Anyone help me get rid of shin splints?

[erickthegreat11]

Doin my PT thing for the Marines and I started getting shin splints. I bought some new shoes to help, but think they're only going to get worse anyway.

 

[Lee]

workout yer calves, toe raises and such, helps reduce them

 

[ReallyHighIntensity]

stetch your tibs before you workout

 

[gmanlax7]

stretch a lot before and after

toes up against the wall style

you could also tape your shins/ankle

 

[erickthegreat11]

I do stretch before and after. I have pretty flexible calves bc I stetch them leaning on stairs. I also do calf raises with a 2X4 using 205#. Im thinking more along the lines of a form problem when running, but dont know how to change it.

 

[collegiateLifter]

i am not sure the reason for shin splints... but what about the excercise where your heal is planted and you raise your toe (maybe it's called toe raises?). I know this is recomended for people who get sore on the front side of their lower legs, after say running around and playing basketball

 

[spatts]

Posterior or anterior?

 

[Latamier]

Only way to get rid of them is by resting them. We see many patients for this same problem. What many people dont know is that shin splints can lead to stress fractures. Hopefully yours will not progress this far if you are smart enough to listen and take it easy for a while. A good anti inflammatory like Vioxx or Celebrex will also help, or is some cases we will immobilize the injured leg in a cast or fracture walker from the knee down. Good luck with your problem, and dont hesitate to shoot me a P.M. or email if you have any other questions.

 

[Stryker1992]

Only way to get rid of them is by resting them. We see many patients for this same problem. What many people dont know is that shin splints can lead to stress fractures. Hopefully yours will not progress this far if you are smart enough to listen and take it easy for a while. A good anti inflammatory like Vioxx or Celebrex will also help, or is some cases we will immobilize the injured leg in a cast or fracture walker from the knee down. Good luck with your problem, and dont hesitate to shoot me a P.M. or email if you have any other questions.

Hey bro, I have a major problem with those mother fuckers and I have to play through the pain, sometimes it is really really bad. I am a pro soccer player. Any advice?

I am going to email you

 

[kingc_79]

i had the same thing happen in the marines a few times and ppl tell you to just run through them. Only way mine ever got bettr was REST. My brother was in the army and he ran through like they said and they developed cracks in his shins, which they had to later put in casts and discharge him. just my .02

 

[erickthegreat11]

SPATTS: They're interior, about midway up. I know its bc my running form is way off, but I dont know how to go about correcting it

EVERYONE ELSE: I heard that shin splints are actually microfractures. I had them before when I used to run, and they only got worse and worse and I quit running

 

[edgecrusher]

Rest, Ice, stretch the calf muscle, and strengthen your tibialis anterior. (That is where most shin splints occur.) Do exercises that require dorsi flexion of the foot.

 

[erickthegreat11]

ok. Anyone know any links to descriptions of these exercises and types like them? Besides calf raises? I get them bad on the INTERIOR not at all on the anterior.

 

[erickthegreat11]

My bad yall.... the pain is on the interior about where a normal length sock would slide up to.
Id PM any of yall, but I want anyone else with this problem to find the answer too.

 

[SofaGeorge]

run in grass only, bro. If you are prone to shin spints you have to not run on concrete.

 

[erickthegreat11]

Damn! Good advise SofaGeorge, but I dont have that option. Srgt tells me where to run. She told me im stomping quite a bit when running, but Im finding it hard to change my form. I dont even run that much! 1.5 or 3 miles 3 times per week.... So you're right I am definitely prone to it.

 

[spatts]

Ugh...I typed out a long post, then the damn thing locked on me.

As I was saying: I had shin splints from 1990-1995 track seasons. I couldn't run without tons of Advil and Anaprox.

Two things corrected this for me.

First, I realized I had a BAD pronation, which I later learned is common for sprinters. Special shoes fixed that.

Second, my doc told me that (and I never quite understood this explanation) my gastrocs were so much stronger and heavier than the anterior muscles that it was rotating them off the bone, and leaving stress fractures on the bone. So for that next summer, I had light weight kettle bells that I'd wrap around the toes of my feet, and with my foot elevated I would write out the ABCs with my toes...just while sitting on the couch watching TV. A-Z left, then right, once or twice a day. The next track season, I had no problems.

 

[b fold the truth]

I hope that brian747478 is reading this thread!!!!

B True

 

[kingc_79]

Damn! Good advise SofaGeorge, but I dont have that option. Srgt tells me where to run. She told me im stomping quite a bit when running, but Im finding it hard to change my form. I dont even run that much! 1.5 or 3 miles 3 times per week.... So you're right I am definitely prone to it.

i know how that can be, been there. it's hard but just try to hit your heels first and take longer strides. it's akward at first but it helps. good luck

 

[meco24]

I'm not sure how to avoid, but this thingy brought me relief when I used to get shin splints - along with other sore muscles.

http://www.thestick.net/

 

[Soccer Chick]

I get them too, mostly from playing a lot of soccer. While running, it's helped to concentrate on my form like someone else said--really emphasizing stepping from the heel forward.

They SUCK!!!!

 

[erickthegreat11]

thanks for the help everyone. I ran last night with the Marines and I have absolutely no shin splints. I took the advise of people on here and just bit the bullet and really concentrated on not hitting the road very hard and lengthening my stride. It will be no problem after a while as it becomes for natural to run this way. I should now be able to put on some more mileage and start shedding some pounds.
Thanks to Soccer Chick, Kingc_79, Spatts, edgecrusher, Sofa George, meco 24, b fold, bkellyms,Latamier, collegiateLifter, gmanlax7, ReallyHighIntensity, and Lee.

 

[BatZgirl]

Try this

Okay, Ive got two solutions for you

1. To help you get rid of shin splints (and this is painful so be warned ) Using a cake roller pin, roll up and down your shin, id say about once or twice a week and you should reduce your shin splints

2. Strenghten your shins: Take a weight disk and sit it on your toe (preferably standing but you can sit too) lift the plate up this exercise should build your shins

Good Luck

'Z girl

 

[erickthegreat11]

Thanks BatZgirl, but no thanks. Yes that does sound painful, but I found that by modifying my stride/gait that my shin splints have all but vanished in a matter of days (I say almost because I ran 3 miles in bad shoes today and examined them and found the heel to be almost perfectly squared off as compared to my other shoes that are more curved). As for the weight plate on the toe/foot, I cant do that because my toes are extremely sensitive for some reason and that would only aggrevate them.

 

[meco24]

Re: Try this

1. To help you get rid of shin splints (and this is painful so be warned ) Using a cake roller pin, roll up and down your shin, id say about once or twice a week and you should reduce your shin splints

Sounds like a less expensive alternative to the stick thingy I bought.

It works!