Shin Splints; HELP

I’m fairly new into running (3 months of running 3-4x/week, 1-3 miles), and I seem to be very prone to shin splints.

Is there much you can do? From what I have read, icing and resting is about it.

Also, when I run slower it seems worse than if I’m running fairly fast. Slow being 9kph faster being 12-13kph.

I’d have no issue with just resting them, but I’m heading to Texas for Firefighting academy and I know we will be running about 2 miles each day, and testing my 1.5 mile each week.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated

Oh, awesome vid! Thanks

I work with a few people that have run the NYC marathon and they all say getting proper shoes is crucial. At a good running store they will watch you run on a small turf track to see what type of shoe is best for your style. I don’t take much advice from these folks but what they say in that regard seems pretty sound.

[quote]kheaslim wrote:
Oh, awesome vid! Thanks [/quote]

No problem, man. Hope you manage to sort it out.

Yeah thanks for the vid, will definitely be of help. Only recently started running again recently and have been having the same problem. I did find lengthening my stride seem to ease it a bit and I agree it seems to be worse when running slower.

Funny thing I used to get shin splints a long time ago, but not since. I dunno why they stopped.

Close to that video I used to do , from time to time, foot flexion by sitting on the leg curl and putting my toes under the pad and bringing my toes toward my shin (is that flexion???). That worked the shin muscles.

I’d also say that if possible, drop the running to twice a week for a few weeks to see if that helps.

Buy a good pair of shoes. Not going to immediately solve your prob, but will help.
Running on grass is less of an impact also.
Good luck on the firefighting school

[quote]kheaslim wrote:
Oh, awesome vid! Thanks [/quote]
I agree, good info.

You could roll over your anterior tibs with a foam roller also.

My opinion, take it for what it’s worth: Stretching and icing are great and will help, but won’t address the problem, that there’s something wrong with your biomechanics (already mentioned). You’re hitting the symptoms without addressing the cause of your pain. I used to have a lot of shin pain, then shortened my stride and started forefoot striking with minimalist shoes. Nothing hurts anymore. It took a while to acclimate my calves and achilles tendons to it, but I run faster and without pain. New Balance Minimus is a good shoe to look at, but like anything running-related, you’ll need to find out what works best for you before committing to it. For me, more shoe (cushioning, etc.) is not better, so getting sized by someone at Fleet Feet or the like isn’t a good idea (IMO). Good luck with it.

Interesting bits of advice here, I appreciate it.

So far shortening my stride has been the worst thing. Some key points that Ive been working on are tight/weak calves, weak tib anterior (as mentioned by bbb), and terrible ankle mobility.

Im intrigued by these minimalist shoes. They seem to be all the craze right now. I can always use some more speed in my runs too :wink:

Maybe “shortening stride” is kind of a bad term. Try to hit with more of a midfoot strike, and keep your bodyweight over your foot. I’m probably doing a bad job of describing it, but the idea is that if you heel strike, all the impact is flowing back into your body and hurting you, regardless of cushioning. Pose running is one of the “new” big things on that front, and, although I’ve previously trashed it, I have to swallow my pride and say it works. (www.posetech.com)

As for minimalist shoes, it’s almost impossible to run wrong when it hurts like hell if you do, and those shoes make it hurt if you’re wrong. I’ve gotten faster with them, I’m planning on doing a 50 or 100 miler in them sometime soon, and probably faster than I’ve done in the past, and hopefully less painful.

Bottom line, do what works for you, and seriously, since your upcoming job demands running, don’t live with shin pain, because you definitely don’t have to.

Here’s another thing that I learned a long time ago…don’t stretch before you run.

I walk for 4 or 5 minutes, then do a few 30 second jogs, then walk a minute or two more before the real running starts.

I started running at 18 (in 1991) and would stretch before I ran and would get a tight lower back and calves…so I’d stretch more the next time, thinking I hadn’t done enough. Then someone told me that when you think about it your leg doesn’t go through that great of a range of motion when you’re running so don’t stretch like that till the run’s over.

Shorten the stride by landing your foot early-ish but pushing out/ kicking out, all the way back. When sprinting balls of your feet kinda thing, but when running alot of hills and longer distances learn to roll from heel to toe. Ice, Roll, and rest it out. Just tips from experience.

I dont know if this is your issue or not but this is something I have dealt with before. I thought I was developing shin splints but it was actually compartment syndrome.

I was almost forced to have facial release surgery to correct it but luckily I avoided it. Its something to look into IMO. Do you get numbness in your feet when you run?

Glad to hear that things are working out a little better for ya

I may need to get this looked at by someone. I just ran 5k and they feel about as they ever have.

I feel like when I land, my arch drops and I roll in towards the inside of my foot. I land initially towards the outside of my foot though.

I think arch support may be what I need, but I’ll get a professional to check things out.

As far as minimalist shoes, is the idea that your foot becomes stronger and tightens your arch back up and re-aligns everything? Perhaps I should get some vibram 5 fingers to wear around as a long term fix.