Shin Splints

[Ajw118]

Anyone know how to deal with shin splints? I really only need to run 50 feet so I just need some temporary relief.

Thanks

[birdi_gurlie]

Well, here's how you take care of shin splints:

1:Change surface you run on [if its not possible; train on a different surface....asphalt/concrete is harder on shins than grass/dirt/sand.]
2:Be sure that your shoes are in good condition [have been worn for less than 300-500 miles] and ARE FOR YOUR TYPE OF ARCH.
3:Get good socks. Thor-lo are good, though they are expensive...if there's an outlet near you, get some!
4:Ice, Ice, Ice!
5:Taking a round of NSAIDS [ibuprofen, etc...] for 10-14 days, 1 200mg pill for about every 50lb with each meal. {Don't take more than that or for more than 10-14 days...or less than 10-14 days...because if more, it will hurt your stomach, If less, it wont have time to work.}

6: You can always do a shin splint tape job. It's really easy. Get some pre-wrap [it's foamy] and athletic tape. Wrap whichever shin hurts in the prewrap. then, tear a bunch of strips of the tape, about 10-12in long. Put one strip along the top and one along the bottom, lightly. Take one and wrap it around your shin diagonally, starting from either the top or the bottom. Be sure that it's tight, but not so tight that it cuts off the circulation. Then do the same with the next strip, HOWEVER, be sure that it's going the opposite direction and that where the two strips cross is over the part that it hurts. Do that all the way up [or down] your shin. Then put pre-wrap over it again and lightly secure with two strips of tape, one along the top and one along the bottom. BE SURE THAT IT WILL NOT CUT OFF YOUR CIRCULATION! [I tried to find a video, but I couldn't find it.]


ALSO, if they're killer, unless it's the very end of your indoor season, it would probably be best to lighten your training a little bit. And don't do all 4 events allowable in a meet...maybe 1 or 2, though distance would not be a smart idea However, most of the time, you just need to switch to a different, more forgiving surface, ice, and get good shoes and socks.

[ACvault]

1:Change surface you run on [if its not possible; train on a different surface....asphalt/concrete is harder on shins than grass/dirt/sand.]

Definitely helpful advice. If you can warm-up and cool-down on a field of some sort that would be ideal!

[nitro]

i have a great chiropractor that i go to and he always gets rid of them. What shin splints feel like are a bunch of knots in the muscles around the bone. what he does is he pushes on them(there is a ridiculous amount of pain) but after he digs the knots out all my pain is gone from the shin splints. Mine are usually pretty mild shin splints because i know once im starting to get them i need to go to him and get it fixed.

[Ajw118]

thanks guys, i'll try those ideas

[superpipe]

Here's comments I posted in another forum on this site:

Guys,

Shin splints are caused by 3 things and are fixable and preventable:
1. You have pronation issues with your feet ( lots of people have this problem including myself )
2. Your doing too much hard training too quickly
3. Over training

The first thing to do is see a podiatrist ( specialized foot doctor ). They can tell you if you have foot problems and how to fix them. Usually they can custom mold an orthodic for you. You will need 2 sets, 1 for your training sneaks and one for your spikes. The spike ones will be very low profile obviously. I wish someone told me about a podiatrist when I was in high school or college. I personally think every track athlete except maybe throwers, should see a podiatrist just to make sure your feet are correct or not.

After a podiatrist's diagnosis, the rest is easy, adjust your training based on the diagnosis. Except finding the right running shoe for your orthodic is very difficult.

Note -> The only negative about a podiatrist, in my experience, is they don't know footwear very well and can't tell you what kind of running shoe ( neutral, stability, motion control ) to use with an orthodic they have created. Very annoying. You'd think you could use a neutral running shoe since the orthodic, in theory, keeps your foot positioned correctly. Not so, as I eventually found out by experience and seeing a very educated Physical Therapist who specialized in running ( Very hard to find good PT's ). My PT confirmed my findings, but explained very well why you can't just use a neutral shoe after having orthodics made. He said your orthodic works perfectly when you heel strike and roll your foot to flat when running, but it does not work very well when you transition to the balls of your feet when running. Sprinting and jumping, where you're really ripping off the balls of your feet intensify this problem more of course. Made perfect sense. Just wish I found the info earlier. I was amazed I couldn't find this info anywhere on the web during my research about it. The point is, the orthodic does help a bit on that transition to the balls of your feet, but not alot. So depending on how bad your foot problems are, you need to figure out what type of running shoe you need with your orthodics.

Also, don't ever use any orthodic not made specifically for you by a podiatrist. They are specifically trained in this. PT's are not. Any off-the-shelf orthodic is useless because it's not 100% correct if it's even close. It's expensive, but worth every penny.

Some advice for figuring out what type of running shoe to get after getting orthodics is to go see a PT or running store that specialize in running, but most importantly, they have a treadmill setup with video to analyze your foot contact while running. My PT did this for me to confirm I finally bought the right running shoes for my orthodics. They can slow motion the video so you can see your foot position during heel strike, transition to flat, and transition to the balls of your feet.

Sorry for the long post, but this was one of my biggest issues that started in high school and I didn't get it figured out perfectly until this year. About 14 years, though I stopped vaulting for 7 or so years.

Shins splints have been around forever, yet the podiatrist part never seems to be apart of the solutions in all of the research I did on it for years.

[rainbowgirl28]

For mild cases of shin splints caused by minor gait issues, often times just going to a specialty running store and having an experienced running shoe specialist watch you run and get you fitted in a good pair of shoes is enough.

However, if you've tried this and tried running on softer surfaces and been icing diligently and it's still not helping, a podiatrist is an excellent resource.

[birdi_gurlie]

Also, be careful that when you're running on a treadmill, you're not running weird for you. I'm not used to running on a treadmill, so it felt weird when I ran on it, thus causing me to run weird. They then said "oh, you have high arch but you need a medium arch shoe with this insole..." and it ended up that shin splints. I've found that just buying shoes for my arch instead of the treadmill is best, but that's just me.

[rainbowgirl28]

I wouldn't go to a running store that makes you run on a treadmill. The store I go to has people run in the store and on a hill outside the store.

[superpipe]

Personally, I disagree with not going to a running store with a treadmill, one that has a video camera attached, that is. Yes, you can run different, but they should give you some time on it to try and relax until you are running "normally". The video camera is key. They can show you slow motion and frame-by-frame your exact foot movement, from heel strike to toe-off. That's what you care about and need to see. It takes an expert eye, if possible at all, to see the full heel strike to toe-off transition when you are running on the ground.

Running on the ground is more for you to feel the comfort and fit of the shoe. I agree you should also run on the ground with new shoes to really determine the feel and fit anyway, but that doesn't solely determine if the shoe is right for you.

[birdi_gurlie]

I didn't say for all people. I just said that I myself have had bad experiences with it.

[artesia38]

Anyone know how to deal with shin splints? I really only need to run 50 feet so I just need some temporary relief.

Thanks

Best thing to do is train those muscles with a rubber band... with resistance moving your toes back and forth, trust me, if you exercise those muscles in your shins you will rid yourself of shin splints.