Posted: 5/4/2005 4:22:29 PM EDT
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So I've been running on my treadmill for a while now, and it seems an old friend has returned to pay me a visit - shin splints. I first became familiar with shin splints during my stay at Parris Island, and they stayed with me (a milder version anyway) for 4 years. I still remember going to sick bay and the Navy doc pushing his thumb into my shin for whatever reason, maybe to make sure I wasn't bullshitting him. That fucking hurt. Since then I haven't run much, and I didn't think I'd ever get them again. I'm not running anywhere near the speed or distance I used to run back then but they still made it a point to say hi. Anybody else ever have them? Anybody have any experience dealing with it? |
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I had some when I was a freshman in high school, came from running a lot with crappy shoes. My doctor (big time athletic guy) gave me a copy of one his Road Runner Sports catalog and told me to get some shoes with... Road Runner Sports |
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Shin splints blow. I only had a mild case in HS, but I saw people who had trouble even walking on the cross country team. Seems simple, but no one's said it yet: Are you stretching? Stretch the piss out of your calves before and after you run. Another thing I found to help me was lifting stuff with my feet - trying to strenghten my shin muscles (whatever they're called.) Sit down and put something on the top of your feet/toes and lift up keeping your heels on the ground; you'll be surprised how quickly you can wear them out. |
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I've not heard anything egregiously inaccurate so far DOW, but allow me to add a few things I have learned, based on my experience with shin splints (and a stress fracture, oh boy was that fun!). I ran in high school, and continue to run regularly in college. Anyone with more expert knowledge than I can feel free to correct me in the event I am wrong on some point. First, you sound a bit like you started running fairly recently (a number of weeks? correct me if I am wrong). Conditioning is a possible source of shin splints. Second, taking an anti-inflammatory like Ibuprofen (Vitamin I!) was recommended to me by my cross country coach. Third, your shoe is extremely, I say again, EXTREMELY important. Feet can: under-pronate, over-pronate, and pronate normally. Pronating is the roll your foot does from ball to heel, which is absorbing the shock of impact every step of the way. Pronating improperly can cause joint problems, paticularly the knees. Determine the shape of foot you have to select the proper shoe 'last' for your type foot (high arch, reg arch, flat foot). Then see if you need a motion control, cushioning, or other type shoe. Google is helpful here. Fourth, Goonboss has a point. You could get off the treadmill and try ellipticals. Or swimming, or something. Depending on your age this may be the wiser course. Fifth, stretching is good, but more important when you are WARM. Try putting some water in a dixie cup, and put it in the freezer. Rub your shins down with the ice block and tear away the paper as it melts. Pop some Ibuprofen. Don't over-do either. Lastly, FOUR YEARS???!! Good Lawd man. I am not sure you didn't have a stress fracture. Did it hurt to walk? That was a long time ago, but still--geez. If you have shin splints when you are walking around normally, alarm bells should go off. A stress fracture is a hair-line crack in the bone, and you will not fail to notice it. When I got one in high school, I got a special kind of x-ray--they inject you with a very slightly radioactive tracer, and where all the blood is going shows up brightly--so things like heart, brain, and lower left shin were lit up like a Christmas tree. A regular ol' x-ray may allow a stress fracture to show up too. If the shin splints won't go away check it out. This advice is worth what you paid for it. |
| I got them BAD in HS playing football. I personally think they were the reason 2 a days sucked, everything else would have seemed manigable had I been able to walk. The funny thing is by the end of the season they were pretty much gone, as if my system got used to the pain and overcame it. I always felt that a good pair of Dr. Sholls went a long way. |
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Stop running on the treadmill. That's what caused them. I got shin splints while treadmill running. I did some research on it (several years back) and found quite a bit of information stating that treadmills will cause shin splints. I stopped using the treadmill. I no longer have splints. |