Significant Shin Pain from Powerlifting?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Injuries and Rehab
1

Hey all, I’ve been having an issue and wanted to see if anyone had experienced something similar. I’ve been running recently, a mix of longer (2+ mile) runs and conditioning workouts on a turf field. I’ve had significant pain through the medial parts of my shins. I’m not a runner by any means, I haven’t run in a long time (maybe part of the problem), so I suspect it isn’t shin splints. Shin splints are, in my understanding, an overuse injury mostly from running, so by not running it seems that I could not have overused them in that context. Could this pain have come from my powerlifting training, doing heavy squats and deadlifts? I’m sure these types of movements could compound stress on my tibias. The pain occurs most during plantar flexion of my foot, any kind of jump takeoff or landing, as well as running. Any similar experiences? Any ideas to maybe reduce it? Thanks!

2

Hey mate, I’ve had shin splints for the past month or so since I started running. The last couple of weeks they have settled right down. I did a few things so I’m not sure if it was 1 particular thing.

  1. Took 2 weeks off (was running 1-2 times a week)

  2. Did toe raises with light dumbbells and high reps around 20. I do a lot of Calf Raises and I read if you have muscle imbalances in your shin muscles it can cause splints.

  3. Shortened my stride. A long stride puts more pressure on shins.

  4. Massage and ice my shins after running. I didn’t do this that much but it seemed to relieve the pain.

Good luck! Oh and it also may be your shoes. If it has a large heel to toe drop that can cause issues.

3

I’ve had long periods of running training, and recently picked up lifting.

I never got such pain from squats or deadlifts.

If I start running a fair amount again, I get shin splints.

Depending on your level, you don’t need much volume to get it… Just take a few days off and run for shorter distances at first.

Don’t forget to stretch. Irishman mentionned a few things but I have never tried them myself, apart from taking time off and having a shorter stride. Good luck!

4

Massage the shin muscles, do eleptical max incline, cut back squat volume. Should heal in a month or 2.