extreme shin splints

[thefullback27]

Wow I have extreme shin splints from running to much in football. It's at the point after running it hurts for like an hour and I can barely run. I was thinking of acpunture but anyone know of any methods, herbs, foods, or anything of that nature to help it recover faster. And not taking a break is not the answer for me..
Thank u.

[Shrukin89]

Too much running causes that indeed. Shin splints indeed wouldn't stop you. I recommend stetch out, but stretch gently when you feel comfortable.

You can use an ice pack on the area, for 15 minutes on, then 20 minutes off, and repeat. Doesn't have to be repeated through the night.

Take light excersises, daily But pushups, situps even taking light walks shouldn't bother the shin splint as much. Diet doesn't have to change, eat regular healthy foods, and drink plenty of water and milk. If intolerant to milk, drink soy milk. The body recouperates at best when you get lots of rest

You will have to be patient with shin splints.
They can take 2 or 3 weeks to month(s) depending on how you treat the shin splint.

Accupuncture I don't think will speed up any processes with repairing bone material or broken bones. But it maybe able to help the stressed torn muscles to relax and maybe to repair them a bit quicker. I don't know but the accupuncturist will.

If mild pain, a shin splint may have occured in tearing a muscle either on the front or on the side of the shin.

If severe pain, a shin spint can turn out to be a small crack leading down the shin bone, and tearing a muscle. More vigorous stress can cause the crack to make it even larger. Which it will take a longer time to heal.

Sorry dude, it isn't something that you can't really fight with.

[KickChick]

Yoda has some good stuff on the subject here....

http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16204

[Shrukin89]

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/shin.html

This will give you some info as well.
If it's severe as I didn't think it was.

I will give my second opinion and say that you may have rest for a long period, with walking, or doing other activites.

Yeah YODA did bring up some useful information.

[Ikken Hisatsu]

And not taking a break is not the answer for me..
Thank u.

if you mean by this that taking a break isnt an option I hope you enjoy being a cripple by the age of 25. you DO know what shin splints are right? if you or your coach have any sense you will lay off until they are better. and if they are already as bad as you make out go and get some xrays.

[mach5_kel]

Shin splints rarely actually involve a stress fracture of the tibia. Especially in younger people not runnning marathons of exercise. Shin splits obviously is a repetitive stress injury. Most doctors will barely address shin splints unless they have been chronic for some time and dont get better after moderate rest. They will likely send you home with some Vitamin I as runners like to call it. Ibuprofen.

The first thing you need to do is find out if you over pronate your foot when you run. In town you probably have a really high end running store of some kind. Go there and pretend to buy shoes (I know this is not so ethical) and tell them you think you are over pronating. They will have you walk back and forth and watch the way your feet hit the ground. If you are, they will be able to recommend a shoe for you or insoles to help correct this minor but major problem. It seems like nothing, but its impact will be huge and much much cheaper than acupuncture (I know because I do acupuncture). Over pronating is a big contributor to shin splints. People dont usually know they minorly over pronate until they start running alot and get pain.

Secondly, even if you did have a stress fracture in the bone (which is very unlikely), acupuncture can help. Some people who are not in the medical field fail to grasp the concept that bones are living and are highly vasularized with blood and require alot of nutrients. Bones are alive. There is zero that a western medical doctor can do for a stress fracture of this nature other than give you pain meds and tell you stay off of it. (Though I agree it is best to know if you have one or not). PS, in many cases your wouldnt be even to see it on a X-ray because they are so so subtle.

Yes, there are some herbs that could help, but without knowing more about your condition and actually seeing you in person, I wouldnt go this route. Mis-diagnosed herbs would do more harm than good.

Acupressure points you could use at home are St36, Gb34, (both of these points are amazing), St 41. Also some stretching advice was given above. (But do not try and stretch past YOUR normal range of motion until you have healed. Keep limber but dont try and gain any new flexablity while you are healing).

If you are really itching to get better quicker, you could try Yun Nan Bai Yao. Its a chinese patent formula made for tramua and can be used in a pinch for pretty much all types of injury. It helps the body clot the area and still smooth circulation (sound contradictory I know). They also make bandages that you can apply topically over night a few nights a week. It will help the circulation around the area. Lots of online stores sells it and pretty much any chinese medicine/ herb store better sell it. Tell them shame on you if they dont. :)

I hope this helps.
Good Luck,

Eric

PS, dont over ice or it will just take longer to heal. Ice traps inflammation out but it also traps inflammation in when it becomes chonic (ie, happens more than once). Try applying heat.

[mach5_kel]

Darn it. I just read what Yoda posted before and it was alot the same. Over pronation, switch to heat, vitamin I, etc.

Buy some Moxabustion sticks and use those to apply heat. Alot of my clients have been runners and are constantly amazed at how superior the heat from moxa sticks are compaired to heating pads or jells. You will never go back. To bad it stinks when you do it.

Eric

[Shrukin89]

I think you should consider that the inside of bone is living, which we call "Bone Marrow" which generates new red, white blood cells, and etc.

Not on the outside of the bone.

If our bones are living then i'm pretty sure our finger nails would be living. Which would probably hurt, if we cut our finger nails.

Bones are mostly made of protein, minerals, and vitamins.
Minerals present in bones are: calcium, potassium, manganese, magnesium, silica, iron, zinc, selenium, boron, phosphorus, sulfur, chromium, and dozens of others. In order for bones to absorb the minerals, vitamin D must be present in the diet.

mach5_kel I guess I reconsider my answer, that accupuncture does help, and the intake of proper herbs. Reason being is that there is tissues and vessels and nerves running all over the shin, and bone marrow inside for nutrients to go in and out of.

And I hear that putting hot and cold packs or whatever works great as well :)

[ImperialDragon]

Wow I have extreme shin splints from running to much in football. It's at the point after running it hurts for like an hour and I can barely run. I was thinking of acpunture but anyone know of any methods, herbs, foods, or anything of that nature to help it recover faster. And not taking a break is not the answer for me..
Thank u.

Accupunture is actually pretty good, so long as you tell them what's wrong with you. Also, in my experience, most "Chinese Drs" aren't that clued up themselves. Pay attention to what they do and learn about your body.

Otherwise, running, on it's self and by it's own, is an excellent way to get rid of shinsplints. Try doing an 8-10 mile run a week, on top of your current training schedule and after a couple of weeks I think you'll find they're gone.

Accuptunture is good for other stuff too.

[mach5_kel]

Yes, bones in general have both living and none living tissue. No doubt about it. It is however considered living, unlike our hair or fingernails. Check out the following

http://www.nsbri.org/HumanPhysSpace/focus6/ep_development.html

Acupuncture is definatly no cure to what the body does, but it can help reduce the healing time and also the pain. :cool:

Bones are also covered by a living membrane. Touching a bone with say an acupuncture needle can be very painfull. Touching your fingernail is not.

[john yates]

Wow I have extreme shin splints from running to much in football. It's at the point after running it hurts for like an hour and I can barely run. I was thinking of acpunture but anyone know of any methods, herbs, foods, or anything of that nature to help it recover faster. And not taking a break is not the answer for me..
Thank u.
the best way to heal from shin splints is to exercise in water it keeps the cv up it helps stegthen the muscles and the water acts as a massaging effect. The aqua fit classes are good but make sure that the water depth your working in is aduquate i.e the water line should be up to your chest do not work in shallow water and a cheaper way is to buy an aqua belt you can get this from asa .
Look it up on the web its a swimming organisation

[microhard]

Look up Arnica Montana, it can help.

[SCP_Kensei]

Good old Thai oil is great fro reducing symptoms whilst you exercise.

It contains a high % of Methyl salicylate which is a potent anti-inflammatory. I use it after my shin conditioning sessions (if you dont do MT, then basically it involves smacking the hell out of a heavy bag with my shin for an hour or so), as this causes swelling of the meberane around the bone, similar to shin splints. Because of my workout regimen I usually have a kickboxing class straight after one of these sessions, with a warmup that involves running. The oil really takes the symptoms away.

If you can't get thai boxing liniment then Deep Heat (NOT Ralgex) will work, so long as it has Methyl; Salicylate in it (preferably above 30% MS).

[AuHg]

when i had it, evernight deep heat cream...go to sleep. stretch in the morning. thanked god thats over.

[PlumDragon]

Look up Arnica Montana, it can help.
Be careful with arnica, it is toxic. Some people exhibit allergic reactions to it, others have noticed inflamation with use instead of the opposite.

Ive noted in the past that there are many other herbs that can be used to treat pain and inflammation jsut as well and better than arnica, but dont have the toxicity or homeopathic properties...

[thefullback27]

The first thing you need to do is find out if you over pronate your foot when you run.


Acupressure points you could use at home are St36, Gb34, (both of these points are amazing), St 41. Also some stretching advice was given above. (But do not try and stretch past YOUR normal range of motion until you have healed. Keep limber but dont try and gain any new flexablity while you are healing).

If you are really itching to get better quicker, you could try Yun Nan Bai Yao. Its a chinese patent formula made for tramua and can be used in a pinch for pretty much all types of injury. It helps the body clot the area and still smooth circulation (sound contradictory I know). They also make bandages that you can apply topically over night a few nights a week. It will help the circulation around the area. Lots of online stores sells it and pretty much any chinese medicine/ herb store better sell it. Tell them shame on you if they dont. :)

[/QUOTE]

Wow your post helps alot.

Got a few questions thoe. What does it mean to over pronate your foot?

Second of all just wondering how those 3 acpruessure points u gave me are performed? Do u have a chart or anything of that nature that could tell me. I looked on google with no good/clear results.

Now the last question is Yun Nan Bai Yao. This seems really intresting. So where could I find this and is it costly? Second of all would I just rub it up and down my whole shin. I also sufferd an mcl injury of my left knee. Would it help my knee if i rubbed it on it? Should I rub it on both knee's or just my injured one? Please get back to me. Thanks alot.

[MuayKiDo]

I had my shins X-rayed just for shin splints. I feared that I had at least some stress fractures since both my anterior shin are permanently lumpy.
X-ray didn't show anything. The doc suggested surgery, where the tissue covering the anterior shinbone is cut. This should eliminate the pain caused by the tissue being pulled too tightly over my shins.

Operation is planned for the 30th of November...

[mach5_kel]

What does it mean to over pronate your foot? Use google.com

As to locating points, try acuxo.com for pictures, or yinyanghouse.com for more info on acupuncture in general. Using acupressure is probably best for non-practitioners. Press the point or massage it for at least a few minuets a day. Good strong stimulation is good but dont hurt yourself either.

Yun Nan Bai Yao is for acute injury stage only. If it is a chronic injury, this formula may not be appropriate. The formula is best to take immediatly following the injury and usually up till 1 week after the intial injury depending on the severity. Yun Nan Bai Yao is mainly an internal medicine (pills). However, you can buy Yun Nan Bai Yao paster patches. They come in a box (and really smell). They are really easy to apply and very low risk compaired to any kind of internal medicine. Of course, if you really need Yun Nan Bai Yao, this is not an effective way to go. It sounds like in your case this may not be the herbs for you. I cannot really reccomend anything for you if I cannot see your injury and check other signs and symptoms. Its even worse if you take a formula that is good for your knee but may make other problems worse (like reccomending ibuprofen to someone for muscle pain who has an ulcer).

If you can see a TCM doctor, I would suggest it. They can reccomend a formula to help your knee by strengthing and regenrating cartilage and ligaments. I am sorry there are never any easy answers.

If you want to try and still apply Yun Nan Bai Yao patches, it would not likely do any harm. It might help a little but i wouldnt expect any miracles. They are nice to have around though if you get yourself a nice bruise from being punched or taking a fall. They usually run in the 5 to 10 dollar range for a box of a few. I buy mine in the local chinatown but I am sure you can find them online. This store is local here in Vancouver. Look Here (http://www.ycyhealth.com/Chinese%20Herbal%20Medicines/ointment/yunnanplaster.shtml) Doing some googling you will find other places. Sometimes its called YunnanPaiYao or other similar names.

Goodluck

[mach5_kel]

Wow, thats a serious case of shin splints. What did they think the lumps were due to? Possible calcification? Good luck with your surgery.

[thefullback27]

THanks alot mach. Appreciate all the help youve given me.

[MuayKiDo]

Wow, thats a serious case of shin splints. What did they think the lumps were due to? Possible calcification? Good luck with your surgery.

My doc told me it should very likely be 'kraakbeen vergroeïng', which means extensive growth of softer bone tissue (the stuff that ears are made off). This would explain wy the x ray photos didn't show anything.
It will be okay though, I am confident of that, but thanks anyway :)

[blessed_samurai]

You might also have an irritation of the interosseus membrane

[Shrukin89]

MuayKiDo-
My doc told me it should very likely be 'kraakbeen vergroeïng', which means extensive growth of softer bone tissue (the stuff that ears are made off).

Sounds like Cartilage.

[MuayKiDo]

What is Cartilage exactly?

(I am now most certain that the actual pain is being caused by infections in the tissue surrounding the shinbone)

[Ren-shi-shin]

I've read recently that sometimes shin splints are caused by inflammation of the tendons, rather than muscle. Please let me know how your surgery goes--I too suffer from shin splints.

[MuayKiDo]

Okay, I will ;)

Noticed something odd. Before wednesday's class, my left shin was very sensitive. I started kicking the bag with my shinguerd on. Then, the pain lessened to a normal level.
I didn't think something like that was possible, but it's not enough to cancel the operation for...

[MuayKiDo]

Okay, I will ;)

Noticed something odd. Before wednesday's class, my left shin was very sensitive. I started kicking the bag with my shinguard on. Then, the pain lessened to a normal level.
I didn't think something like that was possible, but it's not enough to cancel the operation for...