:cry: :woo: damnit these really bother me now, i've been dealin with em all season, but now its gotten worse. my ankles are starting to bruise, and when i inspect my shins i can feel, almost like a vertical indention in my right one. Now my running form sucks, infact i almost stomp rather than run, i run HARD as in a hard steps, and i know this is a big part of it, but seeing as how that habit isn't going to change over night, what else can i do to remedy this? i run about 2 miles a day 5 days a week, and no, running less is not an option, as i need to make weight and coach will never allow it. the team doc said just get better running shoes, which i did, and ice roll em, which seems almost pointless, i've got pain relief down fine out of practice, but to actually fix the problem?
what the hell is a shin split, is it possible to do that, I've never heard of that! How you feel better!
a exercise that you can try is , sit on a step-place your feet so that half of your feet are hanging over the edge- then curl your toes up towards the ceiling
tekken - what surface are you running on? is it possible to run on grass or a rubberized track? both of those will help some.. having suffered through them, really the only thing for it is to take time off to let them heal. otherwise, keep managing it, see if you can run on softer surfaces... also, see the sports manager, and see if they can tape them. there's special tapings they can do for shinsplints best luck...
You have to take time off, end of story. They will only get worse. If you have problems with your running technique, the Pose running method is excellent for injury prevention with this sort of thing. Check it out, there's a book and a DVD.
Why not swim instead? Low impact, or maybe even no impact, good cardio, and I'm guessing due to greater resistance you can probably burn more than running.
Rest, because although Shin splints hurt, stress fractures hurt a lot more, and that is where you are currently heading...if you find a cure let me know.
1. rest 2. strengthen tibialis - all variations of dorsiflexion exercises 3. have foot mobility/biomechanics assessed 4. new shoes - prevent over-pronation and lots of cushioning 5. maintain good flexibility 6. rest 7. come back slowly - VERY slowly... 8. ice and nsaids after any heavy running work that might trigger them again You said rest is not an option. I think NOT resting is NOT an option. Doubel negative, therefore rest is the option. As others said - dorsiflex. Bodyweight, then add weight. High reps. Strengthen the tibialis to help counter-balance the calves. They get recommended and prescribed like they are going out of style now, but orthotics might help you, depending on your feet and biomechanics. Good to hear you got new shoes. Were you assessed by a qualified or experienced runner when you bought them? Do they have the characteristics your feet need? Lastly - you need to cut back a lot on your running and you have to work on your form constantly. If you need to make weight, focus on non-running types of high intensity interval training. Hit the weight room hard, keep the reps high, the speed high, and the weight low. Keep the rest periods low. This is going to push your heart rate to the ceiling and help raise your metabolism to burn more calories over a long period than running alone. Consider the tabata protocol. Watch your diet and drink lots of water and you'll make weight with better composition than running alone would do for you. Good luck!
I never had much success with swapping running for swimming, iunfortunatley I've got a dodgy something below the knee. The bump you can feel when you run your hand down from the knee hurts for some reason when I bend my knee low and after running.
How about doing some barbell complexes and tabatas on the bikes? Pickup a barbell (no plates added) and do the following: 20 back squats 20 shoulder press 20 SLDL 20 front squat 20 power snatch from hang 20 push press rest 60 seconds, repeat for 3 total sets No rest between each exercise, do not even let go of the barbell unless you are changing your grip. This is a sample barbell complex. You can sub exercises as you like but full body movements are best. If you want to add weight, go ahead but given the volume, a little weight goes a long way. I've done this with 10lbs added but didn't make it through 3 sets. This with some bike tabatas should help you drop weight, maintain muscle mass and burn more fat. Keep your protein intake high.
I've had the same thing before when I use to run a lot, no idea what it was though. Went away after I stoped running for a while. If I had to guess what it was, I'd say some sort of fluid buildup.
knee bursitis perhaps? http://www.medicinenet.com/knee_bursitis/article.htm http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/sma/sma_pesanser_sma.htm
99% of the time, people who have "bursitis" have massively overtight hip flexors causing the tendons to become inflamed as they rub to hard over the bony protrusions around the area. I should know, I was one of them. Stretching and trigger point massage is the order of the day.
come to think of it, we run the same path everyday too, its mostly up hill, and the last half of it is gravel. that might be a factor. in any case. i got new shoes, and i freakin killed the bike today!~ i did lots of calf stretches, iced em for a while too.
Went to the docs today to check up on the pain from the bump on my shin just below he knee, the bump is a normal thing, it's where the tendns for the quad connect or ome such. It's a tear in the tendons there thats causing the pain for me. 2 weeks off at trainning at least and 4 months of anti inflamitories.
Read up on the aforementioned dorsiflexion movements. Should sort you out a treat. Slindsay - 4 months of anti-inflammatories? Sorry but that is just plain not good for you. Take my advice, buy the trigger point therapy workbook by Clair Davies, rest up for a while and let the tendon heal while you carry out the massage as per the trigger points that are most likely causing the over-tightness of the muscles/tendons around that area ie. the root of the problem. If you don't get over it pretty quickly without NSAIDs once the tendon has recovered, I will eat my hat. Seriously. NSAIDs are probably as over-prescribed as antibiotics.
You HAVE to give up running. It wont' heal, it will just get worse if you keep running. What good is it to make weight if you've torn up yourself so much you can't compete? However, what you can do is swim or cycle instead. I suffer from what you suffer from, also due to running. Luckily I noticed it before it got really bad, so the road to recovery is a quick one. I don't run anymore. I cycle instead. It gives all the benefits of running, but without the impact. It's that impact that creates problems like shin splints. Swimming is also good. I just don't do that because of my bad shoulder.
