Shin splints

rockdrummer

Have recently taken up jogging - went for my 5th 7km jog last nite and got terrible shin splints. The other 4 I didnt. I do stretches during the jog and after. I cant think why I got them and is their anything I can do to prevent them. I like going for a jog but if I get these I'll have to stop !!!

tetsujin1979

Had them recently, started getting progressively worse after playing soccer. Doc told me nothing for it but rest, so nothing, no gym, no soccer, no cycling to work for 2 weeks. Played first game back last night and no complaints.
Unfortunately for you, rest is about the only thing you can do with shin splints. Any sort of impact will just make it worse

zappb

This is a horrible problem;

It happens for a number of reasons - you may have fallen arches (flat feet), over arched, running on hard ground can bring it on, running technique, very tight calf muscles, etc...

What happens is the muscle of the front shin is over compensating for the calf muscle. This happens because the calf muscle is too tight, and when your heel hits the ground while running forces the front shin muscle to come into play before it should.

Its horrible because it takes weeks to recover from if you have severe shin splints - and comes on quite fast the next time but the good news is it can be dealt with.

I do yoga twice a week, and some of the postures for that are great for stretching the calf muscle,

Go to a physio - I get dry needling done on my calf muscles - she sticks needles into the muscle to loosen it up a bit.

The physio will also show you ways to stretch the calf muscle in praticular the Soleus muscle - which is very easy to cheat on stretches.

If you have flat feet you can get special soles moulded for your feet - the physio will sort that out, costs around 150euro.

Being overweight doesn't help at all, and you really have to stretch every day, its a pain in the ass, but you really have to do it - Stretching is almost more important then running.

Another thing is get a bicycle and go out on that, it won't set off the shin splints or knee problems etc... and you get a good cardio work out - although make sure you are peddling at a cadence of around 90.

I get shin splints from Soccer -Last year I went to st Paul's pre season, got shin splints after 3 weeks, rested for 2 weeks, and when i went back, got shin splints again after a week. Left and never went back. This year i'm starting to really give it a proper effort to get back, and that means i have to keep stretching stretching stretching. Hopefully will beat off shin splints for good this summer.

loopyloulou

i got shin splints a couple of weeks ago but i also had them years ago when i was running. the physio back then gave me some god pointers:
no high intensity training and ice them after every session
rest if possible
personally i have fallen arches so good arch supports in your footwear
he also advised to build up my leg muscles so ive been doing more weights instead of running/classes
one of the exercises he told me to do was put a towel on the floor and try and grab it with my toes so that it gathers under your foot
they all worked before so im doing it again and im gradually able to do a bit more each week with no pain

Glenbhoy

I have been plagued by shinsplints all my life - it's a familial thing, we all have them.
One possible help is a pair of orthotics, these fit into the shoe and are supposed to try and correct any deformities in the shape of your foot. Any decent chiropodist/podiatrist can carry out a bio-mechanical examaniation of your feet and get you fitted out for these. These should be tailor made as I once got a pair 'off the shelf' with disastrous consequences. Overall cost, probably about €200-€250 for the examination and the orthotics.
The other thing, is, as has been mentioned, plenty of calf stretches. I have a stretching board specially made for this and it undoubtedly gets the best calf stretch possible. It's basically a board set an incline (adjustable), you stand on it and it stretches your calf muscles to an extent that is difficult to replicate without the board. I made mine myself, but I think these can be bought.
Finally, ice the shin after exercise, as one of the main problems with shin splints is that left untreated the scar tissue build up exacerbates the problem to such an extent that they'll always be there (I know from personal experience).