shin splints?
Shin Splint? advice needed. I have injured my right front calf, first time for this type of injury for me. From the muscle digram I'm looking at it's either the tibialis anterior or extensor digitorum longus and/or both. I biked the other night it didn't hurt to bad the next day I tried running couldn't even make 5 minutes, the next day it was really hard to walk. I went to a PT and they have me working on some balance exercises to prevent this from re-occurring. I've been running the whole outseason on Newton Motion, mainly on a treadmill. I transitioned to full time outside, some runs partial treadmill some outside and worked up to a 90' run slowly. I've never been able to run a full season injury free, usually end up with a stress fracture like injury, IE last year OS about wk 8 was in PT for this, this year made it all the way through OS w/out this type of pain, thought I was home free. I need some help when I'm ready to resume running again. I know this is highly subjective as everyone is different but can IM athletes train on Newton's (Motions) the whole year round? I thought I read that Coach P runs in Hoka's and races in Newton's? Do Hoka's have a lot more cushion? Do IM athletes normally train in a shoe that has more cushion? Any advice would be much appreciated and thanks in advance for your help.
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I read that there is a serious concern that if the shin splint is actually Compartment Syndrome, which occurs when there was major muscle trauma or/and the calf muscle out grows the space, then the treatment is different - as in, see a Dr.?
Assuming it's over-use, the one thing I read was *not* to do normal massage on the affected muscle but to use pressure points. Apparently massaging aggravates while pressure on what is called the "golden spot" relives. I found this helps. The key pressure point is about 4 fingers below the bony structure that is just below and to the outside of the pettela (knee cap). But I've been using it up and down the shin muscle area and getting some relief.
Check out these two websites:
http://www.athletestreatingathletes.com/body-map/shin/
http://saveyourself.ca/tutorials/shin-splints.php
The OS helped with the "Fast now, Volume later" approach. Also I don't do hard runs on consecutive days. Recovery is key in days resting and nutrition.
Until you heal, I'd keep biking and ease back into running once the pain subsides.
As for the shoes, probably a good idea to change out your high mileage shoe. But I don't think it will help if your injuries are over-use. But it's worth a shot.
I'm in a similar boat, with the IMMoo timing. Here's how I'm looking at it....my run will peak on race day, and not a single freakin' day sooner.
I had years and years of shin splints....middle school all the way through high school x-country. I had multiple orthotics and some shoe changes. I iced and did pre and post running and training taping (in 1989!) and whirlpool treatments (heat!). I always wore Nike shoes except for my x-country spikes (don't remember the brand). eventually i had a stress fracture.
I quit running for 6 years then trained for a marathon on some saucony's. it was way better, but after a few months the shin splints and then the stress fracture returned.
I quit running for about 8 more and have now been doing tri's for the past 3 years. I have run 4 or 5 half marathons and a full marathon. I run now only in Brooks. I have ZERO shin splint issues. I do run intervals. I run long and slow and I run hard at times. I injure myself in other ways, but my shin splints are gone!
My suggestions are (based on my observations, YMMV):
1- consider different shoes. it's hard to tell you which ones, but perhaps a new brand or a new category (motion control vs. over pronation vs. "bare foot." the problem is you will have to give yourself some short, easy runs to adjust and see how it feels. I had years off, so for me there was no instant relief, just a lack of the pain. I know some people love Nikes, I cannot even wear them to walk or i will have problems. I wear brooks glycerin 8, every day as much as possible. i bought 8 pair, because they change everything with glycerin 9s, etc.
2- ramp up your miles slowly. this should be obvious.
3- run slowly first. shin splints are always more pronounced with running harder for me.
4- ice after running; it doesn't fix the problem, but it helps the pain tremendously.
5- don't try and run through them. they never get better, only worse.
My fix was a serious change to my running form. I learned to run playing stick and ball sports. Fast hard sprints.... that technique does not work for long distances. I spent a lot of time focusing on foot placement, cadence, gait, and shoes. I read every running book you can think of about form. They all teach the same basic thing or key points. Land midfoot as much as possible, lean forward instead of reaching out with your fee, keep your stride compact and tidy, keep your arms loose to your sides, and keep your torso inline with your upper legs. As you pick up speed (none of which I possess) you will start to rotate at the hips and lean further forward.
For me to fix shin splints, I had to focus on running form for about a year..... I'm still slow, but it doesn't hurt to run anymore.
I'm not going to preach on about minimalism, but I will say shorter strides and a faster cadence will help a ton. The cause of shin splints in most cases as far as I can tell is heel striking. You do that and a very small tiny muscle on your shin gets yanked like a rubber band as your foot comes flat to the ground.
I'm glad this pain is now mostly a memory and I wish you the best of luck on your journey of self discovery.