Shin splints? Help me run again

[Davidpaul007]

In May I started running for the first time in years...I started slow and worked my way up to 2 mile runs. I typically ran 3-5x's a week in addition to my normal lifting (circuit-type traning, high reps, little rest) which I do 2-3x's a week. By August I started getting pain in my left shin on the upper outer side of my leg. It typically hurt (3/10 on the pain scale) for the first 1/4 mile of my runs, then the pain would go away so I didn't pay alot of attention to it.

After a couple weeks it started hurting me more often, anytime I was say stepping up, or even doing squats. I decided it would be a good idea to get some new shoes (old shoes were very old and according to my records i had run 60 miles in them since the end of May) and take a break. It's been 5 weeks now...and I tried a short 1 mile run last weekend and still had pain at the beginning of the run and later on in the day I had a minor burning sensation in the same area and so I iced it again.

I'm sick of not being able to run or do a normal leg workout--what else should I be doing? I've started stretching before/after excercise as well to no avail.

Is this in fact shin splints?

 

[kamper]

What new shoes did you get?

 

[JSt0rm]

Doesn't sound like a shin splint to me. I'm no expert so I'm sure others will weigh in. I would recommend a visit to the doctor.

 

[Davidpaul007]

What new shoes did you get?

I think they are aasics...they feel great on my feet and definitely an improvement during running (my old shoes were 2-3yr old Nike's)...I tried on several pair of "running" shoes in the store and these felt the best.

 

[Davidpaul007]

Looking at lower leg diagrams on the net, I would say my pain is in the tibialis anterior muscle about 3" down from my knee.

 

[polarmystery]

I think your stride might be bad. I used to heel-strike when running and would get mad shin splints. I switched my strike and fixed the problem.

 

[kamper]

I think they are aasics...they feel great on my feet and definitely an improvement during running (my old shoes were 2-3yr old Nike's)...I tried on several pair of "running" shoes in the store and these felt the best.

I'm not going to blame the shoes quite yet, but when buying traditional running shoes, you usually should match up the shoe style with the amount that you pronate. There are shoes specifically for under and over pronators, and neutral. An employee in a good running store can help you pick the right type, or you can find guides online to self-diagnose. Even with this it can often unfortunately be tough to pick out the right pair of shoes. Often what feels good in the store doesn't feel good anymore after a few kilometres of running.

And this is from the completely opposite end of the spectrum, but have you tried running barefoot at all? There are a number of people who can't get comfortable in any shoe and find that the improved form they develop while running barefoot solves their problems. It's not the most practical thing in the world, but it's something to consider.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Doesn't sound like a shin splint to me. I'm no expert so I'm sure others will weigh in. I would recommend a visit to the doctor.

Sounds exactly like shin splints to me. They hurt at the beginning, but pain alleviates with continued light activity. They will get progressively worse if left untreated. Essentially, you should ice the area and utilize some rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the anterior compartment of the leg. This means circumduction exercises and dorsiflexion exercises mainly. Limit extra plantar flexion exercises.

 

[mizzou]

I used to only get shin splints when moving from jogging on dirt/hiking trails to hard surfaces like concrete

 

[Davidpaul007]

Sounds exactly like shin splints to me. They hurt at the beginning, but pain alleviates with continued light activity. They will get progressively worse if left untreated. Essentially, you should ice the area and utilize some rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the anterior compartment of the leg. This means circumduction exercises and dorsiflexion exercises mainly. Limit extra plantar flexion exercises.

I could google some of this but I guess I'm lazy, can you just translate that to English?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I could google some of this but I guess I'm lazy, can you just translate that to English?

The point of my posts are typically to make you google it so you get videos and demonstrations.

 

[mizzou]

If you just have muscle soreness...not pain on inside or outside of the shin bone, could that still be shin splints?

I usually get some soreness in my calves and front shin muscles when getting back.into running, but it usually subsides with some stretching and rest

 

[SociallyChallenged]

If you just have muscle soreness...not pain on inside or outside of the shin bone, could that still be shin splints?

I usually get some soreness in my calves and front shin muscles when getting back.into running, but it usually subsides with some stretching and rest

The symptoms of progression over larger amounts of time and alleviation after warmup sound like shin splints. If you're sore, sure it will go away after time while running, but it will also go away over a period of days. Shin splints just continually get worse.

Also, I forgot to mention, OP. Icing is the most important thing you can do to reduce the impingement/pain. Taking pain killers is a less optimal idea since they can affect the recovery process, but if you need to, you can.

 

[Davidpaul007]

The point of my posts are typically to make you google it so you get videos and demonstrations.

After some googling, here is what I found:

First, you said to limit extra plantar flexion and it appears that this would be anything that works your calf muscles. Of note that may ore may not be of importance is that I did start training my calves in the past few months (before the injury) and my calves have responded very quickly gaining in size/strength.

Now, for excecises you reccomended circumduction exercises and dorsiflexion exercises to work the anterior of the lower leg. Circumduction looks useless for building anterior muscles.

How about walking on a treadmill with a steep incline? Is that bad or good for treating shin splints/strenghthening the anterior part of my leg?

From your post, it sounds like the rapid calf development coupled with the excessive running were the primary causes for my shin splints, is that correct?

 

[Java Cafe]

This may or may not work for you.

But, for what it's worth, I tried to jog in a couple of different kind of shoes (one was a Nike and the other was a Reebok, with heavily padded heels) after many, many years of not running. Every time I started, I had to give up after a few days, and then wait weeks for the shin splints to go away. Eventually, I gave up. Decided that jogging/running was not for me.

About three months ago, I bought a pair of Vibram Five Fingers (the Bikila model) and tried jogging in them. Surprise! No shin splints. I now run about two or three times a week in my V5Fs . . . something I never thought I'd be able to do.

This made my curious. I did my research; I am now convinced that I used to be a "heel striker." Heal striking forces a sudden straightening of the foot right after impact, causing the stress on the shins. V5F cured me of that.

I hate to sound like a paid endorser. But, I am not one of those. I am just delighted that I am able to jog.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

After some googling, here is what I found:

First, you said to limit extra plantar flexion and it appears that this would be anything that works your calf muscles. Of note that may ore may not be of importance is that I did start training my calves in the past few months (before the injury) and my calves have responded very quickly gaining in size/strength.

Now, for excecises you reccomended circumduction exercises and dorsiflexion exercises to work the anterior of the lower leg. Circumduction looks useless for building anterior muscles.

How about walking on a treadmill with a steep incline? Is that bad or good for treating shin splints/strenghthening the anterior part of my leg?

From your post, it sounds like the rapid calf development coupled with the excessive running were the primary causes for my shin splints, is that correct?

Circumduction exercises strengthen the anterior comparment in all ROMs. That's why they're important. Yes, you can walk on a treadmill with steep incline. However, the limiting factor there is typically not endurance of the muscles in the anterior compartment of the leg, but cardiovascular endurance. Do it in shorter bouts if you have to and do dorsiflexion exercises separate from walking on a treadmill.

And in many cases, yes, that's exactly what causes it.

 

[Davidpaul007]

Circumduction exercises strengthen the anterior comparment in all ROMs. That's why they're important. Yes, you can walk on a treadmill with steep incline. However, the limiting factor there is typically not endurance of the muscles in the anterior compartment of the leg, but cardiovascular endurance. Do it in shorter bouts if you have to and do dorsiflexion exercises separate from walking on a treadmill.

And in many cases, yes, that's exactly what causes it.

Thanks for the help. Finally something I can do when i can't run (I am also plagued by shoulder issues if I'm not very careful).

I've found that if I get a serious incline going on the treadmill I can get my heart rate up pretty high quickly (this is usually following weight lifting).