General Fitness & Nutrition: Shin Splints..

Does anyone have any advice or tips on how to deal with shin splints from their past experiences?

Thankfully, I haven't had any shin splint problems but I'll put my two cents in if you don't mind.  You're feeling it in the tibialis muscles that lift the front of your foot up.  Have you been running hills lately?  You have to lift the forefoot up a bit higher as you go up a hill.   As you slowly get better watch the grade you run on for a while if possible.  Don't try any strengthening until there is no pain or you'll just aggravate it.  Like Jen Zen says, stretching is great for it as well as the ice.  When the pain is gone you can strengthen it by leaning with your back against a wall and slowly lifting  the front of your foot up and down so you are on your heels with your toes up.  The minute you begin to feel those muscles getting tired, stop, so you don't aggravate them again.  Sadly, shin splints come back if you are not careful so if it starts to bother you again, rest before it gets any worse. You'll be back and running in no time.  Good luck!

I have been dealing with shin splints as well.  The conection I've found is with a treadmill.  I can barely do 1-2 miles on a treadmill (no elevation, steady pace, no hill intervals) and WOW!  I ran 9 miles today outside (some hills up and down) and no issues at all!

Any suggestions on this??

Hi all, I have serious problems with shin splints so decided to share my story.  Just got an MRI which showed grade 3 medial tibial stress syndrome (which is basically the step right before a stress fracture).  This is a problem with the bone and NOT the muscle.  In your case, it could be Anterior Tib pain, but you'd feel that more on the lateral (outside) of your leg.  If you're feeling it on the medial (inside) of your leg, it's probably due to abnormal forces on the bone.  This can be caused by many things, in my case it was very flat feet and very tight calf muscles.  I have been going to PT to work out my calves and got orthodics for my shoes and that seems to be working well...although I am still not allowed to run for awhile until it completely heals.  If you have pain during walking, or even at rest I'd go see your doc, because it could be a stress fracture.  If it's just during or immediately after running, treat it with RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation).  And be sure to stretch those calves and wear the proper running shoes!  Hope this helps!

My 2 cents I have suffered shin splints for about 16 years, since I was a teenager. As an adult I would get pains even walking too fast in work shoes. My girlfriend convinced me to start running about a couple of months ago & I was very concerned about my shins & knees (they are bad as well but that is another story). She took me to get good running shoes and I did 3 weeks of strength work on the knees & shins before the first run. 

Now into my 4th week of running I do lots of stretching & careful running up and down hills and no pains, up to about 4.5kms now & gradually building.

Like everyone said, cut back on your running, look into better shoes, and go get some xrays done.

I ran through mild shin splints only to lead myself to a stress fracture. Put myself in an air boot and out of running for almost 10wks. It was tough.

Now that I'm coming back, I'm redeveloping shin splints and have started looking into it early. After a quick visit to the dr. I have the correct shoes, am going through PT, and starting slower.

Keep your weekly gains to 10% or less. Running is easily injury prone.

Hey there, I had terrible shin splints for about 2 years of running and eventually got an injury as well.  I tried different shoes, ones for stability, ones for motion control etc etc.  I even tried different surfaces to run on and such.  Nothing really worked.  At one point, I even started developing total numbness in one of my feet from the ankle down whenever trying to go over 12.5-15km.  I may sound like a broken record because I have seen it uttered before but the only thing that worked for me was fore-foot running and barefoot running. 

 

I thought it was crazy too but ran out of options to try and alleviate my problems.  The first thing I noticed in the initial two weeks when I worked up to 10km, and while my calves hurt from the workout of their lives, I had no shin splints.  I eventually extended it to 20km, still no shin splints and no numbness.  After about 6-8 months I tried the regular running shoes without any problems.  I still barefoot run exclusively now just because I haven't once been injured or even sore yet as opposed to the daily little aches I used to have with shoes. 

 

Eitherway, I believe the message that corrective shoes and some of the more stabilizing shoes just crutch the problem instead of solving it.  I'm not saying to go and buy a pair of Vibrams and start yourself, but maybe look into what weaknesses could be causing this and try to work at strengthening those areas, whether form or capabilities, rather than going straight to correction.  I recommend starting on form though and moving from a heel-strike to at least a mid-sole strike.  This may fix it all.  It does for a significant amount of people.

 

Edit: Oh, and invest in some new good running shoes as well.  This should be your first move.  Any wearing on one side more than the other could cause shin splints.  Try to go for a balanced pair rather than a clunky and heavy corrective one.  It could be just that easy.  The GT 2130 someone mentioned is a good choice, but if you have some money to burn, try a Nimbus or Cumulus. (Sorry, mostly familiar with Asics.

I used to have terrible shin splints, to the point where it hurt to walk, and I finally (after two full track seasons of suffering) discovered that it was all about the shoes.  I used to wear the typical Asics, and turns out that the soles were too soft and didn't provide enough support.  Now I am loyal to Reebok! I haven't had any problems since.  If you can feel the pain in your shins throughout the day too, you may want to try wrapping Ace bandages around your lower leg as compression treatment.  Also, ice, ice ice!

Unfortunately, I think most runners experience shin splints at one point or another. I talked to my sister who is an avid runner and personal trainer who gave me some great advice to "heal" shin splints. You can never heal shin splints because it is when the bone and muscle separate on your shin. One, purchase good shoes. I have been through several makers of shoes, including Adidas, Reebok, and now Asics. It is important to find a shoe that offers the right support. Finding the right shoe for your over or under pronation can make ALL the difference in the world. Once I found my Asics, I will never go back. The shoe offers all the support I need. People with high arches in their feet tend to under-pronate which means that they have insufficient inward roll of the foot after landing. This places extra stress on the foot and can result in iliotibial band syndrome of the knee, Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis. Those with little or no arches (like myself) are over-pronators who have excessive inward roll of the foot after landing. The foot continues to roll when it should be pushing off. This twists the foot, shin and knee and can cause pain in all those areas. Two, buy new shoes every six months. Or even more often than that. Shoes can wear out and when they do, your body pays the price. Don't forget to recycle your shoes to a Nike store where they take the rubber and make tracks or courts out of them! Three, freeze water in a paper cup. Tear away the paper to get to the ice. Rub and massage your shins with this technique and it's sure to help. I also used this technique to help me out when I had plantar fasciitis. Four, take your thumb and press gently on the place where you have pain. Run your thumb upward towards your knee. This relieves pressure and encourages re-growth for your muscle to reattach to your bone. It hurts terribly at first, but as your shins heal, you'll be able to do this exercise with less pain. Do this exercise whenever you think about it: sitting at a stop light, sitting at your work desk, etc. Hope these tips help you as much as they helped me! Quick recovery!!!

I'm curious how shin splints starts our for most people:

Is it a dull pain or a sharp pain?

Does it grow over time or does it come on suddenly?

I'm building mileage pretty quickly and working on the notion that prevention is better than cure so doing some strength and preventative exercises. Nevertheless I'm concerned that shin splints is going to hit me (never had it before really) and curious as to what I should expect.

Thanks.