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Shin splints...recovery stories??
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 2006-03-02 4:57 PM |
 Wisconsin |  Subject: Shin splints...recovery stories??Just looking for some encouragement really. When I started doing triathlons four or so years ago, I fell in love with it. I love running, biking, and swimming...sort of. But the challenge of tris had made me lose weight, get into excellent health and just became a better person. However, when I first started training for them I got shin splints. They have come and gone since then. I have tried using orthotics, tried Nike Frees, RICE, Chi Running and basically everything under the sun. I even stopped running completely in July and August of 2005. Then I started running again, 10 minutes, every other day. Painstakingly increasing the mileage by not more than 10 percent per week, with a recovery week every two or three. When I finally worked my way up to 30 minutes of running, the shin splints came back (this was just last month). So the question is this...does anyone have any words of encouragement for someone who is ready to just give up triathlons all together because these shin splints are so aggravating. Or if you've had shin splints, how did you get over them? Thanks for listening, just kind of venting too. Adam |
| 2006-03-02 5:54 PM in reply to: #359354 |
Elite 3650     Laurium, MI | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? i'm fighting them now. I'm using a combo of pool running and ice massage. It's working...sort of. The biggest hint I've heard was to continue to ice and massage them for three weeks after all signs of them have disappeared. |
| 2006-03-02 6:19 PM in reply to: #359354 |
Veteran 132 Land o' the Red Man | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? I was in the Army for 4 years, never knew anything about what shoes to wear, never worried about increasing running by 10%. I ran track in high school, albeit not anything longer than the 400. I never had shin splints until awhile back, prolly 2 years ago or so. I think in my case it was a combination of carrying extra weight, maybe older shoes but not as likely, and certainly starting out with entirely too much volume. In addition I just figured I'd run through 'em, which I did for awhile, but then they'd persist all the time, not just when I ran. I'm no pro or anything like that so you can take my advice FWIW, but if you are keeping within 10% increases, taking rest weeks every once in awhile, and nothing else has changed (run effort or "technique"), then you have either the wrong shoes or old right ones. My footprint is really wide and I pronate something awful. To my knowledge, Nike doesn't make a shoe that keeps that from occuring (Motion Control). I need stability, so I kinda switch b/t Saucony Grid Stabil's and NB 766's (basically whatever shoe is on the clearance rack and a MC shoe...) I can still feel twinges in my right shin that let me know that I'm one overzealous run from a season-ending injury, so I'm mindful of surfaces and try to think light... I forgot to mention I was thinking about shin splints the other day (they are never too far from my mind) and I wondered if I never got them in the Army because of the volume of sit-ups I did with someone holding down on my toes, essentially using the anterior portion of the shin muscles to help each rep. |
| 2006-03-02 7:38 PM in reply to: #359354 |
Expert 623 Wye Mills, MD | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? There are actually a couple different forms of what gets lumped together as "shin splints". Mine occurred on the inside part of my legs. This was caused by mild over-pronation (feet rolling in) and my right leg being 1/4" shorter than my left. I originally got a pair of orthotics from a podiatrist that only fit from the arch to the heel. The problem never fully went away, so I saw a PT who correctly identified all the things going on with my legs. She made me a pair of full foot orthos, and, voila, problem solved. When getting cast for orthotics make sure the doc has you lying face down, and not sitting in a chair - that's the only way they can make sure your foot is correctly aligned.You're going to want neutral shoes with a good pair of orthos (motion control shoes correct too much). And try to run on softer surfaces when possible. |
| 2006-03-02 7:56 PM in reply to: #359354 |
Extreme Veteran 351 Seattle | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? I'm not an othropaedic surgeon... but I've worked for them for 10 years... and I'm constantly asking questions. This is one from personal experience. True shin splints are caused by microscopic tears in the tissue that connects muscle to bone at the very base of your tibia. That muscle (the name of which escapes me) runs up underneath your calf and connects behind the knee. As was mentioned before, often its caused by pronation... the ankle rolling inward as your foot strikes the ground. Good news is that with the proper shoe/orthotic comination you can eliminate this pronation and take a lot of stress off of that connective tissue. Also Stretch that calf. It seems counter intuitive because the pain is at the front of the leg... but the muscle is at the back of the leg. The bad news comes from that "microscopic tears" phrase. This is a Real Injury, that Really Takes Time to heal. By taking up running again as soon as it no longer hurts, you really aren't giving your leg enough time to heal. I told my doc "So stay off of it for a couple of weeks?" and he said "No, several Months... and don't cheat or it will just come back again". He was right, I cheated and was gimpy again. If this sounds harsh take a look at what the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has to say: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=135&topcate... Good luck, and don't give up on triathlon training... just focus on the bike & swim portions, and rehab with some pool running. |
| 2006-03-03 1:17 AM in reply to: #359354 |
Extreme Veteran 338 | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? I also have battled shin splints through my running career. One thing I found that helped the recovery process is to stop wearing high-heels (or any heels for that matter!) to work. Even when it doesnt hurt, the angle put so much pressure on the crummy shin-splint muscle, which I believe is called tibialis anterior. Flat shoes with good support, even when you are not running, are always a good idea. Megz |
| 2006-03-03 8:56 AM in reply to: #359354 |
Expert 1195 Shelby Twp | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? ONe more addition.. i have had the problem on/off for a year now, and i noticed alot of help when i found the right shoes, and I also trail run about 75% of my runs. It helped out so much to get off the pounding! |
| 2006-03-03 9:40 AM in reply to: #359354 |
Master 4101 Denver | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? I also battled shin splints - basically from when I started running a year and a half ago until very recently. My feet are flat enough to impress the podiatrist when he was casting my orthotics. I had to experiment with several different types of shoes before finding a combination that worked well but now I am virtually pain free. It may take a while, but keep hope, you can beat shin splints. |
| 2006-03-04 6:40 AM in reply to: #359354 |
| Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? Thanks for the information and encouragment! It looks like I'll be shelved for a while (again), but it's for the better. Thanks again! Adam |
| 2006-03-04 3:29 PM in reply to: #359354 |
Elite 2796 Texas | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? When I feel shin splints coming on I can usually point to the fact that I haven't been warming up properly before running (in my case anyway). To get rid of them before they get bad I make sure I walk 10 minutes before I run, and then I do foot and ankle range of motion to promote blood flow to the anterior tibialis. After running (I swear by this stuff now), I rub my legs down with Arnica gel. I've been using it after I lift weights, after running, pretty much anything that might cause some muscle soreness. If there's any pain at all, it's only a fraction of what I would normally have. Just don't try to push through and suck it up (save that for fatigue and mental obstacles..). Cut back until you're pain free or they'll nag on through the year. Good luck. |
| 2006-03-04 9:43 PM in reply to: #359354 |
Master 1670 Harvard, Illinois | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? Visit www.barefootrunning.org Find a park and spend some time running barefoot. Your shin splints will be gone in no time. I have other links that discuss the benefits of barefoot running if you would like them. |
| 2006-03-05 3:12 PM in reply to: #359354 |
Expert 938 Haddam, CT | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? I suffered from painful shinsplints last fall, after a significant increase in mileage. From mid-Sept. through October, I wore an Ace bandage on my left shin, and iced it down/took Advil throughout the day. After 3 weeks, the inflammation died down, and I gradually (really slowly) built the mileage back up. It was slow, but it worked. I adopted some techniques from Evolution Running over the winter, and now I run pain free! |
| 2006-03-05 3:24 PM in reply to: #359354 |
Pro 4206 Los Angeles, CA | Subject: RE: Shin splints...recovery stories?? I had shin splints for a while also. Instead of running only outside on the street/sidewalk, I started doing some running on the treadmill also, to give my shins less stress. I think this balance of treadmill/street, and also I started biking alot more, which helped build my calf muscles up, helped me get rid of shin splints/lower leg pain. I also tried to switch my foot strike and tried other forms of running like chi or pose, but I ended up just sticking to my natural form regarding foot strike and form, and it worked out for me. |
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