Painful shins

[Cola]

I've been running/walking around the local high schools' track at night and I still can't run all the way around without stopping. Not because I'm out of breath (most of the time) but because my legs/shins start hurting so bad I have to stop. Any suggestions? Should I strech them first? Is there an ointment I can use? So far the best I can do is 8 laps...that's about 2 miles on a normal football filed right?

[Lyssie]

Re: Painful shins

You mean like shin splints?? Warm them up on their own, make sure you have good shoes...

[Cola]

Re: Painful shins

Yeah shin splints! How do I warm them up? Rub them? Points toes out and in?

[Lyssie]

Re: Painful shins

When you're standing, lift up your toes, alternating right foot and left foot... There's always the whole making sure you're walking to warm up before running as well. If you want to stretch, point your toes down and put them on the floor - making like, a straight line with the top of your foot and shin...

[julirama723]

Re: Painful shins

...and bringing up the shoe question...

How old are your running shoes? Running shoes should be replaced every 350-500 miles (I've heard different numbers) and should be designed for your wear pattern. Are you a pronator, neutral, or a supinator?

[Cola]

Re: Painful shins

Pronator, neutral, or a supinator? What does that mean? BTW, my running shoes are very old with peices of the soles missing....I need new shoes eh? Thanks for the advice!

[Lyssie]

Re: Painful shins

Ack... hey, I asked about shoes... Yanno, just getting new ones may take care of everything without anything else. Pronator, neutral or supinator is how you wear your shoes, like, whether you use the inside, outside or straight gait. You should be able to tell by looking at which side of your current shoes wear faster than the other... I forget which is which...

[julirama723]

Re: Painful shins

If the outside is worn, you're a supinator and likely have high arches. Your footprints probably look like the letter C and you probably have a very stiff footstep. You need cushioning shoes.

If the inside is worn, you're a pronator and likely have flat feet. Your footprints look square or brick-like and your foot needs a motion-control shoe.

If you have a generic wear pattern not favoring one side but evenly-distributed, you're a lucky duck with a neutral foot pattern. You can buy a stability shoe.

[jroche5998]

Re: Painful shins

Shin splints are very painful and are caused buy separation of tendon and muscle from the shin bone due to repetitive impact. I used to run stairs when I played rugby in college and I had the worst shin splints ever. Ice helps tremendously, (twice a day for 20 mins) and so can rest. Stretching as mentioned above, most specifically toe taps. Point your toe in front of you and tap your toe (kindof like ballet), do 3 sets of 25 per foot per day. They are not that hard and force you to stretch that shin muscle. It's a strange little muscle it is only really used to lift you foot up, but if you are forcing it to do repetitive work like running, it freaks out.

I know this because I have pre-tibial pitting edema due to shin splints. However my shin splints are not that bad (hence only some discomfort, which made me doubt the shin splints in the first place, but an MRI confirmed it) and the edema is made worse by my sedentary job. Luckily running helps the edema but unfortunately irritates the shin splints. So I'm in a catch 22. Eventually they will get better, and I am on a nasty anti-inflammatory which does help.

Ice and stretch, ice and stretch, and build up slowly. Learn the difference between discomfort and pain. The former is ok the latter is not.

[Dimple_Flirt]

Re: Painful shins

I had shin splints really bad last summer from walking too fast and too far.I switched my work out to swimming at the YMCA and using the eliptical machines,bike riding and lifting weights and gave myself a break for @2months and they went away.