they had a questionnaire to help narrow down a good set of shoes(over/under pronating, foot arch, distance, etc). Pretty good site for me. I ended up buying the NB 1220. Hadn't had shin splints since.

 

Make sure you have good shoes, good FORM (important), ice, and take a BREAK. I hope you didn't mean you literally play every day. Your body needs rest.

 

Shin Splints Syndrome VS. Stress Fracture....

1. shin splints....
-dull ache followed by gradually worsening pain
-symptoms first relieved by rest...later become continuous
-pain is more diffuse (can't pin point the exact spot)
-hard to distinguish from stress fracture
-Treatment: RICE [Rest, Ice, Compression of injured tissue, Elevation]
-.....leg elvation and ice packs for 15 minutes at a time
-.....decrease weekly mielage, change shoes to waffle shoes

2. stress fracture....(overuse injury of bone)
-same ****: increasing pain with exercise, relief with rest
-but!!!!!!!pain is focal, sharp, worsened with weight bearing, may be referred to sites distant from fracture!!!!!!!
-XR won't show a subtle fracture line until 2-3 weeks following injury
(but a triple phase bone scan with technetium, or MRI can reveal it earlier)
-Treatment: rest, gentler training, monitored return to running
- ......6 weeks of rest is enough in most cases
-.......crutches if ordinary walking is painful (but this is rare)


Hope you get better bud...

 

I thought pronation was the running more on the inside od the foot, and supination was running with more wear on the outside? I always wear down my shoes on the inside edge first. Any suggestions for that? Are orthotics available to help with this tendancy?
BT

 

And now that you are heading to a tropical island, some good baby oil and a nice body to body massage should take care of your pains

 

Originally posted by BT
I thought pronation was the running more on the inside od the foot, and supination was running with more wear on the outside? I always wear down my shoes on the inside edge first. Any suggestions for that? Are orthotics available to help with this tendancy?
BT

BT,

Supination is very uncommon but to answer your question yes orthotics can help. I would not use over the counter orthotics. I recommend having someone personally cast your feet and have the appropriate accomodations met for your specific condition. NEVER, I repeat NEVER have someone cast your feet while standing or with any pressure through your foot. It is impossible to make the appropriate orthotic this way. Many will tell you differently but they are wrong. By the way do you have any problems with running and if so what?

Dan

 

Go to a specialty running store and have your running style evaluated. Shoes are everything when running. Try not to run on concrete. Try to fun on soft surfaces like a clay track, dirt track/trail, rubber track, grass field, etc. I have played basketball for 8 years and have never had any problems. I started running on concrete and started to develop weak knees. Take it easy with the running for a while and take care of yourself. You will feel much better once you start running on a proper surface. A lot of doctors don't recommend running at all because it can sometimes be too stressful on your legs. You can always pick up swimming, cycling, or something else. Mix it up, don't always run.

 

Ice it. Try before and after. See what works.

Stay off concrete. Asphalt, grass dirt. Concrete is the worst.

Stretch

cut down don distance and days until the pain goes away. No one like to hear this but you can do some real damage.

work back up to see what your body can tolerate.

get orthotics and the best shoes money can buy for your feet.

run to pain, never run through pain. aka if it starts to hurt STOP!

perhaps you need to see a real good sports doc. Ask around and find the best. there are alot of quacks out there. the guy who does the local college athletic program is probably pretty good. give us your location, maybe someone here can advise.

Watch the movie Forest Gump.

Ciao
PNH
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